KARACHI: A Youth Conference was held at Avari Hotels, that featured prominent names from across different industries. The conference was attended by people as audience, and a few eminent names including Amina Ilyas (Actress/ Model), Shahzaib Sheikh (Deputy Commissioner for the Empowerment of Handicapped), Afia Salam (Journalist), Farooq Parekh (Psychologist), and Amena Kamaal (Moderator).
The conference began with a little storytelling session that was followed by a Q&A round where audience members were asked for their input. The engagement was quite interesting because there was a diverse range of inputs. This was followed by a panel discussion where all our experts shared their individual views on lack of social cohesion and why it’s necessary.
Where Amna Ilyas pointed out that all religions teach and preach tolerance and empathy, and there is no religion bigger than Humanity, Afia Salam rightly emphasized on the need for social change and what obstructs it. She went on to say “Parents stub their kids when kids try to question something, and that this stubbing needs to stop”.
“Non-violent communication is an important element to keep peace and harmony in society. This leads to tolerance and acceptance in our society which is the bridge to keep Social Cohesion in our society”, said Farooq Parekh.
The conference served as a forum to provide an opportunity for promising Pakistani youth to have direct dialogue with these experienced professionals from their respective fields and chart a better vision for the future through a constructive session. Peace, harmony and social cohesion remained the highlights of the conference, and participants had ample opportunity to exchange ideas on the creation of cohesive and peaceful societies with the aid of critical thinking, non-violent communications and tolerance.
The Conference was an opportunity for young individuals to find dynamic solutions to pressing issues facing our nation today, such as domestic violence, violent discourse and intolerance toward other identities (different from their own). The goal of this one-day event was to create awareness among youth and youth leadership for both practical and programmatic approaches to navigating the dynamic environment that we live in. The agenda for the event included a welcome address, thought provoking session on social cohesion, critical thinking, non-violent communication and multiple identities, panel discussion by our experts, followed by an open floor discussion. News Desk
