Youth wings: Call for youth participation in politics

Speakers at a conference on Monday emphasised the need for empowering the country’s youth and making them part of the political process.

The conference on “Youth Wings among Political Parties: A Comparative Analysis of Germany and Pakistan” was organised by the Quaid-i-Azam University Department of Sociology and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) Pakistan, said a press release.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal addressed the inaugural session and discussed impacts of terrorism on the youth. He said the Pakistani youth were a dynamic force but needed conducive environment to realise their full potential.

QAU sociology department chairman Dr Muhammad Zaman called for creating linkages between academia and political parties. He said youth activism and networks can also help promote democratic values in society. Zaman said education and employment opportunities and economic activities are the ways to empower youth.

QAU Social Sciences Dean Dr Aliya H Khan said the youth play an important role in strengthening democracies and in transitionary politics.



Dr Peter Rieker from Zurich University, Switzerland, presented his research paper on “State Research on Youth and Politics in Germany”. He said that youth must be studied from various dimensions with a focus on comparative analysis.

Boris Wilke of Germany’s Bielefeld University discussed violence and its societal linkages and analysed violent patterns in various democratic states that are passing through transitionary phase.

Ambassador of Germany Dr Cyrill Nunn also addressed and QAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf also addressed the moot.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2015.

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