LAHORE: The Ali auditorium echoed with loud applause and hooting as the latest obsession of the Pakistani youth, tennis star Aisamul Haq, made his way to the stage.
The participants had been waiting to catch a glimpse of him since the beginning of the event. Some yelled ‘cheetay’, others screamed, “We love you Aisamoo”.
In an appearance that only lasted a few minutes, he was awarded the Ambassador of Peace Award by the organisers. Addressing the participants, he said that he had been surprised by the enthusiasm of the youth and was humbled by statements that Pakistan was proud of him. “The day I beat Roger Federer, I was playing as a Pakistani, not as an individual. I know if the youth becomes determined, nothing is impossible for them,” he added.
Haq was the last chief guest of the first National Youth PEACE Festival 2010 that was held in the Ali Auditorium, Ali Institute of Education, on Wednesday. The festival was organised by the Chanan Development Association (CDA), a registered national organisation working on issues and concerns related to the youth of Pakistan. Their motto is Peer Education and Awareness Campaign to reduce Extremism (PEACE).
Students from colleges and universities across the country, including FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan, participated in the festival. The CDA had selected 100 students to attend the festival free of charge.
CDA’s executive director Mohammad Shehzad Khan said that the theme of the festival, ‘Together, we are the solution!’ was selected to promote solidarity amongst the young people from different provinces. He said, “Young people have the potential to provide innovative solutions to old problems. Their potential needs to be channelled in a positive and constructive manner.” The CDA had engaged more than 2,000 young people in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Gilgit and trained them as young peace builders, he added.
The panelists at the closing ceremony included PPPP leader Ikram Rabbani, Nadia Jamil, LCCI chairman Rehmatullah Javed and Youth Parliament Pakistan programme manager Rana Bilal Ahmed.
Nadia Jamil was, however, the most prominent panelist. In a moving speech, she explained why she left her job as a TV anchor. She said that before joining the media, she wasn’t aware that the media was just another organisation that earned money through people’s sufferings. “I am worried for the youth of Pakistan. I am worried for their present and for their future, just as I am for my own kid.” She ended her speech with an extract from one of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem, as tears rolled down her cheeks.
In the opening ceremony, speakers IA Rehman, the Human Rights Commission Pakistan secretary general; Mohammad Tehseen, the South-Asia Partnership Pakistan founding director; Peter Jacob, the National Commission for Justice and Peace secretary; and Uzma Tahir from Action Aid Pakistan emphasised that if provided opportunities, the Pakistani youth could bring about an effective change.
The festival aimed at highlighting interfaith harmony and tolerance amongst the youth. It included an interfaith dialogue for PEACE, which was chaired by the Bahshahi Masjid khateeb Maulana Syed Khabeer Azad and Sohail Warraich. The speakers included scholars from six religions including Parsism and Bohra. They said that interfaith harmony was the key to peace, especially in countries like Pakistan where religion was a sensitive issue.
Workshops and theatre performances were conducted which revolved around themes of security threats in academic institutions and domestic violence against women. The musical theatre performances largely drew on poetry by Bulleh Shah and Mian Mohammad Baksh.
Shehzad Khan told The Express Tribune that the CDA had selected people from different fields as their youth ambassadors. He said that they had been selected as role models. “Currently our youth ambassadors include Aisamul Haq, Nadia Jamil, and singers Malkoo and Arif Lohar.
Raza Ravjani, the national focal person of the festival from Karachi, said that this event marked the final stage of the campaign. “A year ago, we started introducing the PEACE concept in different universities. Participants were then trained.” Ravjani said that the CDA’s plans had included ‘interfaith exposure’, which involved visits to sacred places belonging to other religions, including their worship places. However, he added, the CDA had to scrap that plan in view of the security situation.
Mariam Ishaq, a volunteer and a student of the Lahore University of Management Sciences, said that it was an attempt to bring the youth together. “The best part is that our management comprises only young people. The oldest person in our management team is 24. This shows the youth are willing to bring a change,” she said.
The youth PEACE festival was held at the national level this year. Next year the CDA plans to expand it to the South Asian level, said Sana Sohail, the organisation’s media director. “Recommendations from the participants and members will be forwarded to the government, as we want the youth to be involved in the policy making of the country,” she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2010.
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