Focus Humanitarian Assistance Pakistan, an affiliate of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), organised a seminar to commemorate 16th May as School Safety Day in line with a unanimous declaration passed at the International School Safety Conference organised by AKDN in March 2008. The seminar on School Safety was held in Islamabad and it was attended by experts and practitioners of school safety initiatives across Pakistan. Dr Zafar Iqbal Qadir, Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and the Chief Guest of the event appreciated AKDN’s role in developing resilient communities. He said joint working groups will finalize Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) enriched curriculum for Pakistan by the year end. “At the government level, our efforts will continue to notify official commemoration of National School Safety Day annually on May 16th”, he said. Earlier, FOCUS Chairperson, Ms Khadija Jamal Shaban, welcomed participants of the seminar and highlighted the efforts of the Aga Khan Development Network in mainstreaming disaster risk reduction. She emphasised the importance of preparedness of the next generation, and highlighted the need for collaborative efforts in this regard. Dr Tariq Mahmood, Deputy Educational Adviser in Curriculum and Textbook Development and Production Unit of the Capital Administration and Development Division (CA&DD), Islamabad, made a presentation about the national curriculum and how efforts have been made to incorporate DRR as a theme. He hoped that by 2013 – 14, a DRR enriched national curriculum will be available, which can be used across the country.
