Pakistan as a nation, without a doubt, can be considered one of the bravest. The situation in the country refuses to improve, plagued with issues ranging from poverty, illiteracy, political uncertainty to distrust amongst our international peers and even natural disasters, but we, as a people, continue to fight. We, as a people, continue to move forward.
It is these attempts to improve our situations, these successes, which we need to celebrate. Engro Corporation has a vision of “enabling excellence,” and keeping in line with this vision, the first Annual Engro Excellence Awards took place last year in 2011. The goal was and continues to be to present Pakistan to the world as a nation of talented people who are capable, knowledgeable and innovative.
The objective behind which is to honour those individuals who serve as inspiration to us all, and thus enable excellence by encouraging our youth to the follow in the footsteps of the outstanding Pakistanis that we distinguish.
The aim is to establish a feeling of goodwill in the people of Pakistan, especially the younger generation, who seem to have dampened spirits and a decreasing sense of patriotism with every passing day. This effort has been brought forward in the hope to inspire the youth of today to do something big and gain the same respect and benefits that are being bestowed upon these winners who have been chosen by their fellow countrymen.
Even the physical memento awarded to the winners is designed to inspire and is very different from a usual trophy. Each category has its own medallion which doesn’t only honour the recipient but also pays tribute to posthumous contributors of the said category. We recognise the past as well as the present, in an attempt to encourage the future.
The first Engro Excellence Awards recognised the contributions of three worthy recipients, one each from the fields of Social and Humanitarian Services, Literature and Physical and Applied Sciences. This year the categories of Literature and Physical and Applied Sciences will be alternated with Art and Social Sciences respectively and vice versa, thereon, year on year.
These awards recognise the services of eminent Pakistanis who have excelled and made outstanding contributions in their respective fields. The hope is that each year these awards will inspire many younger Pakistanis to dedicate themselves to hard work so that they can excel in their professional lives. In a general atmosphere of negativism and cynicism prevailing in the country, this endeavour deserves our gratitude. Only those nations who recognise and revere their meritorious citizens can succeed, make headway and prosper.
The writer is former governor SBP and currently Dean and Director IBA and chairperson of the Engro Excellence Awards jury
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2012.
COMMENTS (8)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@raw is war: 3% not a big deal
Sir, completely agree with u and would like to add on that in midst of the energy crisis the Private sector is still growing at a rapid pace . This is unbelievable !!!
His point is simple: inspire youth and change Pakistan. i think his point is well taken even if he over stressed upon Engro awards. But, i think engro awards are good to celebrate because they choose people from different professions who have been the movers and shakers of their fields.
@raw is war:
and hat about minorities condition in india....which is developing at fast pace. no need to drag other issues with every thing.
The title of this piece is very misleading, it should have been something about the Engro Awards.
@raw is war: Don't drag ur minorities talk into every discussion, still the situation is a lot better then our neighboring countries
I hundred percent agree with what Dr Ishrat Hussain has said. Their is no doubty that Pakistan is a very brave country which has defied all odds to survive the corrupt leaders installed by a dubuious super power, an enemey at the border who is stoking unrest in all the tribal areas and yet call it self the biggest democracy and all the economic problems created as a direct consequence of a dubuious war on terror. Pakistanis are a resilient nation. I hope that when sainity prevails and change of government takes place at that time we are able to utilise the expertise of people like Dr Ishrat Hussain for the good of the pakistani people.
Dear Mr.Husain, Pakistan will achieve excellence when it stops treating its minorities like enemies of the state. No amount of pipe-dreaming will help.