LAHORE(October 05,2017) The student participants of International conference on culture have complaint against organizing committee chairman and the co-chair of Youth Revolution Clan (YRC) for mismanagement and misbehavior. The conference was jointly organized by the Youth Revolution Clan (YRC), Punjab Food Authority and Govt of Punjab jointly at Royal Palm on Thursday.
While talking to The Educationist, a student at Lahore College for Women University , said that misbehavior by YRC Chairman Rizwan Anwar and Co-Chair Maha Jamil with students was very strange and humiliating. “The Chairman shouted on me when i asked about certificates from him,” students alleged. They did’t provide us refreshment. YRC chairmen also commit us to invite on dinner but nothing happen yet.
Another student Aleena Zahra, who is studying Pharm D at LCWU, said that: “As the name indicated that the conference is about intercultural harmony and faith, the interactive session was good and somehow informative. But it was too long to bear 7 hours without break. For YRC, I would suggest to work on their management style kindly.”
Ms. HADIA ASLAM from LCWU said that “the conference was a great event and the panelists were undoubtedly well informed and knowledgeable, venue was also favorable. The only thing that bothered me was, I went there thinking that they would promote our culture, but they rather talked about Australian culture, Melbourne and China the whole time. At the end of the day, they finally talked about our culture, our places, our poets, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Overall, it was a good experience. However, YRC failed in managing the audience, their full focus was on their foreigner guests”
On the other hand, when contacted YRC chairman Rizwan Anwar refuted the allegations while terming the students blames as baseless. “I didn’t misbehave with any student, the allegations are baseless, instead students misbehaved with me and they talked loudly in front of me.”
Earlier, in the conference, guest from Australia, China, Japan, Europe, Indonesia, USA and Sri Lanka participated and discussed issues such as new orders of cultural diversity, creating a cultural identity, preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and role of media in promoting culture for nationalism.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony Provincial Minister for Education Rana Mashood Ahmad Khan said that the conference would provide opportunities to learn from each other and to cherish and preserve national incredible heritage and culture for future generation. He appreciated the efforts of the organizers for arranging the conference in Lahore.
Peter Mousaferiadis, the conference chair, said that Pakistan had a lot to offer, especially its great historical cultural sites and hospitality. Similar, activities will increase tourism in Pakistan, he said.
Rizwan Anwar, the organizing committee chair, said that the purpose of organizing such events was to engage and motivate the young people in accepting cultural diversity and social cohesion to learn the art of living together and growing.
Speakers from various backgrounds also participated in the discussions. Maha Jamil, co-chair of YRC and chief organizer, said that youth comprised a major portion of the population, not only in Pakistan but in all countries. “So, we need to promote inter-cultural dialogue between youth to resolve conflicts and build peace,” she said. Along with the conference, a food festival was built around the idea of creating a common platform for all those who love food. From renowned and well-established eateries to local street vendors, it celebrated the incredible diversity of food that Lahore has to offer.
Dr. Rukhsana David, Principal Kinnaird College, Sohail Riaz Raja, Kamran Lashari, Abrarul Haq, Imran Saeed from Australian High Commission, LWMC MD Bilal, Asjad Ghani and Kanwal Khalid, Dr Sughra Sadaf, Paulina, Sara Wilson, Bianca Goebel, Asfand Yar President (YRC), Muhammad Awais, Mehak Mushtaq and Maha Javed addressed the event.