Collaborative initiative: NCA, Museum take initiative to raise heritage awareness

The programme is aimed at schoolchildren in the 8-16 years age bracket.

LAHORE: The Lahore Museum and the National College of Arts (NCA) began a collaborative programme on Wednesday to raise awareness regarding Pakistan’s culture and heritage among schoolchildren in the 8-16 years age bracket.

Students from the college’s Department of Cultural and Communication Studies have designed interactive kits to facilitate learning among children frequenting the museum.  Department of Cultural and Communication Studies Head Farida Batool said the initiative had been taken to raise awareness regarding the nation’s culture and heritage. She said she looked forward to cultivating a deep, long standing and sustainable relationship with the museum by collaborating on a series of regular projects and activities to further her students’ education.

Principal Murtaza Jafri commended the department for taking the initiative. Various officials from the Alliance Francaise and the Annemarie Schimmel Haus and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) lauded the teaching method adopted.



Four groups of students chose select areas to work on including the history and design of Multani tiles, pictograms from Mohenjo Daro and the story of Gautam Buddha. They sat down with the visiting students and took them through the various parts of the designed booklets and explained relevant concepts. The museum provided the children with kits containing materiel including colour pencils and markers.

Students from the Asifa New Model Girls High School in Said Mitha Bazaar and the Muslim League High School on Empress Road participated in the programme. Bushra Muzzammil, a teacher at Muslim League High School, said the silence of her students had stunned her. “They were quiet and focusing only on the activities at hand,” she said. Lahore Museum Director Sumaira Samad said the NCA and the museum had collaborated on the programme to facilitate learning. She said the museum would continue to use interactive kits for the benefit of students who visited the institution. Sarmad said museum would invite schoolchildren and provide them with free kits initially. She said the administration had formulated a comprehensive plan to expand the reach of the project. Sarmad said they had planned various activities and convenience for schoolchildren under the plan. She said the kits would be priced at Rs50. Sarmad said the project’s expansion was subject to securing funds.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2014.