‘Youth development vital to Pakistan’

Bargad, in collaboration with UNFPA organised a 3-day long conference to stress the importance of youth development.

LAHORE: Bargad, in collaboration with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), organised a three-day long conference to stress the importance of youth in Pakistan’s development. The conference which started on Sunday featured experts and government officials from all over the country.

The first session of the conference showcased a presentation titled Role of the Demographics Transition in Pakistan’s Development. The presentation focused on the importance of providing adequate resources to a growing population. It stressed the importance of appropriate channels for the youth.

In the second session Dr Tauseef Ahmad, Dr Fareeha Ahsan and Dr Bushra Sadiq speaking on the importance of birth control. They also emphasised the need for education for women.

Other sessions included discussions on education policy, youth development and labour development. Deputy Education Advisor to the Federal Government TM Qureshi expressed his concern over the meagre proportion of the budget allocated to the education sector. Senior Programme Officer fro International Labor Organization Pakistan Syed Alvi said that the labour force in Pakistan had exceeded 52 million out of which 24 million were illiterate. He added that with such numbers Pakistan cannot progress.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2010.