LAHORE: A three-day Afkaar-i-Taaza conference organised by the Information Technology University was inaugurated at the Alhrama Cultural Complex in Qadhafi Stadium on Friday with a new idea of providing a forum for further engagement of academia with the general public.

Registrar and ITU acting Vice-Chancellor Zaheer Sarwar said the IT University was established for the furtherance of intellectual discourse in the country.

Quoting Allama Iqbal, he said ‘IT University strives to create the new worlds through new thoughts that Iqbal had dreamt of.’

He further noted that ‘IT University is a newly-established varsity, but even in the three years of its existence it has shown that it wants to nurture, support and develop modern thinking and progress in Pakistan.’

Punjab Higher Education Commission chairman Dr Muhammad Nizamuddin said he was delighted that the ITU had created such an avenue for learning and engagement.

New platform for public, academia, engagement

“Education in Pakistan is picking up and we are striving hard to improve educational standards and universities in the country. The Afkaar-i-Taza will be an integral part in this endeavour.”

Dr Yaqoob Khan Bangash, director of the Centre for Governance and Policy, said the Afkaar-i-Taza strived to become a bridge between academia and the general public.

He said the academia in the past had played a centre stage in our history, saying the Pakistan Movement had its roots in the Aligarh Movement and the University but now ‘we hardly care about what scholars think’.

Inaugurating the festival, Adviser to the Punjab Chief Minister Azmi Haq said ‘we must rescue the past because this is the only way we can shape the future’ while referring to the tag line of the festival.

“ITU and PITB are already doing great work in entrepreneurship and innovation and now it has made a welcome and major intervention in the humanities and the social sciences”, he noted.

Mr Haq said it was a great feat that even in the eye of several threats and the tragic terrorist attack a few days ago, Lahore managed to arrange the festival.

Earlier, the festival began with the opening keynote by Prof Maria Misra from Oxford University where she spoke on the international politics of gender with a historical perspective.

Another panel was one with Sir William Blackburne, a recently-retired judge of England and Wales, where he engaged in a stimulating discussion with Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Feisal Naqvi.

Another panel talked about the future of SAARC with Ambassador Aziz Ahmad Khan, Sri Lankan diplomat Dr Rajevia Wijesinha and Dr Happymon Jacob from India.

Mr Bangash said the conference had succeeded in bringing world class scholars in Pakistan, including Prof Anna Maria Misra, Dr Rajiv, Dr Jacob and Dr Steve Fish.

The festival will continue till April 3 with nearly 40 panels and featuring luminaries from all over Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2016