By Syeda Masooma
LAHORE: Continuing its new practice of using popular media and entertainment avenues to further the start-up culture in Pakistan, Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) began its two-day meet and greet event The Mix 2017 on Saturday.
The event was organized as an initiative to ignite conversation on disruption through technology in media, music and startups.
Offering a mix of outdoor activities and indoor presentations and panel discussions, The Mix brought together people from various segments of society. Incorporating technical linguistics into the event titles, the event attracted students and professionals for an interesting and thought-provoking series of discussions on the impact, reach, potential and lucrativeness of increasing technological influence on almost all aspects of modern life.
The topics of discussion for the first day of the event included science city exchange, evolution of art, crowdsourcing innovation, being SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology), tech’s possibilities on restoring heritage, movie making, and multimedia efficiency for businesses and entertainment.
The second day of the event focused on tech’s contribution to history and museums, gaming, digital dialogue, design disruption, e-commerce, and digital transformation’s enabling and disabling.
Experts from different fields spoke at the event, including USAID Advisor Kanwal Bokharey, Pakistani contemporary art curator and textile designer Zara Sajid, Walled City of Lahore Authority Director General Kamran Lashari, historian of Modern South Asia Dr Yaqoob Khan Bangash, and Information Technology University Vice Chancellor Dr Umar Saif. Several music and film celebrities also participated to promote the event including Ali Noor, Mahira Khan, and Haroon Shahid.
Outdoor activities of the event offered a range of eatables, along with live music, from startups in the food industry and bands attempting to hit big on the music industry. Pakistan’s largest music streaming platform Patari is offering the baseline tech for these bidding musicians to perform on both days of the event. Tech expo and display of art pieces are also part of this start-up culture festival. Several renowned and new start-ups also displayed stalls at the event including Mangobaaz, Affordable.pk, Cheetay.pk, HumBike, DIY GEEKS and Sehat.com.pk.