The seventh Karachi literature festival (KLF) commenced at a local hotel on Friday.
The three-day event is being held under the auspices of Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan. The US Consul General in Karachi, Brian Heath, delivered opening remarks at the KLF. Festival founders Ameena Saiyid and Asif Farrukhi also attended. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the consulate general sponsored the event.
“The Karachi literature festival is one of the most anticipated and important cultural events in Karachi,” said the US consul general.
“No other forum provides such a setting for writers, intellectuals, and artists from across Pakistan and around the world. It highlights Pakistan’s dynamic literary tradition and Karachi’s rightful place as a cultural capital,” said Heath.
The US consul general pointed to USAID’s Pakistan reading programme as doing much to advance the cause of literacy. The five-year $160 million project aims to improve the reading ability of more than 1 million children in Pakistan. In addition, USAID and the Sindh government are partnering on the Sindh basic education programme.
This $155 million programme seeks to increase and sustain students enrollment in primary, middle and secondary schools in seven districts of Northern Sindh and five towns of Karachi.
At the festival, the USAID is sponsoring a panel discussion on the role that communities and parents play in encouraging literacy and reading as well as a session on mother tongues as a medium of instruction and learning.
Meanwhile, the US consulate general will host panel discussions on cultural heritage and preservation, and the role of US government exchange programmes in promoting literature and the arts in Pakistan.
“We realise that it is important not only to develop basic literacy, but also to support and promote talented artists and young people who continue to contribute to Pakistan’s proud literary tradition,” said the US consul general. “Besides learning to read, we want participants to feel engaged with art that speaks to their experiences and aspirations.”