KARACHI: This year’s second youth festival organised by the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi in collaboration with the I Am Karachi initiative will be held from May 23 to May 30.

This was announced by the secretary of the council, Ahmed Shah, at a press conference on Tuesday.

Mr Shah said the registration for the event would last till May 16 after which week-long workshops would be held in the different fields of art — theatre, music, photography, declamation etc. He said last month’s successfully held festival had made the council realise that it’s better to hold workshops earlier so that when the young ones entered the final stages of the festival, they’re better prepared. He said the idea behind organising such a programme was to reach out to the talented youth of those areas and economic brackets for whom showcasing talent was not easy. That meant that a certain level of ‘equality’ was maintained, because access to artistic pursuits and entertainment was not just the privilege of the classes that could afford such activities.

Noted media person Ghazi Salahuddin, who represented the I Am Karachi initiative, said the aim of the consortium (which so far has 30 members) was to make Karachi a peaceful city where cultural and educational events could take place without any fear. He said it was a battle against extremism and against those who spread hatred. In that regard, he said, the Arts Council had an important role to play. He said Karachi was like a bouquet, a rainbow city, because it’s synonymous with diversity and did not belong to a single group of people.

Referring to the youth bulge factor, Mr Salahuddin said 60 per cent of the country’s population comprised youngsters. The young, he said, did not need to be told what to do, but it was necessary that confidence was instilled in them.

Project director for the festival Dr Fauzia Khan said the participants in the festival were divided into two age groups. Group A would cater to the 13-20 age bracket, while Group B would constitute men and women between 21 and 29 years of age. She said that as last time those who lived in far-off areas found it a little difficult to get hold of registration forms, this time forms were made available online and could be had from the council’s website: artscouncil.org.pk.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2015

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