Category: Pakistan

Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) Through the medium of a remote virtual event, Huawei Pakistan, working together with the Higher Education Commission, took part in the official closing ceremony for the Seeds for the Future program, 2021. The event was attended by Executive Director HEC, Dr. Shaista Sohail, Vice President Huawei Middle East, Mr Space Lee, President National Youth Assembly, Mr. Hanan Ali Abbasi, Assistant Director HEC Mr. Taj Muhammad, Deputy CEO Huawei Pakistan, Mr. Wuhan and the 40 students who participated in the program.

This is the 7th year Seeds for the Future is happening in Pakistan, just like  last year, the whole program was moved online due to the obvious restrictions of COVID-19. Out of a pool of more than a 1000 applicants, 40 information communication technology students from universities all across Pakistan were nominated by the Higher Education Commission. The aim of the program, which has been active in over 130 countries & regions since its inception in Thailand, has been to nurture upcoming STEM talent from around the world. As a global ICT market leader, Huawei has taken it upon itself to promote local ICT industries as part of development in their operational regions.

During the one week online learning, students from Pakistan received technical training from Huawei and industry ICT experts, who shared their expertise on courses covering a wide range of topics like the Chinese language and culture, strategic leadership, 5G, cloud computing, AI etc. Out of the 40 students, 30 successfully passed the course and got the graduation certificate. The top ten students and Best Team Leader also received awards.

Executive Director HEC stated at the ceremony, “I congratulate the students who have secured distinctions in these courses, from over a thousand students, you are the few who have been selected to be a part of this program. I’m thankful to Huawei and their very strong collaboration with the Higher Education Commission and universities across Pakistan.”

Mr. Hanan Ali Abbasi further stated, “Huawei is helping the upcoming generation’s reach their fullest potential by becoming tomorrow’s technology leaders, innovators, and pioneers. This program is meant to further develop their inclusion in our global digital society.”

Mr. Space Lee, VP Huawei Middle East Region added, “Thanks Dr. Shaista Sohail and HEC Team for organizing such good program for the training of youth in Pakistan. Huawei is one of the top ICT companies in the world, I am sure through these programs some of the best ICT knowledge can be shared with the students of Pakistan and benefit their future careers.”

The Seeds for the Future program has been a successful addition to Huawei’s social-enterprise partnership goal in Pakistan since the first batch of Pakistani students traveled to China in 2015. So far 117 Pakistani students have been benefited from this program.

 

(ISLAMABAD, NUT-DESK)

The multi-faceted pop-music icon, Peabody award winning producer and social activist Aaron Haroon Rashid, popularly known as Haroon, visited “Mari Mobile Dastarkhawan” in Islamabad where he participated in the evening meal distribution to over 300 underprivileged citizens.

Haroon was accompanied by CDRS Founder, Mr. Todd Shea, where he interacted with the citizens queued up for their evening meals. Haroon also visited the kitchen and catering facility of “Mari Mobile Dastarkhawan” where the meals were being freshly prepared and packed for distribution.

Indeed, “Mari Mobile Dastarkhawan” has served over 91,000 underprivileged citizens in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in a span of just over 5 months.

Launched in partnership with Todd Shea’s Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRS) in April 2021, “Mari Mobile Dastarkhawan” provides two meals a day [breakfast and dinner] to over 600 daily wage laborers, street children, and people who are in search of employment away from their villages, as well as those residing at “Panah Gah”.

Inspired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s Ehsaas Program, MPCL hopes to play its part in tackling the burden of poverty and malnutrition in Pakistan and aims to cater to over 200,000 people during this 1-year pilot project, with plans to scale-up this project to other parts of the country including MPCL operational areas.

In addition to quality cooked meals and its distribution every day, Mari Petroleum and CDRS teams also ensure COVID-19 pandemic awareness by educating the people during the daily food drives and providing them with preventive essentials such as masks and hand sanitizers.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

September 12 marks the 55th death anniversary of Maj Aziz Bhatti who was a company commander deployed in the Burki area of Lahore front during the 1965 war and on this historic occasion today Pakistan Nation and Army has paid homage to Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed who embraced martyrdom while defending the country during the 1965 war with India.

“Nation honours supreme sacrifice by Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed, NH in 1965 war,” DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar wrote on his official Twitter handle.

He said that Major Aziz’s gallant actions and exemplary leadership inflicted heavy losses on Indian forces, successfully repulsing enemy attack on Lahore.

“His heroic feat inspires us to defend Pakistan, whatever the cost,” he added.

Every year, the anniversary is celebrated with traditional fervour and the valour of the Nishan-e-Haider awardee.

Nishan-e-Haider is conferred upon soldiers who perform acts of great heroism in circumstances of extreme danger, or to those who demonstrate bravery of the highest order or devotion to the country in the presence of the enemy.

• Initiative to reach over 2 million entrepreneurs over three years with a focus on empowering female business owners
• Program to unleash the potential of entrepreneurs through capacity building and access to credit

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) In support of the Pakistan Government’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), CARE International in Pakistan (CIP) and Mastercard today launched the ‘Ignite’ small business program during a ceremony presided by Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, in Islamabad. The program is part of a global collaboration between CARE and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

The program will be rolled out with several local partners including U-Bank – its financial service provider, White Rice – a behavioral design firm and Mera Maan – a social enterprise focused on capacity building and enterprise development.

Over three years, ‘Ignite’ will:

• Impact 397,000 entrepreneurs, their employees, and family members with capacity and skills
• Accelerate the growth of 45,000 entrepreneurs by unlocking access to
• Mentor 3,000 entrepreneurs concentrating on digital skills and
• Reach an additional 2 million entrepreneurs through the outreach campaign by creating awareness and understanding on formal and digital financial

As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates the move toward a digital economy, women risk being left further behind without tailored support and digital tools. To ensure they can survive and thrive in the digital economy, ‘Ignite’ will ensure that at least 30% of entrepreneurs supported are females. By facilitating access to capital, digital tools and skills, the program will foster a supportive and empowering environment for women entrepreneurs.

“Through the work of the Center for Inclusive Growth, Mastercard’s social impact arm, we continue to help address barriers to enable entrepreneurs to grow and become more resilient. Ignite will provide growth-orientated small businesses with the tools they require to grow so that they can continue to strengthen the economy and catalyze job creation,” said Natasha Jamal, Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

Speaking at the launch, the Country Director of CIP, Adil Sheraz added: “Our primary focus has always been to promote women’s economic empowerment through accessible financial resources and increased business skills, and CIP has implemented various projects to address challenges around equal access to and control of economic assets. Our empowerment projects in Pakistan aim to unleash the power of growth-oriented entrepreneurs and contribute to a resilient and inclusive economy. ‘Ignite’ is a transformational project enabling financial and technological access for entrepreneurs, especially women, and will positively impact millions of people.”

Last year, Mastercard committed $250M to support small businesses around the world and made a global commitment to provide 25 million women entrepreneurs with digital solutions that can help them grow their businesses by 2025. CARE International believes in taking a market-based approach to service delivery that is sustainable and scalable, by working closely with local service providers. These partnerships open up much-needed access to financial and digital resources, whilst building entrepreneurs’ business capacity and networks.

Day five of YLC let its young participants know deeply about History, Politics of Region to become future leaders

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Day five of the ongoing Young Leaders Conference (YLC) on Sunday was dedicated to let its participants know about the history and politics of the region as an essential component of their upbringing to assume leadership roles in the near future.

The day’s theme was “History and Politics-Iqtidar” and the champions of the proceedings were Shireen Naqvi and Faizan Arafat.

The day’s proceedings were conducted with the aim that the budding leaders of tomorrow should have ample knowledge about politics and history to act as responsible global citizens. The day was intended to promote political, cultural, and historical awareness among the young participants of the conference. The conference’s different sessions also explored the need for diplomacy in the present age of turmoil for promoting peace in the global environment.

Faizan Arafat’s session titled “The History of Human Struggle” highlighted the importance of history and how it was termed the black box of cause and effect because of its opaque nature. He talked about five important points in the past 500 years’ history that shaped nations and their ways of living.

Arfa Syeda Zehra’s session titled “Sach ka Samna” was an attempt to shed light on the blind spots in our history books and made the participants aware as to how these narratives come about.

She said in her talk that a large part of our identity stemmed from our history and culture that is deep within our land. It is ironic then, how history as we know it, does show us the full picture.

“Understanding the circumstances that have brought us here today are crucial for us to understand what it means to be a Pakistani,” she said.

Justice (retired) Nasira Iqbal talked about the issue of Rights Vs Responsibilities while saying that if someone was spreading negativity and hate speech in the name of freedom of speech, he or she was not taking responsibility for their actions. “If we don’t take responsibility for our actions and their impact, and continue to exploit our rights in the name of freedom, we will move towards a chaotic and dysfunctional society rather than a society where we strive for collective benefit,” she added.

Shireen Naqvi and Faizan Arafat’s joint session “Rewind & Forward” was aimed at telling the YLC participants that our current reality is shaped by a multitude of events in our history, every one of which affects our state today. “Everything that is happening today will be history one day, and everything we do today shapes what the world will look like tomorrow,” the participants were informed.

Shireen Naqvi in her session “Alliance Formation” talked about the frequent formation of alliances by different political parties in the country to come into power and to what extent this culture affects political governance in Pakistan.

Barrister Shahida Jamil conducted the Presidential Debate of the day.

Waqar Ali ended the day by uplifting the participants to face the challenges in their lives ahead.

Day 4 was aimed to recognize the Human Skills that are becoming increasingly important in today’s technology driven world

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Day four of the Young Leaders Conference (YLC) was aimed at providing the best guidance to its participants to choose a career path in their upcoming life in the backdrop of massive changes in the job market the world over due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The theme of the day was “Enterprise and Employment-AITEBAAR” with Champ Waleed Anwar as the star participant of the proceedings.

Speakers belonging to diverse professional backgrounds also taught the YLC participants about the skills and qualifications required to practice entrepreneurship or to enter the realm of start-ups in their practical life.

They also counselled about the fundamental changes in the businesses and industries due to heavy reliance on technology, computers, and the Internet to do professional work as the job market becomes extremely challenging due to the ever-shrinking requirement of human resources.

Umair Jaliawala, Trainer and founder at Torquie joined the conference for his session. Umair Jallawala said the people around the world had to face unexpected challenges and realities while fulfilling their professional commitments during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Companies had to rethink and reshape their structures, many failed or took a hit but some rose to the challenge and used this crisis as an opportunity for taking massive action,” he said.

He provided guidance to the participants in order to help them nurture the ability to identify a crisis associated with their professional lives and what skills set was required to tackle the challenging situation in the occupational surroundings.

Shahbaz Islam in his session said that many existing jobs would likely become obsolete soon due to the rapid rise of technology and automation.

He said research showed that around 40 per cent of the workforce would require re-skilling by 2025, causing great anxieties amongst the youth entering the job market in such turbulent times.

“However, we must realise that although technology has replaced many human jobs, this recent shift has made certain human skills more valuable than ever. Skills such as adaptability, creative problem solving and effective decision making-commonly called soft skills-are now so essential that employers have started to call them core skills,” he said.

Junaid Alam taught the participants about the fast-emerging world of start-ups and its relevance for the Pakistani youth.

Arsal Fahim spoke on the need to gain financial literacy to sharpen their professional skills through a very engaging and fun activity “Money matters”

Arif Pyarall shared his ideas about establishing long-lasting and successful ties with the industry.

Waqar Ali spoke on the marketing skills required for running a successful business while Faizan Arafat helped the YLC participants sharpen their business communication skills to be used in their upcoming life.

A very insightful session, YOU ARE HIRED, sponsored by IBEX. took place. In this session the participants came along with their resumes to sit down for an interview with a leading HR professional and they were getting feedback right away on their interview performances.

Kamran Z Rizvi conducted a panel discussion on the need to secure a specialization in the particular field of study of youth for becoming successful professionals.

The day ended with Extra Corp by Waqar Ali, a simulation in which team SoL aware participants about inclusion, diversity and acceptance of others. This whole simulation revolves around only one fundamental, that is, no matter what color, cast, gender you are. Everyone is equal and nobody is superior to others.

 

OPPO has always believed in helping people just as their mission states, “Technology for mankind, Kindness for the world”. On World Charity Day 2021, OPPO recognized a few real “heroes” who faced tough challenges yet continue to strive with dignity and passion for an honest earning. OPPO extended support for their future endeavours.

OPPO photographers captured human emotions along with their heartfelt stories using the upcoming OPPO Reno6. The stunning AI Quad Camera of the soon to launch smartphone was used to capture and show human emotions with better portrait imaging features because every emotion deserves a portrait. Every picture is worth a thousand words and these pictures are a testament to that.

It is unreal how these people, despite the tribulations in life, manage to support and uplift their families with such resilience. Shehla Baaji willingly gave up her studies to support her family. In the past decade, she has managed to source funds to educate over 250 children and more than 400 women have completed a sewing course all thanks to her.

Muhammad Ramzan is another reason why many children smile every day. He lost proper body function a few years back in an accident. He refused to beg and started selling balloons for a living. Despite his condition, Ramzan works tirelessly and provides for his family.  

Muhammad Yaseen is the guardian of a lost art. He works at a handmade carpets’ factory. Yaseen has been working here for more than 5 decades despite the poor wages. He carried the mission to preserve the irreplicable beauty of the traditional craftsmanship although it is almost impossible to pass down to the next generation.

Amma Nafeesa is also one of the heroes. She lost her husband and only son and had 3 daughters to look after. Post education, she married them off. Now she runs an old age home, putting the needs of others over hers.

OPPO has always gone above and beyond to do what is right. In July this year, thousands of medical supplies and OPPO Band Styles were donated to the General Hospital Lahore to ensure that the lifesavers have the basic guard. Last year, the company donated PKR6.2 Million to the Prime Minister’s COVID relief fund. Putting humanity first for the greater good is the backbone of OPPO’s business and so it will always be the grounding principle of their future strategy. 

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

In order to curb the Covid spread that has seen rapid across Punjab, the provincial government has imposed a temporary restriction on inter-city transport.

The restriction on all public buses travelling intra-city has been imposed till September 12 and a crackdown against those violating has begun by the motorways police. Many private vehicle owners have reportedly been transporting people on heavy fares capitalizing on their need to go back to their hometowns from or via Lahore amid the ban on public transport.

The motorways police said the ban on inter-city public transport is being imposed on the advice of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC). It is pertinent to note that in the daily statistics today shared by the NCOC, Covid has claimed 61 new lives and the rate of new infections stood at 6.47 per cent.

In its tweet from the official Twitter handle, NCOC said of the past 24 hours period that 57,908 Covid tests were conducted in the period out of which 3,747 emerged as COVID-19 infected. The new positive cases today take the positivity of the past 24-hour period to 6.47, NCOC said.

Moreover, the NCOC record confirmed that with new deaths reported today due to COVID-19 take the overall death toll to 26,175.