Mirpur: (Parliament Times) The four-day training workshop on youth political empowerment and advocacy skills, organized by ‘Centre for Peace, Democracy and Reform’ (CPDR) ended in Mirpur city, AJK, yesterday.
Forty youth leaders, both girls and boys, from all across the state participated in the event that was held in collaboration with the British Council, Pakistan.
Speaking as Chief Guest at the concluding ceremony, Professor Doctor Habib-ur-Rehman (Vice Chancellor, Mirpur University of Science and Technology – MUST) urged the young leaders to polish their social skills, along with focusing on knowledge of physical sciences, in order to tackle the increasingly complex issues faced by the society. While appreciating the initiative taken by CPDR, Dr Rehman said that training workshops like these are an important resource of imparting contemporary knowledge to youth that enables them to broaden their horizons and offer new solutions to longstanding challenges.
Earlier, former Deputy Speaker of the AJK Legislative Assembly, Ms Shaheen Kausar Dar said that youth must learn new skills to raise their voices more effectively. In an interactive discussion with participants, she stressed upon young girls to come forward and assume responsibilities in the political arena. She said that youth should develop its capacities to hold accountable people with responsibilities.
Ershad Mahmud (Executive Director CPDR) in his remarks said that youth in AJK is playing an important role in the development of the society. He acknowledged the support offered by the British Council, Pakistan and said that these training workshops are opening new windows of dialogue and understanding for youth to come up with creative ideas.
Representing the British Council, Pakistan, Malik Mohammad Wasim said that this era belongs to youth so they should play an active and vibrant role in local issues. He expressed the commitment that through capacity building initiatives, British Council has been empowering youth in many regions of the world, including Pakistan; and we will continue to do so in the future.
Zulfiquar Abbasi (eminent business leader and President of CPDR) in his speech asked the youth leaders to become more active in matters of political and social significance.
While informing participants about the initiative, Dr WaqasAli (Director Programs CPDR) said that one-hundred seventy youth leaders have so far received training in various topics including advocacy, community mobilization, conflict transformation and political participation. He said that because of this training program, many participants have joined mainstream political parties and contributing positively in addressing local issues. The workshop was facilitated by Aftab Iqbal (Director – Pakistan Centre for Development Communication), Talha Azhar (Ideas Pakistan) and others.
