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The Annual Largest Learning Event for Children & Teachers-Hamein Kitab Chahiyeh comes to Lahore  in collaboration with the Children Library Complex (CLC), Govt. of Punjab

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The annual Children’s Literature Festival is back in Lahore at the Children Library Complex (CLC), a purpose built facility of the School Education Department Govt. of Punjab from January 21 to 23, 2020.  This is the 64^th Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) and 7^th Teacher’s Literature Festival (TLF) since November 2011 when CLF was first launched in Lahore at the same venue-the CLC! The CLF is a flagship program of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) founded by Baela Jamil , CEO of ITA and co-founded by Ameena Saiyid an icon in publishing promoting the love of learning.  The annual CLF will be held on January 21^st, 22^nd, 2020 along with one day Teachers’ Literature Festival (TLF)  on January 23^rd , 2020.  The 3 day event bearing the theme of its Tarana “ Hamein Kitab Chahiyeh’ written by Zehra Nigah is packed with over 100 sessions, and 125+ resource persons and 26+ Institutional partners. Ali Noor, Ali Hamza, and Rakae Rahman Jamil will rock the CLF Concert on 21^st January at 3:00 pm! The success and continuity of CLFs is attributable to scores of authors, poets, actors, artists, performers, education experts, renowned celebrities, and new age scientists who are core partners of this unique “qabeela”/tribe of cutting edge humanists giving back to society  through this vibrant platform in Pakistan. The Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan has co-travelled with CLF/TLF on this nationwide journey since 2011!

The three day festival will be structured around several parallel sessions from 9:00 -4:00 p.m. with  workshops, performances, theatre, plenary sessions, books and activity stalls including mobile libraries, catering not only to children but also teachers and parents from all school systems and backgrounds. There will be marches by children on each day on the Right to Education and Climate Justice calling attention to urgent emergencies.  The last day of the festival will be dedicated to teachers; the Teacher’s Literature Festival(TLF) packed with lively professional development sessions for teachers /educators from 9:00 -2:30 p.m. (Jan 23^rd). The 64^th CLF will promote the love for reading and the 4 Cs- critical thinking; communication, creativity and collaboration; committed to the principle that Children and all human beings learn with multiple intelligences and all senses to become lifelong learners.

The event will be open to all as a non-ticketed event. Our CLF Goodwill

Ambassadors, including Juggun Kazim, Khaled Anam, Omair Rana, Nadia Jamil,

Ali Hamza and  Ali Noor will be present.

The two-day event has 16 learning strands, including Storytelling with expression and Music, Creative writing, Poetry, Theatre & Puppet shows, Dance and movement,  Bol Keh Lab Azaad Hain Teray, Heritage &  Sports for citizenship, Book launches, Art of book making; workshops & environmental learning, STEM Digital and 3D activities, Robotics and makerspace, Cinema Ghar, Arts and crafts, and plenaries on critical thinking, curriculum, girls in children’s literature, child protection and climate change. Books, Science & interactive stalls will mesmerize the children.

The CLF inauguration will be colorful and inclusive with performances/readings by children from the Govt. Special Schools, young authors  Harsukh and Sanjan Nagar students. CLF Awards 2019-2020 would be given to eminent resource persons and partners who have supported the movement since 2011. These learning giants include Amjad Islam Amjad, Arfa Syeda Zehra, Syeda Basarat Kazim/Alif Laila Book Bus Society, Bina Jawad, Shehrezade Alam, Fauzia Minallah,  Mariam Khokhar of the CLC, School Education Dept. Peter Jacob, Maham Ali among others.

CLF advisors Rumana Husain, Maham Ali, Fauzia Minallah, Peter Jacob and Baela Raza Jamil will actively participate in many strands of the three day event.

The School Education Department (SED) and the CEO Lahore Mr. Pervez Akhtar Khan, have supported the mobilization of schools and teachers diligently. NFE & Literacy Dept, Special Education Dept, OUP and Private school associations have supported school mobilization effort. 

The CLF Lahore 2020 sponsors are

the Oxford University Press Pakistan (OUP), OXFAM, the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the British Council, LGS, Roots Millennium School Life Skills for Kids (LSK), CLC and ITA.

The Institutional Partners of CLF include:

Alif Laila Book Bus Society(ALBBS); the British Council,  Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) Citizens Archives of Pakistan (CAP), Children Library Complex (CLC), Chughtai Library,  Connect Hear, Dept. of NFE and Literacy/Govt of Punjab, Dugdugi,  Edkasa, Faiz Ghar, Funkar Child Art, Har Sukh, Idara-e-Taleem-o_Aagahi (ITA), ILM Association, Independent Theatre Pakistan, Kafka Welfare, Kids Gym, Khwarizmi Science Society, Knowledge Platform; Kuch Jaan Lo, Life Skills for Kids (LSK), LightStone Publishers, Maqbool Books, Olomopolo/OloTatolo, Orbit, Oxbridge, OXFAM, Oxford University Press (OUP), Pakistan Alliance of Science & Maths (PAMS), Pakistan Girls Guides Association (PGGA), Paramount Books, Potters from Harrapa ,Punjab Textbook and Curriculum Board (PCTB) QAED/SED, Rafi Peer Theatre, Robotronics, SAHE, Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust (SNPET)Higher Secondary School, Search for Justice (SFJ), School Education Dept., Science Fuse, Sharmen Obaid Chinoy (SOC) Films; Special Education Dept., the State Bank of Pakistan Museum, Sunno Kahani Meri Zubani (SKMZ);  TeleTaleem, The Book Group, TEVTA, The Citizens Foundation,  Walled City of Lahore Authority, Wonder Tree. Schools are being offered memberships to CLF/TLF at nominal rates to avail access to all learning materials, publications and workshops round the year and share widely  their young talent!

The Full Program of the CLF and TLF is being shared today electronically; registrations for teachers and schools is online at www.childrensliteraturefestival.com and on CLC websites and social media; we encourage schools /families to get their programs early!  “Attending this Festival” said a teacher at the CLF Multan 2018  ‘is like magical learning packed in one day for 365 days!” don’t miss it make it into an official school learning trip- a compelling day of rich and diverse learning on all school annual calendars!  It is free, inclusive  and open for ALL children and schools without any discrimination.  

MOL Pakistan’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Education – By Saadia Rai, CSR Expert

On November 5th 2010, at its headquarters in Islamabad, MOL Pakistan Oil & Gas Co. B.V. signed an agreement with The Citizen Foundation (TCF), to undertake the construction of three primary schools in MOL Pakistan’s operational area in the TAL Block comprising of the districts of Karak, Hangu and Kohat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.

This landmark event was one of the few times that MOL Pakistan partnered with a local Pakistani organization in order to tap into the energy of positive change through education. The Citizen Foundation (TCF) is a professionally managed, non-profit organization set up in 1995 by a group of citizens who wanted to bring about positive social change through education.

Almost 25 years later, TCF is now one of Pakistan’s leading organizations in the field of education for the less privileged. With the vision to remove barriers of class and privilege in order to enable the citizens of Pakistan to be agents of positive change, and with the mission to foster moral, spiritual and intellectual enlightenment, through the power of quality education, the TCF is an excellent implementing partner for MOL Pakistan.

With low literacy rates, low graduation and matriculation rates, and low intermediate education enrollment in MOL Pakistan’s areas of operation, access to quality education remains challenging due to poverty, poor government infrastructure, and the lack of access to basic life resources, facilities and services. Therefore, the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate is a priority for socially responsible corporate entities such as MOL Pakistan.

Given the Hungarian roots of the multinational corporation MOL Group, of which MOL Pakistan is a fully owned subsidiary operating in the country since 1999, the Embassy of Hungary in Pakistan takes particular interest in MOL Pakistan’s community development and social welfare projects through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

At the grand opening and inauguration on January 1^st, 2013 of the TCF Manzalai Campus, the primary school built by MOL Pakistan located in the village of Gurguri, Tehsil Banda Daud Shah, District Karak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, His Excellency, Mr. Istvan Szabo, Ambassador of Hungary to Pakistan, on behalf of the Government of Hungary, donated 20,000 USD for the purchase of library books and other items for the newly built school. He also promised another 40,000 USD for the other two schools planned to be established by MOL Pakistan in its areas of operation.

This bilateral collaboration would not have been possible without the concerted efforts of MOL Pakistan and its CSR initiatives that actively seek to bring about sustainable development in Pakistan by building meaningful partnerships between its communities in its areas of operation and various local and international agents of positive change. 

Today, with almost 350 students, half of whom are girls, and two shifts of classes ranging between Nursery, Kindergarten, and Grades 1 to 6, this primary school is staffed by eight female teachers and a female principle. And when asked, of the impact made by the primary school on the community it serves, TCF Administration Officer, Mr. Sami Ullah, states that “the school is greatly appreciated by the community” and that “the parents of the students are indeed very happy with the positive change MOL Pakistan has brought to not only the children enrolled at the school but also to the families they belong to.” He further hopes that other companies will follow suit and actively promote education in Pakistan the same way that MOL Pakistan has done.

MOL Pakistan’s CSR initiatives have always promoted education in Pakistan, a country whose literacy rates remain among the lowest in the world. However, as a vital human right, education plays a key role in human, social, and economic development in Pakistan. Education is thus one of the most powerful tools in eradicating poverty in the country.

MOL Pakistan recognizes that investing in education yields significant social welfare benefits. Unfortunately, such benefits are yet to be availed in remote rural and disadvantaged communities where MOL Pakistan has focused on providing merit-based student scholarships, and establishing schools and improving educational infrastructure in disadvantaged communities of the TAL Block in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

Likewise, MOL Pakistan has taken up the construction of classrooms, examination halls, building toilet facilities, providing adequate water supplies, sewage systems, and the provisions for electricity wherever shortfalls in existing educational facilities are felt in MOL Pakistan’s areas of operation.

In order to cope with the persistent problem of low voltage and load shedding in rural and remote communities when it comes to pre-existing government schools, MOL Pakistan has installed solar panels as a source of alternative energy to keep teaching and learning in our classrooms uninterrupted whenever in session.

 

This emphasis on education is likely to grow in the coming years with the implementation of MOL Pakistan’s CSR initiatives and the fulfillment of its promise to build and establish more schools in its areas of operation thanks to the great success of TCF Manzalai Campus being a benchmark to live up to.

Golden opportunities to transform business to create and support a sustainable world

In recent years the accountancy profession has suffered some reputational damage, however, ACCA’s latest report, Future ready: accountancy careers in the 2020s indicates golden opportunities ahead.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The report by Jamie Lyon, Head of Business Management, ACCA, Professional Insights, reveals a significant number of trends signalling that the future can and should be bright for those whose careers are already in progress and for aspiring young professionals.

These trends range from the rise of data possibilities which will be become central to their role and linked to the adoption of automation technologies, and will free up professional accountants to add more value, provide greater connectivity, highlighting the rising importance of inclusivity in the workplace, the changing nature of work, and evolving business models. 

“Now is the opportunity of a lifetime for the accountancy profession to build on its strong foundations and evolve: an opportunity to adapt and play its future part in building sustainable organisations for the long run. It’s a great opportunity for countries like Pakistan to develop globally in-demand, future-ready accountancy talent to capitalise on our youth bulge. Timing is everything.” – Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan

The report brings together ACCA’s global research over the last three years, additional desktop research, including a member survey and interviews conducted with finance leaders, HR professionals and recruitment specialists in key markets to understand how careers may transform.

The report suggests there is a growing opportunity for the profession to contribute to building sustainable and purposeful organisations.  ‘This imperative is at the heart of the future profession,’ says Lyon. The report identifies a number of ‘career zones’ of opportunity where accountants can play a key role in supporting these ambitions. These include:

Assurance advocates. In fast-changing, digitally disrupted markets, organizations need to manage risk appropriately and ethically. Professional accountants can use digital tools and technologies to transform the risk, audit, compliance and internal control landscape to ensure effective stewardship of organizations and protect value.  They can also support responsible business practice, and drive transparency and trust in the organization.

Business transformers. Business models will keep evolving in response to new technologies and changing market opportunities. Accountants can support businesses of all sizes in these efforts, as entrepreneurs or business advisers, or by taking a leading role in transforming smaller accountancy practices to bring new value to clients. Instead they may be leading finance operational change programmes or wider business transformation initiatives that are all designed to innovate and grow organizations.

Data navigators. Data is an enterprise asset that can be used in everything from building the business case for new investments to profiling competitive threats. Accountants can act as strategic advisers and business partners, helping to develop and apply rich data sets and use emerging analytical tools to provide real-time insights into how to create and sustain long-term value through better decision making.

Digital playmakers. Digital adoption is key to creating competitive advantage through innovation. Accountants can act as technology evangelists, identifying the potential of robotics, machine learning and other emerging cognitive technologies to transform finance and business operations, or they may be working with technology teams to drive productivity and digital transformation initiatives.

Sustainability trailblazers. In today’s world, value is created by more than just financial capital, and intangible assets are a growing proportion of enterprise value. Accountants can help evolve frameworks that capture, measure and report on activities that truly drive value, providing more meaningful and transparent information about the organisation’s performance.

Professional accountants could make an impact in more than one of these ‘zones of opportunity’ during their careers. Lyon envisages a future world of career transformation, where many individuals will have different types of roles during their working life, building more variable career paths rather than necessarily climbing the traditional vertical career ladder. ‘We will see more fluidity in terms of how people navigate across different types of activity,’ he says. ‘Roles are changing more quickly, and that is driving the need to develop new skills. That in turn is transforming the learning opportunities that are needed in the workplace.

In playing their part in building sustainable businesses, accountants will still need to apply the seven professional competencies – or quotients. These quotients include more typical competencies (technical and ethical, intelligence, digital, and experience) and the softer skills (creative, digital and emotional intelligence). For example, the emotional intelligence quotient could become particularly important in the future, through assisting in understanding the viewpoints of wider stakeholders or advocating ethical approaches to the adoption of new technologies. ‘These professional quotients are so very relevant in this emerging world,’ Lyon says. ‘Accountants will need to apply a range of broad skills to have maximum impact in organisations. Those who succeed can look forward to a new world of opportunity and the chance to build brilliant careers.’

Dr. S. Akbar Zaidi appointed Executive Director, IBA Karachi

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Honorable Chief Minister Sindh and Patron of IBA, Syed Murad Ali Shah has appointed Dr. S. Akbar Zaidi as the Executive Director, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi for four years as per a notification issued by the Universities and Boards Department, Government of Sindh.

Dr. Zaidi is a renowned academic and political economist with over 35 years of teaching and research experience in Pakistan and abroad. He has served as a faculty member in renowned institutions across the globe, including Columbia University, Johns Hopkins, IBA, Karachi and the University of Karachi. He is a political economist with interests in political economy, development, the social sciences more generally, and increasingly, history.

He has written over 75 academic articles in international journals and as chapters in books. Amongst his books, are: Military, Civil Society and Democratization in Pakistan (2011), The New Development Paradigm: Papers on Institutions, NGOs, Gender and Local Government (1999), and Pakistan’s Economic and Social Development: The Domestic, Regional and Global Context (2004). His recent books include Issues in Pakistan’s Economy: A Political Economy Perspective published by Oxford University Press in 2015, and a co-edited volume entitled New Perspectives on Pakistan’s Political Economy: State, Class and Social Change, published by Cambridge University Press in April 2019.

Dr. Zaidi holds PhD and MPhil degrees in History and Economics from University of Cambridge, an MSc in Social Planning in Developing Countries from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BSc in Economics from University College London.

Dr. Zaidi is the 10th head of the Institution replacing Dr. Farrukh Iqbal, who served the Institute for more than 3 years.