LahoreAn international conference on culture in Lahore brought together diplomats, UNESCO, scholars and young people to debate how cultural diversity can support peace and sustainable development in Pakistan.
The Lahore International Conference on Culture was billed as the city’s first international gathering of its kind. Its 2017 edition was organised by Youth Revolution Clan, the youth organisation founded by Rizwan Anwar, in collaboration with Cultural Infusion Australia.
Rizwan Anwar, now Special Representative to the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, has led Youth Revolution Clan since founding it in 2007. The conference grew out of the organisation’s work promoting cultural exchange and dialogue between Pakistan and the wider world.
Key facts
- Opening conference: two-day international culture conference, Lahore, opened 27 July 2016
- Second conference: October 2017, organised by Youth Revolution Clan with Cultural Infusion Australia
- Speakers included: UNESCO’s representative in Pakistan, Australia’s High Commissioner and Punjab’s education minister
- Themes: culture and sustainable development, multicultural cities, interfaith harmony, culture and modern media
Opening in 2016
A two-day international culture conference opened in Lahore on 27 July 2016 under the auspices of the Punjab government, the Australian High Commission, the Urban Unit and the City District Government Lahore, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.
Peter Mousaferiadis, founder of Cultural Infusion Australia, presided as conference president and spoke about the power of arts and culture to build understanding and peace. UNESCO’s representative in Pakistan, Vibeke Jensen, linked cultural heritage to the Sustainable Development Goals and called for young people to be involved in protecting Pakistan’s heritage. Punjab’s education minister, Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, and Australia’s High Commissioner, Margaret Adamson, also addressed the event.
The 2017 conference
The second Lahore International Conference on Culture, organised by Youth Revolution Clan with Cultural Infusion Australia, took place in October 2017. Its programme, listed by the Asia-Europe Foundation’s culture360 platform, covered the role of culture in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, multicultural cities, social cohesion and interfaith harmony, culture and modern media, and the cultural impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Organisers also planned an exhibition presenting more than 50 cultures. Students from the University of Management and Technology (UMT) attended, meeting international delegates and sharing recommendations on strengthening culture-based initiatives in Pakistan.
Why it matters
The conference put young people at the centre of conversations about Pakistan’s cultural heritage and its place in the world, a theme Rizwan Anwar has carried into his later youth diplomacy, from the Cultural Infusion programme in Melbourne to his current work with the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme.
Coverage
- Associated Press of Pakistan: Two-day international culture conference opens
- Daily Times: International culture conference held in Lahore
- UMT: UMT Students Participate in Lahore International Conference on Culture
- ASEF culture360: Lahore International Conference on Culture
- Video on YouTube
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