President Arif Alvi reiterates importance of transparency and accountability at Telenor’s ethics and business event

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) President Arif Alvi underscored the need for transformational efforts towards transparent, participatory and accountable practices across the board to make the dream of Digital Pakistan a reality while addressing a discussion ethics and business held at Telenor Pakistan Campus 345.

The event, “Ethics & Business: friends or foes”, was organised by Telenor Pakistan being a torchbearer of ethical business conduct and was attended by President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, government officials, corporate leaders, and Telenor Pakistan Management. Commissioner SECP. The event shed light on the status of ethical and transparent business practice in the country and the changes that can be made to strengthen the core of any organisation.  Over the years, Telenor Pakistan has operated from high ethical and moral grounds as it navigates, builds relationships in a transparent manner, while remaining committed to the prosperity of the country for the last 17 years.

Speaking at the event, President Arif Alvi said, “I am thankful to Telenor Pakistan for inviting me here today. My purpose is to show our support for businesses which prioritize ethics with performance. To encourage organisations to create policies and programs which uphold these principles and to remind Pakistani businesses that operating with high integrity is not only their responsibility towards their shareholders but also their duty towards this country.”

He also appreciated Telenor Pakistan’s role as an industry leader, implementing a robust anti-corruption program that proactively prevents malpractices that undermine legitimate business activities, distort competition, damage reputations, and expose individuals to risk.

Commenting on the occasion, CEO Telenor Pakistan, Irfan Wahab Khan said, “I thank the Honourable President Arif Alvi for this keen interest and participation at this event. For the last 17 years Telenor Pakistan has been committed to serving the country while maintaining the highest standard of ethics, compliance, and morality. As Pakistan rolls up its sleeves to transition into a diverse, multicultural, and multi-national economy, the business community must join hands in creating a welcoming environment for investment and prosperity. We pride ourselves on our robust code of conduct at Telenor Pakistan, and it was enlightening to share knowledge with other experts on our shared aim of creating a corruption-free business environment for everyone.”

Industry leaders from the public and private sectors part of the panel discussion reiterated the importance of reinforcement in establishing any kind of a workplace culture, and the need to step away from traditional ways of thinking. They also discussed businesses’ role in establishing an honest and accountable business environment. The panellists also debated over the importance of good corporate governance and the role their leadership should play in keeping them transparent. The role of government was also discussed.

Closing the panel discussion, the guests expressed their sentiments on the importance of anti-corruption initiatives. They reiterated that businesses can achieve trust through controls and adequate regulation and create a fair and prosperous Digital Pakistan.

Abacus Consulting wins the LCCI’s President IT Award

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Abacus Consulting, a leading technology, consulting and outsourcing firm has been awarded the LCCI President’s IT Award for its contribution to the IT landscape of Pakistan. Held at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad, Abacus was lauded for playing a pivotal role in the technology landscape of Pakistan and its contribution to the economy.

The award was presented by His Excellency, Dr. Arif Alvi, President of Pakistan to Fatima Asad-Said, CEO of Abacus Consulting. ‘I’m extremely grateful to His Excellency, Dr. Arif Alvi, President of Pakistan and the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industries for this recognition. This award is a testament to our innovation in providing top of the line technology solutions for our Clients worldwide.’ said Fatima Asad-Said at the occasion. She attributed the award to the Abacus team, adding ‘Our commitment to deliver world-class solutions and creating value to our Clients and Partners is truly driven by our People, without whom none of this would be possible.’

For over three decades, Abacus Consulting has been one of Pakistan’s leading technology companies with a wide portfolio of business transformation offerings including Enterprise Systems, Digital Transformation Solutions, International / Public Sector Development, Business Process Outsourcing, Cloud & Emerging Technologies, Human Capital Solutions and Strategy & Financial Consulting. Over the years, Abacus has evolved through a focus on building deep partnerships with global leaders and sustained investment in widening its global footprint. As a strategic partner to some of the world’s leading technology firms like SAP, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft, UiPath and more, Abacus is a leading ICT exporter of Pakistan. Previously, Abacus also won the prestigious ‘SAP’s Partner of the Year MENA’ award for five years in a row (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)for its excellence and market leadership in SAP platforms.

Speaking on the occasion, President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi said that promotion of information technology is vital for the development of the country and remains a top priority for the government. Underscoring the need for the training of IT graduates and youth to boost their skills to meet the country’s IT requirements, Dr. Arif Alvi said that the IT sector of the country has the potential to boost IT exports up to $5 billion by 2023. ‘Information technology and digital communication have always been vital but the importance of these has multiplied during the COVID-19 era,’ He added.

LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir, commended the government’s recent initiatives in support of the ICT sector and applauded the high growth of 40-45% surpassing other sectors. He stressed on continued collaboration between the government and business community.

President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi and LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir congratulated the winners of the first edition of theLCCI IT Awards for their excellence in the provision of outstanding services to both domestic and international clients, and for winning laurels for the country in these challenging economic times.

Infinix retains position as top Pakistani smartphone

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Infinix retains position as top Pakistani smartphone brand for straight two years 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Infinix being the no. 1 smartphone selling brand of Pakistan proudly announces that it has once again secured its position for being the leading smartphone brand from past two years, stated by the research done by PACRA. Infinix has managed to gain 15% of per capita income and 9% of cellular subscribers in brand share during 2020 – 21 in Pakistan’s smartphone industry as compared to the competitor brands.

In accordance with PACRA’s study shows a huge ascending growth of the brand despite the globally growing COVID-19 conditions in previous years. As consumers now prefer to avoid physical contact, Infinix being the online leading smartphone brand, carried a competitive edge over its substitutes and acquired 25% of the market share in the past 2 years.  The achievements were possible due to the visionary steps taken by Infinix laying the foundation of Research & Development in Pakistan and designing products that suit and fit the demand of common Pakistani citizens. Fully aligning with the country’s initiative of “Made in Pakistan”, the company keeps growing its investment to contribute to turn the country into a regional tech hub, and it just got one step further towards its mission and local commitment to put Pakistan on road to progress and prosperity. With its initiative of localized development, Infinix became the forefront runner and a first mover in local manufacturing.

On getting this achievement, the CEO of Infinix, Pakistan, Mr. Joe Hu said, “We are highly overwhelmed by the support we get from our dedicated consumers who are trusting us for over the years. We will be dedicatedly working towards our vision of giving our customers the best experience by introducing innovative cutting-edge technology and unique designs just according to the user needs and play our part in the growth of the country’s economy. Local research and development are helping us in meeting the expectations of our customers”.

Infinix has proven itself to be a premium smartphone brand and has grown rapidly after getting customer loyalty and retention. It has explicitly displayed its understanding of market dynamics and consumer behavior. Also chooses to focus on R&D so that it can provide its customers with precisely what they need.

TECNO announces the launch of the all-new Spark 8C in Pakistan

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) TECNO officials announced to be launching its latest entry-level smartphone – Spark 8C in Pakistan. The phone has been the talk of the town recently and will finally be unveiled on March 23, 2022, for the local users.

Spark is TECNO’s most selling and sort-after device in the Pakistani market. With advanced technologies, pocket-friendly prices, and stylish design Spark series has gathered a large customer base in the country. The news for the latest Spark 8C took social media by storm with hundreds of commentators awaiting the launch date.

The new Spark 8C is expected to come with a new innovative technology called the “Memory Fusion”. This is specially designed to channel RAM operations that can expand the memory of 4+128GB to 7+128GB and that of 3+64GB into 6+64GB maximum. This will enable users to expand RAM from 3GB to 6GB and 4GB to 7GB depending on the variant.

Moreover, the phone will come equipped with a 90Hz Dot Notch display, 13MP AI Clear Photography, and gorgeous designs. With the slogan #ShowyourSPARK, Spark 8C will be available in four stunning colors Magnet Black, Turquoise Cyan, Iris Purple, and Diamond grey.

Kelvin Zeng, CEO of TECNO Mobile Pakistan shared his views on the upcoming launch,

“For Spark series, we focus on bringing the masses with the latest technology at economical prices. The new Spark 8C comes with an amazing Expandable Memory Technology, a great step towards advancement where users can convert unused memory into additional RAM. This is the first time such technology is being introduced in an entry-level phone so we are optimistic about the consumer feedback.”

The price for the new Spark 8C is yet not confirmed but the phone will soon be available in both online and offline markets. So stay tuned and wait for this amazing device on the 23rd of March, 2022.

Follow TECNO’s official social media accounts for more updates.

Huawei and Bardasht work towards aiding the children and women of Afghanistan

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Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) BARDASHT, a non-profit, non-governmental organization aimed at improving social welfare joined hands with Huawei Pakistan for the collection and donation of food items for women and children of Afghanistan.

Ms. Neelum Toru, President Bardast, Roohi Shah, philanthropist and member Bardasht, Dr. Humaira Gillani, Finance Secretary Bardasht and Mr. Austin Shao, Ahmed Jehanzeb Malik, Director Public Relations Huawei were present at the occasion along with other representatives from both organizations.

President of Bardasht, Ms. Neelum Toru stated at the occasion, “Bardasht has already been working with Huawei Pakistan for social contribution for a long time and we always appreciate their support in the aid of the poor Children and Women of Afghanistan.”

Mr. Cheng, bureau chief of People’s Daily Pakistan also have attended this occasion. He highly commented on Huawei’s efforts on supporting Afghanistan people. As staple food supply is in imminent shortage in Afghanistan, it is important for international society to stand with Afghanistan people and take such real actions.

BARDASHT is a non-profitable, non-governmental organization registered under Social Welfare Agencies Ordinance of 1961. The Head Office is based in Islamabad whereas it has branch offices in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Gilgit. It helps the underserved through strategic interventions in health, education and skill development.

Huawei Pakistan has been striving towards reducing the gap, whether it comes to poverty or the digital divide since it first came to Pakistan almost 24 years ago. This has been done through CSR events, ICT academies across the countries, to name a few examples.

 

Esports Marketing Pakistan Presents “The Green League”

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Lahore (Nut Desk)

Esports Marketing Pakistan Presents “The Green League” CS-GO Pakistan Day Championship 2022, Powered by Daraz “One Nation One Destination”

Like other countries in the world, e-sports attract the brands and advertisers and soon become a part of regular sports across Pakistan.

Esports Marketing Pakistan, Pakistan’s first advertising/marketing and research platform for Esports, recently entered into a partnership agreement with Daraz (Alibaba Group) the country’s leading online company.

This partnership will bring more and more E-Sports gaming events, currently presenting an online Event for the game CS-GO in which 16 (underdog) teams will participate from all over Pakistan with an (expected) Prize Pool of 10,000 to 25,000 PKR. Final will be held on Pakistan Day, 23rd of March 2022 and will be streamed live on Esports Marketing Pakistan official page https://www.facebook.com/esportsmarketingpk/

Esports Marketing Pakistan also seeks to collaborate with other local/International organizations, investors, brands, and ad agencies to join hands with us for the future and growth of the Esports industry in the country.

Reimagining education in a post-COVID world

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Today Microsoft hosted an insightful discussion on the opportunity educators have to reimagine education for the post-COVID world. During the discussion, Microsoft Education Industry Lead Angela Nganga explored the various ways Microsoft is supporting educators to harness the value of education technology in hybrid learning. Nganga was joined by Khadija Amer, a representative from Microsoft customer Punjab Group of Colleges (PGC), Kaan Cetinturk, CIO & Director, Information Management & Technology Department, and Moritz Bilagher, Acting Director of Education, both from UNRWA Jordan, who shared their experiences of working with Microsoft technologies.

Digital tools support immersive education
Education fast became another casualty of COVID-19. A year into the pandemic, UNICEF reported that over 168 million children across the globe were still unable to attend school due to lockdown closures. Of those children, 9 million were in the Middle East and North Africa.  

This level of disruption shone a spotlight on the lack of resilience in our global education system. We must be able to teach our children despite future disruptions and in a way that arms them for success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and beyond. To do that, policy makers and educators will need to reimagine education.
UNICEF, ISTE, UNESCO, and the World Bank have recognized the importance of digital tools in this effort, as the tools can provide a flexible, personalized approach for students. “At Microsoft, we too believe in this power of digital tools, which can transform educational systems and support schools, teachers, and students,” says Nganga.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine education in a post-COVID world. We can take the hard-won lessons of the pandemic and use this knowledge to create a future-proof education system that serves our children and protects their future,” she adds.

Using educational analytics to inform educational strategies
Modern teaching and learning make the most of new and immersive ways to explore curricula. This reimagined education system nurtures a ‘growth mindset’ in students, emphasising future-ready skills to help them thrive in jobs not yet invented. Such a system is unafraid to use new technologies and new forms of assessment to gauge student progress. It’s a reimagining that Microsoft has brought to life through its K-12 Education Transformation Framework. With tools such as Education Insights for Teams, educators have one place to get real-time analytics of participant progress and activity within a class team. At a glance, they can proactively track student progress, get the data they need to shape the student experience, and ensure they are meeting social and emotional as well as academic needs. The goal is never to replace the expertise of skilled teachers. AI and analytics scale and augment that expertise, freeing teachers to apply their skills in the most effective ways.

“By using data and analytics in the hybrid classroom, educators can gain unique insights into their students’ successes and struggles, and then tailor individual interventions to maximise the children’s learning opportunities,” says Khadija Amer, Director, Punjab Group of Colleges.

“Making educational opportunities more widely available using technology and a reimagined education system offers the chance for children and young people across the region to access quality education and empowers them to pursue future success,” says Moritz Bilagher, Acting Director of Education, UNRWA Jordan.
Microsoft supports education equality

Microsoft understands that a holistic digital transformation strategy is a crucial to ensuring successful outcomes for both students and educators. That’s why through its Project Constellation, the company is working with its partner-systems to develop a set of technical resources that will empower them to build capacity and pursue education analytics at a much faster pace.

Project Constellation is a collaboration between education systems dedicated to advancing the use of education analytics and AI in order to maximize learning outcomes. The goal is to build an international community with common approaches to education analytics and AI. These resources are made available publicly through an open-source community called Open Education Analytics on Github. Together, members of Project Constellation are setting the foundation for the future of broad capacity-building in education analytics across the education sector.

Helping educators implement systemic transformation
Modern teaching and learning makes the most of new and immersive ways to explore the curriculum. It nurtures a growth mindset in students, emphasizing future-ready skills to help them thrive in jobs not yet invented. It’s unafraid to use new technologies and new forms of assessment to gauge student progress. The Microsoft Education Transformation Framework is an effective, flexible platform for education transformation, with the framework offering communities of practice, software and professional development.

“Through our strategic partnership with Microsoft, we have had great success implementing hybrid and blended learning for students via Teams, ensuring a secure and seamless access to all our platforms through Microsoft’s identity solutions and security policies, upskilling our IT teams and educators on the latest technologies, and benefitting from the power of Azure to host, manage, and secure our apps,” says Kaan Cetinturk, CIO & Director, Information Management & Technology Department at UNRWA Jordan.

“The key to a transformed learning system is understanding students’ strengths and weaknesses – whether academic, emotional or social, to offer learning opportunities that resonate with them. Microsoft aims to empower education systems around the world to provide students with the best learning opportunities and improve student learning outcomes, through shared knowledge and technical resources,” says Nganga.

 

Easypaisa digitizes payments for BISE Gujranwala

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Gujranwala (Muhammad Yasir) Easypaisa, the country’s leading digital payments app, has partnered with Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Gujranwala to facilitate digital fee payments for students. Through the partnership, students who appear for respective exams under BISE Gujranwala will have the convenience to make fee payments including but not limited to Secondary School Certificate and Higher Secondary School Certificate exams, Gazette, Certificate/DMC verification, and miscellaneous fees through the Easypaisa App or their nearest Easypaisa agent. This collaboration is another addition to the diverse portfolio of payment options available to Easypaisa users.

Under the collaboration, students from far-flung areas will be able to make payments digitally without having to physically visit bank branches, an improvement that will open new horizons as well as create more opportunities for people to embrace digital payments. Easypaisa has an extensive footprint spread across the country and the digital payments platform is constantly working on delivering secure and convenient digital financial solutions to enhance financial inclusion across Pakistan.

Commenting on the development, Omar Moeen Malik, Business Head, Easypaisa, stated; “Our economy is geared up for elaborate digital transformation with government departments adopting sustainable alternatives to conventional payment methods, and BISE Gujranwala is the latest of such organizations. At Easypaisa, we are making all-out efforts to ensure that we collaborate with everyone who wants to implement digital financial solutions and we are proud to be the leading enabler of digital payments, with over 250 unique bill payment options present on our platform”.

With more than 10 million customers using the Easypaisa App in the last 30-days across the Android and iOS platforms, Easypaisa is the most used Pakistani App across all categories and remains committed to transforming Pakistan into a cashless and financially inclusive society through the power of collaboration & technology.

10Pearls University holds Women Tech Quest 2022

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10Pearls University holds Women Tech Quest 2022, Pakistan’s biggest tech competition for women

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Women Tech Quest 2022, an initiative of 10Pearls University, is a platform for women to compete, network and showcase their tech talents. The 6th edition of Women Tech Quest (WTQ) took place on March 12, 2022, and was physically held in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Over 1200 women in technology from across the 3 cities took part in the event.

WTQ, launched in 2017, is a competition dedicated to help women gauge and showcase their tech skills, get recognition, and also win great cash prizes and exposure. Additionally, there are inspirational speaker sessions and hands-on workshops, in which leading professional women share their experiences to help other budding professionals grow and excel.

According to Zeeshan Aftab, Co-Founder and MD, 10Pearls, “This was our 6th consecutive year of successfully conducting Women Tech Quest. As one of our pioneering initiatives for gender diversity and women empowerment, WTQ has accelerated careers of 4000+ women, strengthened Pakistan’s tech industry with incredible talent pool, and provided women an established platform to shine and showcase their limitless potential.”

Multiple competition streams
The competition comprised three streams; Coding, Testing and Design. The Coding competition included a series of problems presented to the participants; they could use any programming language to solve them. The Testing competition presented contestants with a set of objectives to test database and automation concepts; while the Design Competition required participants to solve a UI/UX challenge, and their approach towards user research, persona building and user flows was gauged.

There were two categories for participation: Professional and Student category for each stream (Coding, Testing and Design), and each city had winners from them. Winners received grand cash prizes and shields, whereas all participants received swag kits and certificates of completion.

Invigorating speaker sessions and workshopsApart from the Competition, WTQ also featured inspirational speaker sessions by esteemed women such as Halima Iqbal, CEO/Founder, Oraan; Dr Asia Khanum, Founder of Emerging Technologies Labs; and Fatemah Sajwani, Manager, Global Talent Sourcing at KeepTruckin. The opening keynote was delivered by Carrie Kerpen, CEO, Likeable and Managing Director, 10Pearls.

In her opening note, Carrie shared her enriching journey to the top, and stressed on the importance of staying authentic, “Own who you are. If you lean in to who you are and work the best parts of yourself, you’ll see the path of growth and be destined for success!” 

The event hosted interactive workshops on Mental Maps for Personal Leadership and Success by Uzma Sadaqat, Founder, Wellnesshive; and Find your Balance by Dr Tasnim Rehna, Professor, Department of Applied Psychology, NUML Islamabad.

Endorsed by leading companies
As the event of the year for tech women, WTQ 2022 was endorsed by top names in technology and other industries. This time, the event partners included names such as AWS Pakistan, NIC Karachi, Microsoft Learn Islamabad, GDG Islamabad, WomenTechmakers Lahore, PWiC, Epiphany, CaterpillHERS and PITB.

The event was sponsored by KeepTruckin, Sastaticket.pk, AWS Community Pakistan, Swvl, GiftKarte, Hunza Candles and Junkie Crafts.

Majid Al Futtaim Commits to Cage-Free Eggs Under New Animal Welfare Policy in a Regional First

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The Company’s new Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Policy is created with support from UK-based non-governmental organisation, The Humane League.

  • As the first retailer in the region to adhere to the policy, Majid Al Futtaim Retail has set a commitment to only sell cage-free eggs across all its markets by 2032.
  • Majid Al Futtaim is working together with stakeholders to help transform the market to ensure that 100% of its private label products come from non-genetically modified animals by the end of 2023.
  • The development drives a much-needed change in the region’s retail sector, increasing awareness and uplifting standards in line with international best-practice.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, commits to only sell cage-free eggs across its Carrefour franchise in the region under a newly signed animal welfare policy. The Company is working toward a 100% cage-free shell egg private label assortment across all markets it operates in by 2030 and all national brands by 2032.

Developed in partnership with The Humane League, the first-of-its-kind commitment goes beyond what legislation prescribes and contributes to further improvements in farming conditions in the region. Under the new Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Policy,  Majid Al Futtaim will promote alternative and more sustainable housing systems, such as cage-free, outdoor access systems, free-range systems and organic. In driving much-needed change across regional markets and raising awareness on the topic of animal welfare, the company is committed to working with suppliers to increase its offerings of cage-free shell eggs in Carrefour’s assortment.

“Under our long-held commitment to leading in all the markets in which we operate,
Majid Al Futtaim Retail is proud to provide its customers with products that comply with the highest quality and safety standards, and that have been produced by socially and environmentally responsible means,” said Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim Retail.

 “This announcement is the region’s first Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Policy to state overarching business commitments and positions on crucial welfare standards. As a result of today’s announcement, our customers can expect the highest animal health and welfare standards from Carrefour throughout the region. We are dedicated to working responsibly in this area and will continue to make progress by supporting best practices across our supply chains.”

This commitment seeks to deliver a number of potential advantages to the wider society as a result of adopting higher welfare farming. Cage-free egg production offers consumers a host of benefits, including improved health, reduced mortality, higher product quality, enhanced disease resistance and reduced medication, lower risk of foodborne diseases, farmer job satisfaction and a contribution to corporate citizenship efforts.

“Majid Al Futtaim’s announcement to exclusively source cage-free eggs for all its Carrefour retail operations will help to reduce the suffering of countless hens,” said Aaron Ross, Vice President of Policy and Strategy at The Humane League. “This policy demonstrates that Majid Al Futtaim has true courage of their convictions, cutting-edge market intelligence, and strong relationships with customers and suppliers.”

Across all its markets, Majid Al Futtaim is working hand-in-hand with industry, government and business partners to help transform the market in pursuit of sourcing cage-free eggs for its Carrefour operations, and ensure that 100% of its private label products come from non-genetically modified animals by the end of 2023. The company has further committed to annually reviewing its cage-free progress and disclosing developments to remain transparent in the challenges faced and success achieved in pursuing its policy goals.

The 2032 date for all Carrefour regional operations will provide a conservative ten-year phase-in period in consideration of the unique challenges in some regional markets. Majid Al Futtaim will work closely with national brand suppliers, industry partners and other stakeholders on systematic changes towards higher animal health and welfare standards in the respective markets.

The policy also stipulates multiple important points relating to the general health and wellbeing of animals, including freedom from hunger, thirst and discomfort by providing an appropriate environment. Freedom from pain, disease, injury, and freedom to display normal behaviour. Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering. And finally, freedom to undergo positive experiences by providing appropriate conditions to experience positive emotions and encourage natural behaviour.