Friendly hosts and exciting evenings make a conference on development, a week to remember
LAST year I had the opportunity of visiting China’s financial hub, Shanghai. I was invited to HPAIR — Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations. This is a grand annual event organized by Harvard University where delegates from all over the world participate and debate on issues mainly concerning Asia.
After landing in Shanghai, I made my way to the hotel where the conference was being held and where all the delegates had to register. En route, I was lucky to bump into a stranger who guided me to the hotel and helped me change the currency I had; he did not even let me pay the bus fare!
At the hotel I met and befriended a fellow delegate. Her name is Bola and she had travelled from Nanjing to Shanghai for the conference, but was in a different workshop. At the site of the conference, we were welcomed by the HPAIR team and invited me to attend their network club meeting. The first day ended with a dinner with Bola and anticipation for the first day of the conference.
The next day, we had breakfast at 8 sharp and headed straight for conference’s inaugural session. It was grand and above my expectations. The Mayor of Shanghai and some professors from Harvard University inaugurated the ceremony and later the workshop sessions began.
We debated on various subjects related to civil society; I was part of the civil society panel. Topics such as Guanxi population, Role of Civil Society in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore were discussed.
By the way I would like to mention here that in Pakistan we generally underestimate our potential of what we do and how we do, but sitting there I realized that Pakistanis are no less than anyone in the world. I noticed the difference between us and the rest of the world during the paper presentations, which was the most important day at least for me, since it was the only big thing I was looking forward to throughout the conference.
There were delegates from Harvard University, School of African and Oriental Studies and Cambridge University etc. If I were to compare their presentations with my usual university work, I believe we are more focused and talk on constructive grounds, thanks to our system, which surely helps us stand out from the rest, which unfortunately we don’t realize. Of course unless you don’t experience how do you expect one to realize what we have or lack.
I was happy to know that my presentation was liked the most, which also gave me a chance to refine certain misconceptions people had regarding Pakistan.
Coming to the other side of the conference, there was also a full-fledge entertainment package as well, the International Night. Delegates were asked to represent their country and highlight their culture. However, since I was the only one from Pakistan, it was difficult to perform or setup stalls. Which by the way proved to be a good thing since I had a chance to meet Professor Anthony. D. King, a professor of art history.
I believe it is always nice to talk what’s true about your country and fortunately I got this chance to discuss Pakistan’s political condition in a way, which was healthy and positive.
Professor King was quite interested in the current regime and how people in Pakistan are taking it. We spoke for about an hour and then joined the performance session. After the international night I sat down with some friends and listened to the country guitar one of my friends played.
On the third day, once the paper presentations were all over, the entire civil society panel went clubbing. We left the hotel at 10pm and reached this really funky place called Sasha’s. There we had discussions on different topics and it was hard to believe that we spent five hours without knowing how quickly time passed.
All of us were a bit sad and happy. Sad since we knew that we had only one more day left and happy, because we were all waiting for the grand gala night.
The next day we had a trip to Fudan University, where we reached at 7:30am sharp, where delegates had breakfast and perhaps I was the only one who did not have anything because the food was haram. I starved for the whole day and did not even have lunch. I was asked to try their delicious snake and other reptile cuisines!
My routine was tight but very fast which made me explore all the fancies once the conference sessions were over. I met some Indians and Americans who invited me over to Zapata’s which is a very popular pub in town. It was totally the type of clubbing I have seen in Los Angeles, the city that never sleeps. In between the conference and the fun, I found the Chinese to be not only fast in their economy but also in the attitude towards liberalism.
The last highlight of the conference was the Gala Night; I had not anticipated how formal people would get. It was a grand dinner, which lasted for four hours. In fact, it was more of chat than food. I sat with Justin Teo who was a business student at Cornell University and some other delegates from Harvard and Oxford University. We discussed various things and exchanged contacts. People I met throughout the conference were not expecting Pakistanis to be like I represented my country and myself. They had a very gloomy and conservative view, similar to that of Afghanistan where women are not given enough liberty and are packed in ‘abayas’ or headscarfs. It was a pity that some of them did not even know that the medium of instruction in Pakistan is English and that we speak better English than people from many countries. Exaggeration apart no doubt we do!
Prof. Michael Woolcock of Harvard University and the World Bank was supposed to comment on my presentation. Before the presentation, I had a chance to speak with him. I still remember his words saying, “Oh so people in Pakistan speak English in schools!” It seemed as if he was surprised; but to be honest, he surprised me. Then again I experienced something I never knew of when some delegates from United States and China praised my Pakistani accent. I was flattered for a while and thought that how different things are at times when we look at them by being in the picture. I am happy that I was able to create the right image of Pakistan and not what they thought it was.
The conference ended with happy faces saying goodbye to each other. The entire trip proved very beneficial for me where I experienced what I could not even think of. Especially the perception we normally have about foreign countries, the students and everything related. I think it is healthy not to criticize your abilities or underestimate yourself because no one is perfect.
One week of fun passed so fast that it was hard to believe that I had seen the best of Shanghai. Meeting people from various backgrounds I realized that the Chinese are warm in their feelings, very loving and sincere. Although it is not a very good criteria of judging anyone in such a little time but I guess its not the time at times, rather the experience that you have in that time. The goodbye Shanghai part was indeed difficult since I had this thing in mind that I made so many friends from around the world and have no clue whether I will ever meet them again. Of course I will after all I have to explore the rest of the world!
Friendly hosts and exciting evenings make a conference on development, a week to remember 
