Karachi International Book Fair: All roads lead to Expo Centre as KIBF 2011 opens

The areas surrounding the Expo Centre are buzzing with activity and there’s a lot of noise inside three halls since morning as the 7th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) 2011 was opened to the public at the designated time of 10 am on December 16.

The stalls have been tastefully decorated and there has been considerable rush of people of all ages from the moment the gates were opened on a Friday morning on which life generally is slow in Karachi.

There were students, clad in uniform, as well as teachers and professionals who not only visited the various stalls but also availed the opportunity of purchasing books in comparatively less crowded environment as more people are expected to pour in during the weekends.

The officials and volunteers of the KIBF are there at the reception area to greet and facilitate the visitors. The KIBF Convener, Owais Mirza Jamil, and the Chairman of the Pakistan Publishers & Booksellers Association (PPBA), Aziz Khalid, are supervising all the arrangements with the assistance of their team members.

A record number of 290 stalls have been set up in the KIBF 2011 which promises to become the largest event of its kind in Pakistan. 

(Jumbo Publishing. Com)

Driving Growth in the Digital Age – Challenges & Opportunities: 1st Marketing & Branding Summit in Karachi today

Memon Professional Forum and Nutshell Forum in collaboration with Marketing Association of Pakistan and Pakistan Software Houses Association will host 1st Marketing & Branding Summit on Saturday, May 28, 2011 at a local hotel. The theme of this conference is "Driving Growth in the Digital Age - Challenges & Opportunities".

The 1st Marketing & Branding Summit brings leading professionals and top entrepreneurs together in one place for a day of discussion and networking. Those who attend will hear the latest strategic thinking and insights in marketing and branding, offering inspiration and vital information for their organizations's success in the future.

Prof. Dr. Atta ur Rahman, UNESCO Science Laureate/Coordinator General, C O M S T E C H / P r e s i d e n t , Pakistan Academy of Sciences will be the chief guest.

JZ’s pre launch exhibition held at Karachi Marriott Hotel

Julia came to Pakistan and met Zara and the ladies decided to venture for a clothing line. Julia shared her expertise with Zara and both the ladies came up with JZ couture. Julia is from Germany and she is an international ramp model.

Faisal Khan, General Manager, Karachi Marriott Hotel, Zahid Hussain, Shazia Khan, Asma Haq and others at the JZ couture pre launch exhibition at Karachi Marriott Hotel.

At Karachi Marriott Hotel Pool Marquee, JZ is having a pre launch exhibition since last three days. JZ is catering to high class with the price range starting from 8000 till 30000.

JZ also has a workshop in defense that is catering to the needs of their clients with made to order and fine alterations. So far the response is great and the feed back of the clients is very positive. The formal and semi formal range is on exhibition to see the preference of the people.

JZ line is a mix of eastern cuts and with western embellishments. The cuts and embroidery is very elegantly done. The formal launch of JZ will be in Dubai at the end of this month.

23rd Annual Convention of Labour Division Muttahida Qaumi Movement

http://allaboutmqm.ning.com/video/video/show?id=2210084%3AVideo%3A142002

Karachi Fashion week begins from sunday at Pearl Continental Hotel

Shoaib Siddiqui urges youth to meet the challenge

By Mohammad Nazakat Ali

The Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, made some thought-provoking observations in his concluding remarks in the seminar organized by his department with the collaboration of the Junior Chamber International Pakistan at Regent Plaza Hotel, Karachi, on June 18.

Shoaib Siddiqui, acclaimed as one of the most enterprising government officers, delivered a typically inspirational speech in which he urged the youngsters to make things happen in the available environment instead of waiting for the situation to become ideal for them.

“You have to stand up and deliver in the prevailing circumstances. You can’t play the waiting game. You have grown up. It’s time for you to deliver now,” he observed.

“There are problems everywhere. You can’t get ideal environment anywhere. So the key to success lies in your ability to come good in every situation. Remember every problem presents an opportunity. Have more faith in your abilities and overcome the obstacles coming your way with true grit,” he advised.

“The government on its part is alive to the situation and we are trying our level best to help out the youth of the province by various means. Upon the directives of our Provincial Minister, Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari, we have declared 2009 as the year of youth,” Shoaib Siddiqui recalled.

“Today’s programme is a step in this direction. The department of Youth Affairs, Government of Sindh, had taken the initiative of holding a round table discussion on issues/challenges of the youth with the collaboration of Jaycees,” he pointed out.

The provincial secretary informed the audience regarding the youth development schemes being processed and initiated during the current year. He further described the various concentrated efforts.

The students from different universities and colleges of the province participated in the discussion. The eminent personalities like, Fatima Soriya Bajya, Raees Gaya, Justice Zahid Qurban Alvi, Dr. Majid Ali, Prof. Sehar Ansari, Mashood Rizvi, Heer Soho and Jalaluddin made deliberation at length during the course of discussion to identify the core issues related to youth.

Speaking on the occasion President of JCI Pakistan, Wasif Iqbal talked about the activities of JCI and discussed the opportunities available in JCI for the youth at their chapters at Karachi, Hyderabad, Kotri and Sukkur.

During the long inter-active session the issues discussed in particular were about non-availability of chance to speak out for core issues/matters pertaining to youth, unemployment, lack of education at all level of society, lack of oriented education at every level, lack of role of educational institutions, lack of career counseling, role of government in organizing youth including sports activities at mass level and to have programs to deal the professionals and post graduates at all level, need of unity at the national level, investment on research work, platform for youth to work for betterment for society, improvement of educational syllabus, lacking of placement of competent people at important places and role of media and NGOs in youth development.

Poster competition organised by Foundation for a Drug Free World in Karachi

KARACHI: Foundation for a Drug Free World organized citation ceremony for the first international poster competition in a local hotel. More than 400 institutions from all over Pakistan participated in it. Prizes and certificates were distributed among the winners by Pakistan Coordinator, Munir Moosa Sewani. Name of the winners are Deedar Karim from Aga khan social welfare board for frontier, Sunita, Fouzia Khan from Educare Academy, Hameed Dadali from City School, Kanwar Karim from Qamar-r-Bani Hashim School.

The team members include Sabeen Akhtar Hussain, Saleema Moosa Sewani and Hamida Ashiq Ali. Pakistan Coordinator Munir Moosa and Media cum Marketing Manager Sabeen Akhtar Hussain expresses views that Media is the most powerful tool to eradicate drug from Pakistan.(PR)

Exhibition in Karachi explores tensions of Indian partition

An art exhibition in the Pakistani city of Karachi is challenging crowds to take a fresh look at the roots of conflict with India by focusing on the subcontinent's traumatic division.

Artists taking inspiration from the 1947 partition of the Indian Subcontinent are hoping to help people come to terms with those traumatic events.
Named "Lines of Control," after the ceasefire line separating the two countries' armies in disputed Kashmir, the exhibition tackles a sensitive topic that has received little attention from the art world in the six decades since partition, curator Hammad Nasar told Reuters.

"The whole project is to look at the notion of partition as a productive space," said Nasar.

"Productive in the way that it produces something, new nations, new histories, new identities and it also reconfigures memories."

The continent was divided into Muslim Pakistan and mostly Hindu India in 1947 at the end of British colonial rule.

The split triggered a wave of bloodletting. More than 15 million people fled from one side to the other, and nearly one million were killed in an explosion of sectarian hatred.

Soon after partition, India and the newly-created Pakistan fought their first war, over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

They later fought two more, and the threat of conflict – perhaps next time with nuclear bombs – still looms.

Curator Nasar, co-founder of the London-based arts group Green Cardamom, which promotes South Asian and Middle Eastern art, said neither country has really come to terms with partition.

He hopes art can help bring acceptance and a change in understanding that, he said, could help bring peace.

"I think we need to get a bit better at learning to cope with partition because we still have not, certainly not in Pakistan, and what we've seen, not in India either," said Nasar.

Thirteen artists, mostly from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, or with roots there, contributed paintings, photomontages and video works for the show.

Ahsan Jamal, who is based in the Pakistani city of Lahore and grew up listening to his father's tales of partition, has painted colourful, intricate miniatures of Pakistani and Indian faces called "For Office Use Only."

Staring expressionless as if for an official passport-type portrait, the faces give no hint of what country they come from, but labels underneath state the nationality of each.

Other works highlight the religious justification that underpinned partition, with one showing a mosque and a man praying; next to an image of a woman praying in a Hindu temple.

Another Lahore-based artist, Rashid Rana, focused on the notion of imperial adventurism to explore the historical legacy the countries are still processing.

Viewed from afar, his piece "Offshore accounts" looks like a view of a seascape with sailing ships, symbolising the quest for inquiry which often resulted in imperial voyages.

But closer inspection reveals another scene and suggests another, more troubling, aspect of colonialism.

"Once you come close, you discover it's not a seascape, it's tons and tons of smaller images of garbage which I took from this field outside Lahore," Rana told Reuters.

Planned long before the late November 2008 attacks in Mumbai triggered a new round of sabre-rattling between the old rivals, the exhibition has already shown in Dubai, and will move to London in February, and later to India.

While tension over the Mumbai attacks spoilt plans for Indian artists to come to Karachi for the opening, Nasar remains philosophical about the chances for ties to improve.

"The relation between India and Pakistan always has its ebbs and flows," he said. (Telegraph UK)

Karachi Film Festival faces closure; founder appeals for funds

The annual Karachi Film Festival is in danger of going under forever unless new funds are found. That was the plea last week of founder Hasan Zaidi who is asking for donations to help sustain a slimmed down version of the film festival.

In an appeal sent out to supporters, he said that the festival had been scheduled for February but the global recession meant many of the sponsors had pulled out at the last minute.

The event had been postponed over 2007 and 2008 due to political upheavals in Pakistan.

Mr Zaidi said: “We have seen what the Festival is capable of achieving. We have seen how the Festival has revitalized a cinema culture in Pakistan, built bridges between Pakistani and international filmmakers, initiated an environment of debate and inter-cultural tolerance, and encouraged reativity especially among the youth.”

He added that his team intended to go through with the festival on the scheduled dates Feb 4th, even if it meant they would have to drastically scale back the its activities. “We will have the Festival regardless but how much of it we can pull off depends entirely on how much we can afford. We intend to carry on against all the odds.”

He said it was “our final chance to salvage” the Karachi Film Festival. He is now appealing for donations globally for costs of the 7th KaraFilm Festival.
Contact: karafilm.festival@gmail.com

IDEAS-2008 begins today at Expo Centre

International Defence Exhibition and Seminar” IDEAS 2008, a five-day exhibition of arms, ammunition and combat equipments starting today (Monday) at Karachi Expo Centre.In the last exhibition, IDEAS 2006, some 221 leading defence manufacturers from 27 countries including 148 foreign and 73 domestic companies displayed their products. This was considered a very successful exhibition; now 2008 have grown much bigger in size and stature and in terms of size spread and participants.

This year the exhibition has become the biggest event in display of defence products. Pakistan defence industry and participants from over 58 countries including around 256 defence companies which includes 162 foreign and 94 Pakistani companies of various capacities. The exhibition aims at bringing together local and international manufacturers and buyers from all over the world to view the finest defence materials. The platform also provides an opportunity to various groups to explore the possibility for cooperation and joint ventures and collaboration in the field of defence production.

The platform for International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) provides an opportunity to demonstrate Pakistan’s defence capabilities, technical strengths and various related skills, training and services to all concerned, said Major General Muhammad Farooq, Director General, Defence Export Promotion Organization (DEPO) in a press briefing at Karachi Expo Centre.IDEAS-2008 is for the first time displaying JF-17 (thunder) as a proud co-production by Pakistan defence industry and China along with it some highly effective and sensitive defence related ancillary products to complement the highly sophisticated support equipments.

In this exhibition, Pakistan has shown the technological capabilities of producing highly sophisticated defence equipments, effective, efficient and fully embracing the concepts of modern technology.A number of 111 high-level meetings are expected this year between foreign delegates, key government officials and participants of the exhibition. Pointing out various benefits to other sectors, Major Gen Muhammad Farooq stated that IDEAS-2008 platform provides an excellent opportunity for some 80 percent small and medium enterprises of Pakistan to show their defence support products and export the same to various markets. Highlighting the tremendous potential, he added that the economic spin off in various industrial sectors, directly or indirectly related to IDEAS, and are getting tremendous benefits from holding IDEAS 2008.

The DG DEPO further highlighted that let’s not forget that a serious matter of controlling, organizing and facilitating smooth traffic flow at and around the exhibition was made possible by DIG Traffic Karachi. DIG Traffic, present at the occasion thanked Karachiites for their understanding and following the traffic rules and instructions and making the IDEAS 2008 trouble free in terms of traffic flow and making it possible for visitors and dignitaries alike to come and enjoy the exhibition.

DG DEPO said that IDEAS 2008 has brought dignity and honour to Pakistan, all the participants from 58 countries and visitors from all parts of Pakistan. In this connection, he also appreciated and thanked for the support rendered by the armed forces, the federal Government and the Government of Sindh, and the City District Government, Karachi. He paid special tributes to the people of Karachi for their warm hearted hospitality, help and support wherever it was needed and for holding successfully IDEAS 2008. At “IDEAS 2008,” Global Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS) is displaying a comprehensive range of products being produced by its constituent companies. These companies are involved in production of research based products and services.

These products and services are extensively used by three stakeholders responsible for guarding the air, land and sea frontiers of Pakistan.A product being displayed at the expo needs special mention. Anti-tank Wire Guided, Missile System known as ‘Baktar Shiken’ has been developed by Institute of Industrial Systems (IICS). It has a range of 3-km with day and night capability. It becomes highly potent when installed with tandem warhead. At present ‘Baktar Shiken’ is being exported to various countries that include Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Libya.Global Industrial & Defence Solutions is participating in IDEAS 2008 in a big way. This exhibition of arsenal is held on alternate years at the Karachi Expo Centre.

Organizing IDEAS has helped in projecting Pakistan as a country capable of meeting the defence requirements of geopolitically important states of the region.Excellence in technology, innovation and competitiveness give these companies an edge over other manufacturers in the region. These companies invest heavily in R&D and give top priority to the development of human resource.

The constituent companies are Advance Engineering Research Organization; Integrated Defence Systems; Marine Systems, Xpert Engineering Services; Institute of Industrial Control Systems; AI­ Technique Corporation of Pakistan and Scientific Engineering & Technology Services.Advance Engineering Research Organization (AERO) stands distinguished due to its capabilities. Its products comply with international standards.

AERO is now busy in acquiring AS-100, the ultimate and most stringent aerospace quality standard. Its products include anti-personnel, anti-armour, incendiary, ant-runway, electronic impact and time-based fuzes, electronic warfare equipment, navigation systems, optical fibre and optical fibre cables.