KARACHI: The fourth edition of the youth-led annual concert, Unplugged 2026: Karachi Bol, will be held on Saturday at the Indus Valley School (IVS) of Art and Architecture.

This was announced at a press conference organised by Synapse-Pakistan Neuroscience Institute in collaboration with the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and IVS at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, the CEO and founder of Synapse Neuroscience, Dr Ayesha I. Mian, said that ‘Unplugged’, now in its fourth year, is one of the world’s only annual concert series focused on youth mental health.

“And its flagship event Karachi Bol [Karachi, speak] is Synapse’s two-year campaign, from 2026 to 2028, for the mental health of the city’s young people,” she said, adding: “Through these concerts, we wanted to help our youth, as one in four among them is struggling with mental health issues.”

“We made a group of young people who would organise such concerts while collaborating with universities such as IBA, IVS, Aga Khan University, etc. With partners such as Kiran Foundation, Durbeen, TCS and NOWPDP, this concert is also inclusive. It will also have differently-abled youth, so we will have sign language translators, wheelchairs, etc,” she added.

Dean and Executive Director of IVS Dr Faiza Mushtaq said they wanted to encourage students to spread the message of the importance of mental health through creative expression.

IBA Karachi Executive Director Dr S. Akbar Zaidi said that IBA is also a partner in the campaign of spreading awareness about mental health. “There is so much stress and tension being faced by our youth these days. As youth ourselves, we had not even heard of the word ‘anxiety’. But now there is so much competition for grades and GPA, besides worries about unemployment, etc.”

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2026