ISLAMABAD, Jan 28: The British Council here on Friday arranged a thematic video conference for Pakistan-UK university students with a view to create cross-cultural awareness, diversity and tolerance.

Thirty-six selected social sciences and liberal arts students from Quaid-i-Azam University, Fatima Jinnah Women University and Peshawar University, and history and literature students from Edinburgh University actively interacted with each other in a live video conference workshop on the overall theme of "Identity" and its sub-themes of gender and ethnicity.

The "Student dialogues, thematic video conferencing" programme, which is aimed at promoting cross-cultural awareness, diversity and tolerance between the two countries, is part of the British Council's umbrella programme, "Connecting Futures".

The workshop was expected to provide a brief overview of real identity. It also provided a forum whereby students from both the countries articulated, shared, and exchanged their own and others' ideas, perceptions and stereotypes regarding gender and ethnicity.

The students explored how their gender and ethnicity roles and characteristics made an impact on the choices they had had and would be making in their careers, education, entertainment and other aspects of life.

A live competition was also held between the British and Pakistani students on the occasion. The competition involved students bringing 'identity objects' and interpreting those for participants. For example one of the history students from the Edinburgh University had brought with her Bible as an identity object.

She said though religion was not 'enthusiastically' practised in the UK unlike in the past, still Bible was a very important part of her identity. Other identity objects included pictures, posters, a bottle of lotion and a soccer shoe that the students believed represented their identities.

"The entire exercise has a lot to do with the post 9/11 scenario where the stereotype images of societies are being promoted," Peshawar University's Department of Gender Studies Head and a coordinator of the programme, Rubina Khilji, said.

The workshop is an attempt to clarify misconceptions and wrong notions between the youth of Pakistan and the UK with the hope that they understand the people and their cultures in both the countries, she added.