10th Youth in Governance Workshop, Islamia University of Bahawalpur 11th and 12th January 2011

Tenth Youth in Governance workshop was held at Islamia University of Bahawalpur on 11th and 12th January 2011. A total of about 236 people participated in this workshop including the students from all over Pakistan. DAY 1: Inaugural Session: The chief guest of the inaugural session was Vice Chancellor of Ismaia University of Bahawalpur Prof. Dr. Mohammad Mukhtar. The other prominent figures included Prof. Dr. Mehmood Ahmed, Director Students Affairs, Islamia University of Bahawalpur and Dr. N. I. Khowaja, Director Projects Transparency International Pakistan. The session started with the recitation of the Holy Quran after which the Director students affairs Prof. Dr. Mehmood Ahmed shared a peace message with the students he expressed his gratitude for Transparency International Pakistan for making an effort to change the society.

The chief guest of the session in his speech appreciated Transparency International Pakistan (TI-P) for the initiative and said that events like this must be considered very important as participating students have to play important roles in their respective fields. He said that good governance, social responsibility and transparency is essential for a democratic government.

Director Projects TI-P Dr. N. I. Khowaja highlighted TI Pakistan's mission, goals and programs and the importance of the workshop. SESSION 1: The 1st session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Shams ul Basr , Chairman, Department of Law Islamia University of Bahawalpur and the topic of this session was ,Strategies to eliminate Corruption, which was presented by Prof. Dr. Ayaz Muhammad Cjairman, International Relations and Political Science, Bahauddin Zakaria University, Multan.

He discussed about the kinds of Corruption and the strategies that can be used to Prevent it. He said that Connotative Term having vague meanings, vary man to man, group to group, nation to nation and society to society and further added that there is a possibility that one action is quite legal and according to moral standard in one society. The same would be immoral in other societies. This can be taken as the source for all kinds of Corruption. He stressed upon the need to develop positive culture (Traditions & Values) and also to build up permanent, trusted & viable Institutions. He strongly voted for social justice and economic Justice with accountability.

SESSION 2: The theme of this session was Legal Modes of curtailing Corruption delivered by Mr. Muhammad Daniyal Khan Ahmed , Lecturer Law department Islamia University of Bahawalpur. The speaker presented a thought provoking and informative lecture. He said that it is wrong to misuse entrusted authority to derive personal gain. He explained the importance of institutional restraints on power and stressed upon the need of independent and effective judiciary. .

SESSION 3: The topic of this last session was Youth and Corruption it was chaired by Prof. Dr. Abdul Latif , Chairman Department of Management Sciences, Islamia University of Bahawalpur and the speaker of this session was Mr. Muhammad Abid Shahzad Lecturer Education department IUB. The speaker started his session by explaining the meaning of definition of Youth according to The United Nations, for statistical purposes, defines "youth", as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years, without prejudice to other definitions by Member States. He stated that The majority (almost 85%) of the world's youth live in developing countries, with approximately 60 percent in Asia alone which can do whatever they want it their will is strong.

While questioning the audience about their responsibility as a student and he were of the opinion that moral deterioration is one of the reasons that is taking our future towards corruption. He asserted that The difficult task is only difficult before it is started so the right time to start is now.

DAY 2: SESSION 1: The theme of this session was Corruption and Human rights presented by Mr. Asif Shakeel and Ms. Zareen Zahid it was an open session for all where the students were asked to participate and share their views regarding the topic. This session was a unique way to let people express their inner thoughts and was well received by all. At the end of the session a video consisting of all the human rights prepared by youth for human rights was shown.

The students were also motivated to join Youth for Human rights as it's a cause worth fighting for.

SESSION 2: The session two commenced after the Tea Break. The topic was Communication and Media Strategies can help decrease Corruption. The speaker was Ms. Sidra Tawakal, Assistant Director Planning IUB.

The session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Najeeb Jamal, Dean Faculty of Arts IUB. She started the session with explaining the difference between communications and Media which helped in erasing the question in the minds of students. She also said that Media plays a role in encouraging Corruption by showing helplessness of law enforcement agencies event encashment, favoritism, acceptance for Corruption but at the same time there are certain things that can be done to prevent it such as Educating through Qur'an and Sunnah to Choose the right, to do the right and promote the right ,Building a positive attitude ,stop saying that everything is right and Identification of causes of corruption.

SESSION 3: The session was chaired by Prof. Dr.Najeeb Jamal, Dean Faculty of Arts IUB.This session was for student's presentations. One speaker from each institution was given five minutes to present his views on matters relating to the topics discussed. The session showed that students grasped the subject well and very actively participated throughout the workshop. On the whole it was the perception of the students that in order to bring about a change in the society we need to start the corrective process from ourselves preferably by following the guidelines spelled out by our own religion while at the same time accepting our duties as responsible citizens .

The views and suggestions of the students were highly appreciated by the guests and speakers. Mr. Asad Aijaz from Punjab University, Lahore, won the first position, Ms. Zainab Iqtidar of Punjab Law College got the 2nd position, Mr. Saad Khan from Usman Institute of Technology, Karachi got the 3rd position and Mr. Mohammad Majeed from Islamia University of Bahawalpur won the consolation prize. Certificates were given to all the coordinators of the universities for the participating students. The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. N. I. Khowaja, Director Projects, Transparency International Pakistan.