LAHORE: Speakers at the fourth day of the International Youth Summit (IYSL-2017) on Thursday stressed the need for promoting peace to deal with challenges facing humanity.
A large number of people from all walks of life participated in the IYSL-2017, being held at the University of Lahore.
Speakers said that peace was the driving force behind development and unlocking of the true potential of a society. They also discussed various avenues to focus on global issues. “If we can be more mindful about our actions and behavior, we will be able to bring this attitude to our friends, families and communities at large,” they said
The day started with the keynote session by MNA Shaista Pervez Malik. In her speech, she highlighted various challenges being faced by the country, especially the youth. She observed that a majority of the youth was facing intolerance, which needed to be addressed.
Shaista also assured that she would table all suggestions made at the summit in the NA. She also revealed that women parliamentarians had done more legislative work than men.
This was followed by the opening plenary titled: Youth Contribution for Peace: Global Perspective. Speakers included Ali Raza Shah from Independent Law Practice Professional; Mansoor Azam, a journalist; David Woolcombe, peace activist; Maryam Sabih, a journalist; and Natalia Zuhrna, a peace activist.
Taimur Rehman, IT entrepreneur and social activist, was the moderator.
The second plenary session titled: UNDP Panel: Achieving SDG-16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Panelists included Hamza Hassan, a research analyst in UNDP; Shahzer Khan, a social activist; Khadeeja Siddiqui, a human rights activist. Wajiha Khan was the moderator at the discussion.
An Inter-Cultural Dialogue and Tribe Clan meeting was held after the sessions.
The day closed with a social event with a discussion by Shaheer Niazi, the 17-year-old scientist whose research paper has recently been published in the Journal of Royal Society.
Published in Daily Times, November 10th 2017.
