The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) conducted the nineteenth two-day PACE Collaborative workshops and debates for university students, on March 2-3, 2021, in Nawabshah. The workshop was held at Aleez Hotel, Nawabshah. The event was organized under the umbrella of the Pakistan Center of Excellence (PACE), a counter-radicalization and pluralistic values’ focused project, in collaboration with the Dutch Government.
The participants included the students of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Peoples’ University of Health and Medical Sciences, and Quid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology, Nawabshah, with a total participation of 80 students; 43 female and 37 male students. Lecturer SBBU, Mr. Siraj Ahmed opened the session with a thank you note to PACE team and welcomed them in Jamshoro. He said that it is a great opportunity for the students to come together on a platform like this and take part in learning new things and unlearning preconceived notions. The program provides for an environment suitable for critical thinking and being a student you should be confident enough to question your teachers and elders instead of accepting whatever they pass on to you.
Project Manager, Ms. Farhana Kanwal thanked all the universities for their efforts to hold the workshop in Sindh and taking keen interest in the event. She said that PACE believes in constitutionalism and critical thinking; everything that will be discussed at the event will be rooted in the Constitution of 1973 of Pakistan.
A total of five sessions were conducted on different thematic areas. On day 1, Mr. Jaleel Ahmed spoke on ‘Good Governance and Rule of Law; Dr. Shaukat Lohar shared his views on ‘Leadership and Motivation; and Ms. Reema Kanwal delivered a session on ‘Equal Citizenry. On day 2, Mr. Naeem Memon enlightened students on ‘Ethical Journalism’. The students attended all the session and appreciated the knowledge imparted during the sessions. They were of the view that such sessions should be conducted more often because it encourages them to come up with the questions they cannot ask or inquire about in normal routine.
