Shaheer Ahmed
To understand and commemorate women – the British council in partnership with the UK Based international organization WOW is holding the second virtual women of the world. The Entrepreneurship and Community Development Institute (ECDI) and Olomopolo Media collaborated to implement this idea. The idea is to applaud all the women out there who are making their mark in the world in their respective fields.
This year the theme of the festival is ‘Rani’, which aims to explore the many facets of the women’s identity, and the different faces through which a woman goes through. The panel will not only talk about leadership, but also companionship, supporting one another, and trying to weave a way through which different women-led businesses can flourish in the post-pandemic world. All the while celebrating the things women have achieved in the last two years.
The discussions will be followed in various ways – through storytelling, panel discussions, and different performances. The main purpose of it all is to cater to everyone and reach out to them in any and every way that one can.
Commenting on the significance of the festival, British Council Director Arts, Laila Jamil said, “We are pleased to have put together this festival with our curators.”
She added, “It is a sensitively curated programme that offers great insight into contemporary Pakistani concerns and highlights the inspiring work being done by women and non-binary people across a variety of sectors.”
Laila further mentioned, “Artists and cultural practitioners have been instrumental in using their art and voices to inform and support civil society and civic issues.”
The Director of Arts said, “Women empowerment and wellness is a key challenge and this festival will offer a publicly engaging and informative programme.”
Like last year, this time around too Pakistan WOW 2022 will have check-ins, with Mira Sethi and Sania Saeed so that they can too give out their input and value contribution to the women all around the world.
Furthermore, British Council Chief Executive Officer, Scott McDonald also announced the Pakistan-Uk: New Perspective Programme in which people will be able to see the ties between the two countries, and notice the patterns of culture, art and traditions.
United Kingdom and Pakistan has always had close ties, and now it the time to show to the world what the new generations of both these countries can do. Witht his new programme, students in Pakistan will be able to receive grants, and funds to bring life to their art and also will have scholarships for English Language tests.
In the launching ceremony, he said, “I’m very pleased to be here to launch Pakistan/UK New Perspectives and I look forward to the exciting programme line-up over the next few months.”
The idea is to bring together the woman of the world, and inspire them to tell their stories so that others can learn and derive inspiration from them. Young girls around the world can learn how to chase after their dreams, but more importantly, learn how to dream those dreams. To want something and then work hard for it is something that requires constant dedication and extreme passion. And it is this that we need to teach our young girls, and hopefully, we can with the initiatives like these.
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