PESHAWAR: Speakers at the concluding ceremony of digital festival urged youth to gear up their efforts for competing in challenges of modern hi-tech world through creative strength and vision.

They said that global race for scaling the heights of success without digital skills would remain a far-fetched idea. They stressed the need for creating platforms and opportunities where youth could devise strategies and advance their potential for materialising the dream of untainted goals for becoming part of the Meta verse.

The concluding ceremony of the three-day digital festival was arranged under the auspices of Islami Jamiat Talba (IJT) on the campus of Agriculture University here the other day. A large number of delegates from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa comprising experts, professional, students, teachers and political activists turned up at the event.

Visitors thronged session booths, bookstalls and venues of expert talks and showed keen interest in the event. The event, first of its kind, with the theme ‘connecting KP digitally’ attracted students, seeking foreign scholars, books on variety of topics, research titles and guideline sessions on preparation for competitive examinations.

Workshops, book fair, cultural exhibition and traditional foods remain main features of digital festival

Central and provincial leaders of Jamaat-i-Islam including former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Ahmad Manzoor and Syed Hasan Hashmi addressed the gathering and asked youth to equip themselves with the weapon of knowledge.

Dignitaries including academicians, future planners and experts on several fields of digital hi-tech delivered talks and shared their ideas with students belonging to local colleges and universities. They called upon students to contribute to the fast ever-changing digital world.

The festival featured sessions and workshops on artificial intelligence, cyber security, information technology, freelancing, e-commerce, start-ups and project displays. The event also showcased digital marketing, panel discussions, job opportunities and Hackathons. Book fair, cultural exhibition and traditional foods gala remained the most frequented spots of the event.

Students of a local college namely Syed Jawad Khan, Raheel Khan Arif and Nasim Khan Achakzai told this scribe that such events helped to trigger a spark of critical thinking and enhance creative of youth.

Digital festivals on the campuses would instill the spirit of positivity and exposure to modern hi-tech world, Aleema Shahzad, a student of a private university remarked.

More than 12c top position-holders in different departments of Agricultural University were given commendation shields and certificate alongside awarding volunteers for their best performance in organising the event.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2025