The Planning Commission of Pakistan, in collaboration with UNDP, on Tuesday organised a “Youth Idea Challenge” documentary screening and an award-distribution ceremony. The event was chaired by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Nadeemul Haque and attended by HEC Chairman Dr Javaid R Lehgari, Energy Planning Commission member Shahid Sattar, DFID Country Head Haroon Sharif; famous journalist Talat Hussain, diplomats, vice chancellors, faculty members and students from various universities and representatives of donor organisations. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Nadeemul Haque said, “The economic policy is broader than the usual fiscal policy. We have to learn from the global knowledge pool. The economic policy is a creative way of countering risk. The objective of “Youth Idea Challenge” is to associate youth with our new economic strategy.”
The Planning Commission of Pakistan has conducted a video documentary competition, “Youth Idea Challenge”, to start the process of associating youth with public policymaking and empower the community through voice, opportunities and education. The themes of the documentaries flow from the new growth strategy prepared at the Planning Commission and approved by the National Economic Council headed by the prime minister. The entries were based on one or more of the following themes: our cities, knowledge and productivity, social networking, youth entrepreneurship and market reforms.
As many as 19 documentaries were screened in two categories. Students were divided into two age groups; the first category included students between 13 and 19 years while the second one consisted of students between 20 and 25 years. Winners and runner-ups were chosen from both the categories.
The students who won the prizes from the first category were Muhammad Aleem Ansari of Generation School Karachi, Sabeeh Ahmad, Haider Ali and Bilal Shakeel from Beaconhouse, Garden Town Lahore, and Syed Faizan Raza Rizvi from Roots School System, Islamabad. The winners of the second category were Wajahat Ahmad from Bahria University Islamabad, Syed Ahmed Faran from NUST Islamabad and Ehsan Gul, Mohsin Gul and MA Jamil. The screening committee members were Talat Hussain, Ali Akbar Abbas and Hassan Hayat (PTV), Jonathan Wolfington (US Embassy) and Haroon Sharif (DFID).