Lahore, May 18, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Young Peace and Development Corps-UOL Chapter hosted the 3rd iteration of its flagship event titled “Policymaking Competition” from February 17 to 19, 2022 at Defence Road Campus. The YPDC which works under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior, launched this competition in 2019 to allow students across the country to think about, engage with, and present policy problems.
The event aimed at improving the critical thinking skills of the students and contribute meaningfully towards addressing the country’s problems, and play a pivotal role in pressurizing governments to deliver on their promises. Dr. Rabia Akhtar (Patron of YPDC-UOL Chapter and Director, School of Integrated Social Sciences (SISS)) provided her support for this event. The faculty of the School of Integrated Social Sciences (SISS) assisted Miss. Afnan Abdul Ghaffar (President YPDC) and Miss. Azka Tahir (General-Secretary, YPDC) in managing and organizing the Competition.
A total of 40 teams from 15 varsities across Pakistan including Bahria University, University of Management and Technology, University of Balochistan, Forman Christian College University, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), and Institute of Management Sciences participated and shared their policy ideas during the event.
The Competition was divided into three modules: Security and Foreign Policy, Economy and Development, and Environment. A pre-event online mentoring session was hosted by Mr. Syed Ali Zia Jaffery (Research Associate, Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research (CSSPR)) in which he deliberated on the processes of policymaking. After the inaugural and brainstorming sessions on days 1 and 2, a Qawali and Cultural Night was organized for the participating teams.
On day 3, Mr. Jaffery, Ms. Ayesha Jahan (Lecturer, SISS) and Mr. Shaffay Sohail (Lecturer, SISS) acted as judges of the Security and Foreign Policy, Environment and Economy and Development modules respectively. Two teams from each module were selected for the final round. In the final round, external judges named Mr. Shahid Alvi (Air Marshal Retd., Deputy President, Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies), Miss. Mehr Tarar (Writer\Columnist), and Mr. Azhar Warraich (CEO of Lala Events), selected one winner from each module.
The teams from BUITEMS won the Security and Foreign Policy and Economy and Development modules while a team from the Institute of Management Sciences clinched the Environment module. At the prize distribution ceremony, Mrs. Ammara Awais (Director, OSA) shared her thoughts on UOL’s commitment to facilitating its students to take on leadership positions.
The Chief Guest of the ceremony, Mr. Hassan Akbar (Senior Policy Specialist at the National Security Division), shared his thoughts on the imperatives of policymaking, long-term planning, strategic thinking and the optimal utilization of resources. Wrapping up the event, Dr. Akhtar argued that with the youth compromising 70% of the country’s population, equipping them to thrive in a rapidly-changing world is a necessity and something absolutely critical to augmenting the country’s citizen-centric security.
For more information, contact:
The University of Lahore
1 – KM Defence Road, Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-111-865-865, +92-42-35322501 +92-42-35321761
Email: info@uol.edu.pk
Website: www.uol.edu.pk