Islamabad : With a pledge to rethink and revisit the way we work, the 6th edition of the Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit concluded.
Organised by Nutshell Conferences Group and Martin Dow Group, in strategic partnership with Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), and Unity Foods Limited, the conference featured addresses, panel discussions and conversations on topics varied from the digital future to the landscape of education, and from shaping narratives to climate change.
Speaking at the concluding session, Senator Sherry Rehman, Federal Minister for Climate Change, spoke about going green for safety and survival. “Pakistan produces plastic trash equivalent to the might of two K2 mountains annually, and having signed the plastic treaty in Paris recently, I would request at least the big hotels to get rid of the plastic bottles that they’re serving water in.”
In a conversation with Mosharraf Zaidi, Founder, Tabadlab, Senator Rehman pushed the local pollution agenda as strongly as the international one, and she stated that Pakistan’s adaptive capacity for compliance with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is in question. Despite being a low emitter, Pakistan is a frontline state for climate change. She defined corporate CSR as too limited for the required effect. She stressed that more needs to be done for inclusivity, and rethink is in order. She urged media organizations to stop politicizing climate change and give sufficient space to discourse around it.
Gen (r) Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (2016- 2019), spoke on the power of narratives and raised pertinent questions about how, as a nation, Pakistanis need to build a narrative for a better future. The way our Holy Prophet PBUH changed it, the way Martin Luther King changed it, and the way Nelson Mandela changed it. “
Eminent educationist, Shafqat Mahmood, former federal minister for education; joined online.
Dr. Amjad Waheed, Chief Executive Officer, NBP Funds and Puruesh Chaudhary, Founder & President, AGAHI, also shared their insights about the changing landscape of academia and the urgency around flipping the mode to student-centred.
Shafqat Mahmood stressed that the Government has to intervene; “Focus on both skill-based education and a unified national curriculum are important to reduce the divide between the haves and the have-nots, secure the future of this country by ensuring social mobility for all.”
Dr. Amjad Waheed shared the worrisome statistics for the out-of-school children; “Out of the 53 million children, 23 million are out of school. Brick-and-mortar schools are not the solution with a shortage of teachers and funds.”
Mosharraf Zaidi summed up the conversation by asserting the fact that education cannot be a one-time discussion over a two-day summit; it needs to be the thread that connects all discussions.
“The Digital Future - Emerging Issues” had 6 illustrious speakers delivering individual addresses by Muhammad Salman Anjum, Founder & CEO, InvoiceMate, UAE; Jouni Keranen, Executive Chairman, Kuuhubb & Partner, swissOne Capital; Oscar Ramos, General Partner, SOSV, Managing Director, Orbit Startups; Jimmy Nguyen, CEO, Blockchain for All, and Michael Foley, Regional Director, Airtel Africa.