KARACHI: Over 200 girls completed their training in urban/ contemporary dance and boxing under a joint project of the Goethe-Institut, Pakistan and Alliance Fracaise de Karachi (AFK), Girl Power, it emerged on Saturday.

Sponsored by the French-German Cultural Fund, Girl Power in Karachi is aimed at giving space to young girls to express their talent, ambitions and creativity through movement and sports.

French boxers and trainers Marion, Sejda, Mariam, Emanuel and Emilie worked with 50 young girls interested in boxing from Lyari’s Pak Shaheen Boxing Club and Young Lyari Boxing Club. German dancers and trainers Yasmeen, Amilia and Ralf Christian trained 150 girls from different schools and academies in urban and contemporary dance.

The sessions were held at boxing clubs in Lyari, Raging Bull Boxing Club in Clifton, AFK and the National Academy of Performing Arts. The workshops were intense, interactive and productive for the trainers and participants.

At a press conference before the closing event, Sejda and Mariam said they would miss working with the girls. “They were incredible. There is so much potential in these girls,” they said.

“We trained them with new techniques and a different perspective,” said Sejda, adding that it had been a fantastic experience. “This has been a great experience for us,” said Mariam, adding that there was a lot of potential in Lyari but the girls really need to work on their technique.

According to Emanuel, the project had been a good and rich experience. “This is the first time all of us are in Pakistan and it has been kind of an adventure,” he said.

“We spent a lot of time with the girls and think we will miss them the most. It will be difficult for us to leave our new friends behind,” he added.

“Through Girl Power we created a space and gave young girls the opportunity to express themselves,” Goethe-Institut Director Stefan Winkler said, adding that they would like more girls to participate in future projects.

AFK Director J.F. Chenin said initially they were a little doubtful of how the project would work out but were happy with its success.

For the closing event, all participants had been invited to AFK for a final performance and boxing matches with music courtesy DJ Elisabeth Enke from Germany.

French Consul General Francois Dall’Orso and German Consul General Rainer Schmiedchen also spoke.

Published in Dawn December 11th, 2016