8th Youth in Governance Workshop at GIFT University of Gujranwala 3rd & 4th August 2010

The eighth Youth in Governance Workshop was held on August 3rd and 4th 2010. The venue was the Gujranwala Institute of Future Technologies (GIFT), Gujranwala.
The participants of the workshop were the students from Punjab and Sindh namely, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Khairpur, Lahore, Bahawalpur and Sargodha. Breakup of participants was 100 male students, 25 female students and 10 coordinators from the participating universities.
The other guests from the Irrigation department, Educational Institutions, media and organizations also attended the workshop.
The two day workshop had three sessions on the first day and three sessions on the second day.

DAY 1:
Inaugural Session:
The Inaugural session started with the recitation of Quran-e-Pak. An introduction of Transparency International – Pakistan, given by Dr. N. I. Khowaja Director Projects Transparency International – Pakistan, highlighted its mission, goals and programs and the importance of the workshop. This was followed by the Inaugural speech given by Prof. Dr. Mohammad Iqbal Tahir, Rector, GIFT University. He spoke about the menace of corruption and gave example of all the Muslim countries among which only two countries could make it to the list of being the least corrupt which is a shame for us. He was of the opinion that it’s not the top people or the elite class who are corrupt but all of us. We should unite and fight against this evil which can give us the way towards success. He appreciated TI-P's efforts to combat corruption in Pakistan by creating awareness among youth regarding their responsibilities as future leaders of Pakistan. This is the only way to make youth realize their worth and play their effective role in governance of Pakistan as active, well informed, well educated, honest, and vigilant citizens of Pakistan, he said. YinG workshops and Conventions will make a remarkable difference in the years to come. TI has taken an initiative to eradicate corruption from Pakistan and make it a better place to live, obviously a dream of every true Pakistani, he said.
Prof. Dr. Mohammad Tahir was presented a plaque by Dr. N. I. Khowaja while Ms. Zareen Zahid Qureshi delivered vote of thanks

SESSION 1:
The 1st session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Ashar and the topic of this session was “tools for eliminating corruption “presented by Mr. Shakel Ahmed, Director Projects, High Efficiency Irrigation, Islamabad. Mr. Shakel Ahmed, a retired beaureaucrat, having worked with different organization over the years is a highly experienced Individual. He was of the opinion that corruption is not just financial but also moral and intellectual which is the root cause of all the evils. In his opinion citizens must make efforts to seek information than only they can rationally think and react about any situation that they face in their daily lives .He further stressed that we need to stand up and demand our legal rights. At the end of this session Plaques were presented to the chair and the speaker .

SESSION 2:

The theme of this session was “Corruption, Investigative Journalism and National Integrity System” delivered by Mr. Asif Shakeel, Project Coordinator at Transparency International Pakistan. Mr. Faisal Munir was the chairperson of this session. Asif Shakeel presented a thought provoking and informative lecture. He was of the opinion that media in the last fifty years has developed a lot. He explained the importance of investigative journalism and its various outlooks, he also criticized the media for making fake stories which creates chaos rather than revealing the truth and emphasized the importance of such stories that can change the world and help us making Pakistan a better place to live. His emphasis was on the terrorists outfits that are supported by different anti Pakistan groups who can be exposed through Investigative Journalism. He also elaborated the role of religion. A lively interaction of students and speaker took place at the end of the session. A plaque at the end of the session was presented to the speaker and the chairperson.

SESSION 3:
The topic of the last session was “Pakistan Past Present and future”. Mr. Ashar Ahmed of GIFT University was the speaker this session which was chaired by Mr. Farooq Jalal, Head of Art, Design & Architecture Department, GIFT University. The speaker started his session by questioning the audience about their responsibility. He was of the opinion that when an individual realizes his responsibility then only he can become a better citizen .He was also of the opinion that there is no such thing as future, one should concentrate on the present that will change the future itself.
He emphasized on the need to be thankful regarding everything in life, which can lead to a satisfactory and corruption less environment, he thanked TI-P for organizing such a thought provoking workshop.

DAY 2:

SESSION 1:
Session one began with the recitation of Holy Quran. The theme of this session was “The role of youth in Combating against Corruption” presented by Prof. Santosh Kumar Assistant Professor, Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur. Prof. Nasir Mehmood head of Computer Sciences Department, GIFT University was the chair of the session. Mr .Santosh Kumar in his presentation referred to many Religious heroes who suffered and but didn’t let their people undergo any hurdles. They tolerated every ordeal but were of the opinion that since they have accepted the responsibility of being the leaders of their tribes they have to make it possible for every citizen to live a normal, peaceful life with all sorts of security. He emphasized on the importance of empowering the youth which would help in everything. Our future rests in their hands and they can make the difference as they are the next leaders. He gave example of the Chinese who were opium addicted but changed and are now one of the most powerful nations. We also have to stand and rise for the sake of our country.

Mr. Nasir Mehmood at the end gave his views and pointed out the definitions of corruption and fraud and how to examine the cases of fraud. He agreed with the speaker and emphasized the importance of such seminars. At the end of this session plaques were presented.

SESSION 2:
The session two commenced after lunch. The subject topic was “Social Compact Rights, Governance” .The speaker was Dr. N. H. Nayyar Director , Ali Institute of Education Lahore .Dr. A. H. Nayyar is a retired professor of Physics but is still active in his own field as well. He is a visiting professor at the University of Preston USA.
The session was chaired by Mr. Farooq Jalal, head of Art, Design & Architecture Department, GIFT University. Dr. Nayyar started the session by speaking about some renowned personalities of the past like King Hammurabi and his laws. According to him the rulers in the early age did not wanted to just impose their laws but to make the society understand the principles of co existence.
He also referred to the opinions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau who presented an amazing understanding of the word “state”, the importance of constitution and its reforms that makes up the society. He emphasized the need of organizing ourselves which will help in eradicating corruption. He also explained the dynamics that facilitate the process of seeking synergistic solutions to the problems that the community faces. He also said that social problems are not individual problems and these should be tackled collectively. An animated discussion took place in the Question & Answer session. After that the plaques were presented to the speaker and the chair of the session.

SESSION 3:
Session three was the concluding session of the two day workshop. The session was chaired by Mr. Nadeem Mustafa, Head of GIFT Business School. The session was for students presentations. A 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. Saddam of GIFT University got the first position, Abdul Samad of Mohammad Ali Jinnah University Islamabad got the 2nd position, Jahazeb of Islamic University Islamabad got the 3rd prize and Ms. Anum of University of Gujrat 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, and Transparency International – Pakistan