International Mountain Day: Art competition adds flavour to celebrations

Lok Virsa celebrates by holding an art competition among schoolchildren.

ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) celebrated International Mountain Day in a befitting manner by holding an art competition among schoolchildren as well as a youth seminar here on Saturday. The event was held at Lok Virsa Heritage Museum in Shakarparian and organised in collaboration with Development Communications Network (DEVCOM) and WWF Pakistan. Children from local schools and neighbouring towns of Jehlum and Kharian also participated in the event.

Students were divided into age groups, with junior group of 10-14 years and senior group of 10-20 years. Five students participated in each category with their art work. The artworks were 14 by 20 inches in size and employed mediums like crayons, water and oil colours, acrylics and charcoal.

Nine entries - from both groups - were awarded special prizes, while eight prizes were given to the children of marginalised communities. Rest of the participants were given recognition certificates.

In junior category, children who received prizes included Syed Farasat Ali, Asad Shah and Faisal from Beaconhouse, Joudad Bilal from Bahria College, and Anna Saeed from City School. In senior category, Shumaila from FG Margalla College, Adil Dar from Bahria College, Hamza Hashmi from Beaconhouse and Faryal Yazdani from Roots got prizes.

Speaking on the occasion, Executive Director Lok Virsa Khalid Javaid said, “Our country’s youth has a great potential and Lok Virsa is taking such initiatives to harness that potential.” He said that under their popular slogan “Harnessing Culture for Education,” Lok Virsa has created eight children folklore societies in various parts of the country, including remotest regions of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The societies inculcate consciousness among school children about their indigenous culture and folk heritage, he added.

The exhibit was followed by a youth conference and awareness programme led by Munir Ahmed of DEVCOM, with guest speakers DIG Forest Abdul Munaf Qaimkhani. Qaimkhani spoke about the importance of mountains and the role they play in the sustainability of many wildlife species and vegetation growing in the area. Even though his speech was very informative, it was not targeted to the right audience and the children soon lost interest.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2010.