‘Bridging knowledge gap vital for Pakistan’s development’

President calls for adopting new technologies to solve socio-economic issues

President Dr Arif Alvi has called for taking maximum advantage of new techniques and available information for efficiently addressing socio-economic issues of the country.

He was addressing the concluding session of the two-day International conference on ‘Collective Action for knowledge Economy with Technology’ held on Tuesday at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU).

The event was organised by the AIOU in collaboration with Qarshi University, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and University of Management and Technology.

The president stated the knowledge economy has become vital in the present era for sustainable development and ensuring a better future for the common man.

Information and communication technology, he said has brought a revolution worldwide in all walks of life like medicine, education and teaching and educational practices. We need to enforce similar practices in our country as well in order to achieve any kind of progression.

The president was of the view that if Pakistan has to come at par with developed nations it will have to bridge the knowledge-gap, by focusing on new methods of learning.

The communication technology and available information data could be used as a tool for rapid socio-economic development, he asserted.

The president added that long-term strategic planning has its own significance but the nation needed to take actions of an immediate nature, as the development process cannot be delayed for a second.

He also shared with the participants his personal experience about how best to take advantage of relevant material and information for educating the masses.

The president said he saw a bright and prosperous future for the country, as they are now moving ahead achieving the SDGs by adopting innovative and creative tools and techniques.

Earlier, the AIOU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ziaul Qayyum spoke about the conference’s outcome and said it was very fruitful for evolving a future road-map to achieve the world’s developments goals.

The conference’s participants, he said took a holistic view, as to how best sustainable development could be ensured in various sectors. The participants emphasised the need to make maximum use of digital communication devices, like a mobile phone for achieving the desired results in the socio-economic sectors.

The AIOU, he said will be looking forward to enhancing its collaborative partnership with the national and international organizations for achieving goals of the knowledge economy and the targets of quality education.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2019.