LAHORE: The academic sessions of the 1st International Youth Summit Lahore (IYSL) 2017 ended with a message of peace.
The moot is being held in Lahore, the cultural hub of Pakistan, by the Centre of Sustainability, Research and Practice (CSRP) with the University of Lahore as the host institution. The IYSL 2017 promises to be a one of a kind event and hopes to become a catalyst of change for the youth of our nation. The academic sessions of IYSL 2017 focused on three thematic areas – sustainability, education and sustainability.
The summit began with an opening ceremony; Day 2 focused on sustainability began with keynote sessions by David Woollcombe, President Peace Child International UK on “Youth Job Creation – How to achieve SDGs Goal 8- Target 5” and Raza Ali Gillani, Minister Higher Education, government of Punjab, on “Global Peace and Sustainability”. This was followed by the opening plenary titled “Understanding the Global Challenge of Sustainability” and two workshops titled “Climate Reality Training” by David Woollcombe and “Good Health & Well-being” by Sabrine Hamdi. Day 2 of IYSL 2017 closed with a musical performance by the students of University of Lahore.
Day 3 began with an opening plenary session titled “Socially Beneficial Projects & Leadership Potential of Young People”. This was followed by the two plenary sessions entitled “Transnational trends in education and academic change and entrepreneurship” and “Reforms in Punjab Government across social sectors and the role of youth”.
Day 3 of IYSL 2017 closed with an evening titled “Stories from Young Leaders” with speakers and Laraib Atta – renowned Visual Effect Artist who has worked on award winning projects such as 10,000 BC, The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince of Persia, Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Gravity to name a few, Shahmeer Amir – Cyber Security Analyst and ranked 3rd most accomplished bug hunter worldwide, Samar Khan – cyclist and the first woman in the world to ride a cycle on the 4,500-metre Biafo Glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan. The young leaders spoke to the attendees about their respective journeys and how education played a key role in their lives. The talks were followed by a performance by Sanwal Esakhelvi.
Day 4 began with an two plenary sessions titled “Youth contribution for peace: global perspective” and “UNDP Panel: Achieving SDG-16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”. An Inter-Cultural Dialogue and Tribe Clan meeting were held after the sessions, so the delegates and attendees could discuss ideas and interact with each other. Day 4 of IYSL 2017 closed with a social event with a talk by ShaheerNiazi – a 17-year-old scientist who has had research paper published in the Journal of Royal Society Open Science and a musical evening.
From November 10-12, the delegates visiting from 30 countries will be taken to a trip to old Lahore, historic Kasur, Changa Manga and Narowal. The summit will conclude with a closing ceremony on the evening of November 12.
During the summit avenues will be looked in to strengthen cooperation and make joint efforts to create sustainable solutions in the areas of sustainability, education and peace. The IYSL 2017 is supported by the District Councils of Narowal and Kasur.
Published in Daily Times, November 14th 2017.
