Rizwan Anwar at UNESCO Digital Learning Week: Skills, Digital Literacy and Pakistan’s AI Future

By Rizwan Anwar | Paris | Skills and Digital Learning

ParisYouth leader Rizwan Anwar represented the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme at UNESCO Digital Learning Week in Paris, putting Pakistan’s work on skills development, digital literacy and artificial intelligence in front of a global audience.

Rizwan Anwar, Special Representative to the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, attended the event at UNESCO Headquarters on behalf of the Prime Minister’s Youth Skills Development Programme, which is run by the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC).

He said the week’s discussions kept returning to one idea: that digital transformation is, in the end, about people, opportunity and inclusion.

Youth as Pakistan’s greatest asset

Pakistan has one of the youngest populations in the world. Rizwan Anwar argued that this is the country’s biggest advantage, but only if young people can get the skills, knowledge and opportunities they need to compete in the global digital economy.

“Digital transformation is ultimately about people, opportunity and inclusion.”

The Prime Minister’s Youth Skills Development Programme trains young people in technical and vocational fields, with a growing share of courses in high-tech areas such as artificial intelligence, e-commerce and cyber security. Details of the programme are on NAVTTC’s PMYSDP page.

A global conversation on learning and AI

Digital Learning Week, launched by UNESCO in 2023, is now the organisation’s main global meeting on technology in education. This fourth edition brought ministers, teachers, researchers and technology experts together to debate how AI should be used in classrooms and in training.

Rizwan Anwar said he was proud to represent Pakistan and to contribute to the conversation on the future of learning, skills and AI. On the sidelines of the same event he also met the UK’s Minister for Early Education; that meeting is covered in a separate report on Rizwan Anwar’s talks with Paul Waugh MP.

From Paris to Lahore

Back home, the Centre for Digital Literacy & Business Management (CDLBM), a NAVTTC-registered institute in Gulberg, Lahore, is turning that agenda into classes. Under its Skills for Tomorrow initiative, CDLBM is opening new pathways for young people through digital learning, AI skills and future-ready training.

Rizwan Anwar is also Chairman and Founder of Youth Revolution Clan, the youth organisation he started in 2007. More about his role is on the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme page, and more of his international work is on the Portfolio and Media & News pages.