Moderator Ghazal Ansari spoke about the youth of this generation during session ‘Nayee Nasal Ki Awaaz’ and she was full of praise and admiration for the young people in the panel.
“They talk about choosing the path the want to [and work towards it]. Our generation doesn’t have the access to knowledge that the younger generation does because of the Internet.”
One of the panelists Mahin Baloch, who herself is a student, started a school in her locality Lyari just when she was in 9th grade.
Speaking about linking adab and education she said, “I think if we don’t teach children literature in school there will be no educational progression.
“If today we don’t teach adab in our school then tomorrow our generation will not be able to progress. Then there will be no point of education; even a parrot can rote learn.”
Ghazal then added a thought provoking message.
“We say we don’t have the likes of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmad Faraz or Parveen Shakir anymore, but why are we comparing this generation to the ones of yesteryears? Why can’t we say we have a Mahin or a Neel Ahmed? We should talk about the now, the generations of our time and write our own history and talk about our people. Our people will talk from their experience according to their time.”
Journey Into Europe
Bina Shah sat in conversation with her father, friend of the Akbar S. Ahmed whose new book is being discussed.
Said Shafqat Shah, "People in Pakistan have not valued [Akbar S Ahmed] for his work. Around the world, he is valued as ambassador of interfaith harmony. In Pakistan we don't recognise the jewels among us."
Publishing 2020 And Beyond
"This means a lot of very good books are no longer available. The solution is having electronic versions. People can access them on a subscription model or on platforms like kindle amazon etc. Pakistani publishers have not capitalised on these platforms," said Arshad Hussain OUP MD.
He added, "Availability of these books online is good for the authors because they will get royalties and the publishers will get revenue, and the people looking for these books will find them more easily. If we don't do this we will simply encourage piracy."
Hoori noorani talked about the difficulty faced by publishers. Book sellers take an enormous cut of the price of the book, eating into publishers earnings. Is the solution direct-to-reader selling?
Cultural Activism To Counter Extremism In Sindh
After a minute of silence for Javed Bhutto, NoorulHuda Shah talked about tide of religious Extremism in Sindh. "Islam has been in Sindh since before Muhammad bin Qasim's arrival... Sindh is the land whose roots are entrenched into Shah Latif's poetry... By nature Sindhis are loving people. Nothing in our heritage gives root to extremism. If you ask anyone in Sindh to introduce themselves, they will introduce themselves as Sindhi first and Muslim, Hindu second."
Sindh Minister for Education and Culture Syed Sardar Ali Shah also said its history, folklore and cultural artefacts are contrary to the current strain of extremist thoughts.
When asked to comment on the gender-based violence as a form of extremism, Shah said that she believes practices like honour killing are better described as "samaaji pressure", not extremism.
LOL Walay
Akbar Chaudhry, Syed Kumail, Zubair Tariq, Sannan Wastani, and Ali Gul Pir take the stage to provide the audience with a few laughs.
Documentary: These Silences Are All The Words
After the screening of City By The Sea, filmmaker Mahera Omer sat down with wildlife and conservation experts to talk about Karachi's dwindling wildlife and its consequences.
Ahmer Ali Rizvi, who has been a birdwatcher and wildlife enthusiast for years, said that we could find wildlife closer to Karachi 15 years ago. "There used to be 65 species of birds along Karachi's coast. Development has scared them away and only about 25 species remain." Talking about the consequences of the fast disappearing wildlife, Ahmer said, "Every animal has value in our ecosystem. Even a dangerous animal like a snake is needed because their existence are necessary for our food crops. Ultimately we will suffer from the dwindling wildlife around us."
Adding to this, Sindh Wildlife Conservator Javed Mahar said that animals take first damage from the harmful substances in our atmosphere. "Their disappearance tells us something is wrong. 300 species have disappeared from Karachi over the years," he said.