Tapping potential: Dreaming up a whole new world
Inter-city poster competition unearths raw talent.
ISLAMABAD:
You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one
These lyrics from John Lennon’s song “Imagine” reflect a child’s imagination, undeterred by ground realities.
Around 500 sixth to eighth graders from government schools in the twin cities and Peshawar were given the freedom to imagine the “Pakistan of my dreams”. The 13 winners displayed impressive artistic and analytical ability, showcasing their posters of what the Pakistan of their dreams is like.
While such competitions are a regular fixture in private schools, shifting the same focus to government schools seemed to encourage students from the low socio-economic bracket of the country, according to the organisers.
“There is immense talent in these students. Art in itself is not promoted, so promoting artistic ability in children who are not very privileged is dually beneficial,” commented Dr Ruquia Bibi, the vice-principal of a government girls high school in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan World Bank Country Director Rachid Bemmessaoud said, “We decided to reach out to the children of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as they have displayed exemplary resilience and courage in pursuing their studies despite a spate of calamities suffered by the province in their last few years.”
He added, “Given the limited resources available in public schools for encouraging the artistic expression, the breadth of vision, the ingenuity of strokes and the use of colour in these paintings is simply awesome.”
Ammara Ayub, a seventh grader from Islamabad Model College Girls F-10/2, presented an abstract by using the symbol of peace and doves, among other techniques in her painting. She showed two sides of the coin in Pakistan: terrorism and illiteracy versus education and unity.
Different in his approach from most boys, little Muhammad Iqbal of Government High School Boys PAF Base Peshawar Cantt surprised everyone by drawing an all-girls school. His work touched on some of the major issues faced by Pakistan: that of equal rights, female illiteracy and unutilised resources.
Although the sixth grader was unsure of his age, he surely detested the fact that while boys in his locality went to school, so many girls didn’t. Iqbal also translated for his classmate and friend Muhammad Sulaiman Khan, whose drawing depicted an idyllic countryside scene. The painting, Iqbal explained, says that “there is too much focus on technology and infrastructure nowadays. [Sulaiman feels] that the best life is one where nature is respected and we live in harmony and conserve trees.” Meanwhile, pursuant to Sulaiman’s idea, Sara Sultan, an eighth grader from Islamabad Model College Girls F-10/2, focused on Information Technology’s progression. Sara displayed a sophisticated and clean artistic style communicating effectively how important it is to be connected globally. She shared her love for computers saying, “There is a lack of technology and professionals in Pakistan but I hope that by 2020 there will an abundance of them and I will be one of them.”
Mariam Amjad, a sixth grader from Islamabad Model College Girls F10/2, also addressed a pressing issue for Pakistan: power outages. She elaborated on her piece, saying “ loadshedding is always a big problem for everyone in Pakistan; be it winter or summer. So I envision a country where electricity is always available.”
Instead of portraying a utopian picture of Pakistan, these students chose to address the problems faced by the country, imagining instead a country where these problems no longer exist.
The winning work from the competition will feature in the 2012 diaries and calendars of World Bank.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2012.
You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one
These lyrics from John Lennon’s song “Imagine” reflect a child’s imagination, undeterred by ground realities.
Around 500 sixth to eighth graders from government schools in the twin cities and Peshawar were given the freedom to imagine the “Pakistan of my dreams”. The 13 winners displayed impressive artistic and analytical ability, showcasing their posters of what the Pakistan of their dreams is like.
While such competitions are a regular fixture in private schools, shifting the same focus to government schools seemed to encourage students from the low socio-economic bracket of the country, according to the organisers.
“There is immense talent in these students. Art in itself is not promoted, so promoting artistic ability in children who are not very privileged is dually beneficial,” commented Dr Ruquia Bibi, the vice-principal of a government girls high school in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan World Bank Country Director Rachid Bemmessaoud said, “We decided to reach out to the children of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as they have displayed exemplary resilience and courage in pursuing their studies despite a spate of calamities suffered by the province in their last few years.”
He added, “Given the limited resources available in public schools for encouraging the artistic expression, the breadth of vision, the ingenuity of strokes and the use of colour in these paintings is simply awesome.”
Ammara Ayub, a seventh grader from Islamabad Model College Girls F-10/2, presented an abstract by using the symbol of peace and doves, among other techniques in her painting. She showed two sides of the coin in Pakistan: terrorism and illiteracy versus education and unity.
Different in his approach from most boys, little Muhammad Iqbal of Government High School Boys PAF Base Peshawar Cantt surprised everyone by drawing an all-girls school. His work touched on some of the major issues faced by Pakistan: that of equal rights, female illiteracy and unutilised resources.
Although the sixth grader was unsure of his age, he surely detested the fact that while boys in his locality went to school, so many girls didn’t. Iqbal also translated for his classmate and friend Muhammad Sulaiman Khan, whose drawing depicted an idyllic countryside scene. The painting, Iqbal explained, says that “there is too much focus on technology and infrastructure nowadays. [Sulaiman feels] that the best life is one where nature is respected and we live in harmony and conserve trees.” Meanwhile, pursuant to Sulaiman’s idea, Sara Sultan, an eighth grader from Islamabad Model College Girls F-10/2, focused on Information Technology’s progression. Sara displayed a sophisticated and clean artistic style communicating effectively how important it is to be connected globally. She shared her love for computers saying, “There is a lack of technology and professionals in Pakistan but I hope that by 2020 there will an abundance of them and I will be one of them.”
Mariam Amjad, a sixth grader from Islamabad Model College Girls F10/2, also addressed a pressing issue for Pakistan: power outages. She elaborated on her piece, saying “ loadshedding is always a big problem for everyone in Pakistan; be it winter or summer. So I envision a country where electricity is always available.”
Instead of portraying a utopian picture of Pakistan, these students chose to address the problems faced by the country, imagining instead a country where these problems no longer exist.
The winning work from the competition will feature in the 2012 diaries and calendars of World Bank.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2012.