Kids Athletics Day 

Lahore, May 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):It gives me immense pleasure to apprise that as per the announcement and compliance of the directive issued by the World Athletics (International Athletics Governing Body) to celebrate and organize a Kids Athletics Day. In this regard, Athletics Federations of over 200 countries are celebrating and organizing Kids Athletics Day today on 07 May 2022. Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) has also organised a celebration ceremony of Kids Athletics Day today (7 May 2022) in Lahore, Pakistan.

It further apprised that children of the different schools have participated in this event. Muhammad Zafar, Secretary General AFP was the chief guest of the ceremony. He distributed gifts and certificates among the participating children.

He commended the children who participated in the event and expressed his happiness on the participation of many children in the event. He also conveyed a message of appreciation from Major General (retd) Muhammad Akram Sahi, President AFP / Vice President Asian Athletics Association (AAA) / Chairman South Asian Athletics Federation. SAAF) to children and guests.

The key objectives and aims of celebrating and organising Kids Athletics Day are as under:

To ensure a steady and sustainable policy of development of the sport of Athletics.

To introduce Children to Athletics at a basic level.

To expand sport of athletics for schools and all institutions who are interested in the well-being of children.

To popularise athletics in the country and world.

To raise awareness on the importance of fitness and encourage people to get more involved in sports and athletics.

The vision behind Kids’ Athletics is the belief that every child is born to move, to play, to explore. No matter where they are in the world, no matter their individual circumstances, it’s their fundamental right to have access to sport.

For more information, contact:
Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP)
Website: http://www.afp.com.pk/welcome.php

Call to introduce start-up culture in varsities

Karachi, May 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party PDP Chairman Altaf Shakoor Saturday demanded of the government to introduce start-up culture in universities so that fresh graduates could be encouraged to start their own businesses instead of waiting for government job.

In a statement, he said: “Joblessness is rising with every passing day. Every year hundreds of thousands of students graduate but majority of them could not find jobs.” He said if we introduce start-up culture in our varsities and higher education centers we can successfully induct our fresh graduates in market. He said with opening their own start-ups these youth could earn a decent living and instead of becoming a burden on their families could happily support them besides playing their due in the nation building process.

He said a startup culture is a workplace environment that values creative problem solving, open communication and a flat hierarchy. In a corporate culture, core values are typically informed by the identity of the company, including its mission statement, products and customer service. In startup cultures, these core values tend to reflect the personalities and ethos of the people who worked for the business in the early days. Because new businesses must adapt quickly to internal and external market pressures in order to survive, a startup culture also promotes business agility and adaptability as being key virtues.

Altaf Shakoor said that start-ups are important drivers of job creation in any economy. He said there are many examples of the countries that attained huge progress and prosperity after training their young generation to open their own start-ups. He said that there could be no two options that job creation should be at the top of the development agenda, for policy makers as well as for social partners and civil society. This is because labour is more than a factor of production; it is an essential element of any development process, of well-being and social cohesion.

He said labour is the main asset of people; the type of work people hold is one of the most powerful determinants of well-being, as, over their lifetime, most people spend a substantial part of their time at work. Moreover, it is an essential factor of production for firms of all types and sizes. Even in high-tech manufacturing firms, workers bring new skills and competencies to enhance the organization of production or to improve the quality and variety of products.

Altaf Shakoor said that start-ups education and training is an integral part of colleges and universities in the developed countries. He said in these countries in many colleges, education is more likely to lead graduates to launch successful startups. Students who attend these schools could be immersed in a pre-startup culture that rewards non-traditional thinking. They could be developing a startup mindset or connecting to an entrepreneurial network of people.

He said that the governments at federal and provincial level should give liberal grants and incentives for introducing start-up culture in colleges and universities. He said the Higher Education Commission (HEC) should make rules to make mandatory for every student to start his own micro start-up before applying for a degree after graduating. He said now is the time to teach our younger generation to focus on their own businesses instead of running after scarce government jobs.

For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)
Pasban Central Secretariat
Office # 9, Five Star Center,
Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34024480-81
Cell: +92-322-2212434
Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com
Website: www.pasban.org

Fulbright Scholarship 2023 

Karachi, May 07, 2022 (PPI-OT):DSU’s IERC (International Education Resource Center) would like to remind all final semester DSU students as well as DSU Alumni that the deadline to apply for the US Fulbright Scholarship for fully funded postgraduate studies in USA is 11th May 2022.

For more information, contact:
Manager Marketing,
DHA Suffa University (DSU)
DG-78, Off Khayaban-e-Tufail, Ph-VII (Ext.),
DHA, Karachi-75500, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-35244871
Email: sabah.baloch@dsu.edu.pk
Website: www.dsu.edu.pk

LUMS Alum Receives Prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship 

Lahore, May 06, 2022 (PPI-OT):Usama Javed Mirza (BSc 2013), a graduate of the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering at LUMS, has been awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which aims to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others. Usama will be joining the University of Cambridge to pursue a PhD in Education and is one of 80 international PhD scholars selected for the Scholarship at the University this year.

He shares how it was a moment of shock as well as surprise when he received the email awarding him the scholarship. “The email came out of the blue, and I had to read it several times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I felt over the moon, and very grateful and humbled. The scholarship interview was nerve-racking. I was asked some very tough questions, and I actually thought I wouldn’t be selected.”

After graduating from LUMS, Usama received the Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a Masters in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College Columbia University. He returned to Pakistan and co-founded Saving 9, a social enterprise that empowers communities with healthcare services such as medical training, consultancy, and sustainable emergency medical response systems.

Usama has also done extensive policy work around Science education in Pakistan. He looks forward to expanding the scope of his work through his doctoral studies at Cambridge, where he will conduct research on the Single National Curriculum (SNC) in Pakistan and how the ideological beliefs of students are being affected by what they learn about science and religion in schools.

“The current SNC reform is happening in a vacuum of empirical research on the complexities of what Pakistan’s youth are being taught about science and religion. My PhD aims to provide this much-needed data and simultaneously serve as an early-stage impact study for the SNC. This study will also inform policymakers and practitioners in Pakistan and other Muslim countries tackling important socio-scientific issues like better public communication on topics such as birth control, COVID-19 social distancing in mosques, getting people to access mental health services and ending the popularity of religious quack doctors.”

Usama recalls how his courses and undergraduate experience helped expand his intellectual horizons and allowed him to absorb different perspectives. “I studied Physics at LUMS. The classes encouraged independent thinking, embracing the challenge of discovering the power of Physics, conducting experiments and playing with equations. I loved thinking about the philosophical implications of science, and LUMS enriched me by allowing me to take many elective courses in philosophy. I will forever be grateful to LUMS for inspiring and nurturing me long after I graduated.”

Sharing his long-term plans, Usama hopes to return and continue his work in education policy in Pakistan. One area he wishes to focus on is teacher development programmes to build capacity for critical conversations on science and religion in the classroom.

His advice to others in the field is, “You have your own path to follow; comparing yourself to your peers will hinder you from releasing your own potential and pursuing what you find meaningful. Get out of your comfort zone and expose yourself to new opportunities. Try courses that are outside of your major; you may not do super well in them, but they will give you a network with people in diverse disciplines and also impart upon you a new way of thinking.”

For more information, contact:
Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
D.H.A. Lahore Cantt. 54792
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35608000
Fax: +92-42-35725048
Website: www.lums.edu.pk

A sweeping 84% of Pakistanis believe peace and quietness are important determining factors when deciding the vacation destination: National Travel and Tourism survey conducted by Gallup and Gilani Pakistan in collaboration with Employers’ Federation of Pakistan

Islamabad, May 06, 2022 (PPI-OT):According to a survey conducted by Gallup and Gilani Pakistan, a sweeping 84% of Pakistanis believe peace and quietness are important determining factors when deciding the vacation destination.

A nationally representative sample of adult men and women from across Pakistan was asked the following question, “How important are peace and quietness when deciding about your travel destination?”. In response to this question, 1% said not important at all, 2% said somewhat not important, 13% said neutral, 29% said somewhat important and 55% said very important.

Question: “How important are peace and quietness when deciding about your travel destination?”

For more information, contact:
Head Office,
Gallup Pakistan
Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-8445080
Email: isb@gallup.com.pk, caf@gallup.com.pk
Website: www.gallup.com.pk

Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 and Shantou Asian Youth Games 2021

Lahore, May 06, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has informed the NOCs that after detailed discussions with the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) and the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC), the OCA Executive Board (EB) today decided to POSTPONE the 19th Asian Games, which were scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China, from 10 to 25 September 2022 considering the pandemic situation and the size of the Games.

The new dates of the 19th Asian Games will be agreed between the OCA, the COC and the HAGOC and announced in the near future. Additionally, the OCA EB also studied the situation of the 3rd Asian Youth Games, which was scheduled on 20-28 December this year in Shantou, China. After discussion with the COC and the Organising Committee, the OCA EB decided that as the Asian Youth Games had already been postponed once, the Asian Youth Games Shantou 2021 will be CANCELLED. The next Asian Youth Games will therefore be held in 2025 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

For more information, contact:
Pakistan Olympic Association
Olympic House, 2-Hameed Nizami (Temple) Road,
Lahore, Pakistan
Postal Code: 54000
Phone: +92-42-36280002, +92-42-36373753
Email: info@nocpakistan.org
Website: https://nocpakistan.org/