Seminar highlights role of volunteers

LAHORE:Youth Affairs Department Punjab has organised a seminar on the eve of International Volunteers Day under the theme of ‘Solidarity Through Volunteering’ in the collaboration of Punjab Food Authority (PFA) and Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) at Nishtar Park Sports Complex e-Library on Monday.

Secretary Youth Affairs Punjab Ehsan Bhutta was Chief Guest on this occasion. Director General PFA Mudassir Riaz Malik, Director PFA Hafiz Qaiser, CEO Lahore Qalandars Atif Rana, CEO LWMC Ali Annan Qamar, Director Admin Syed Umair Hassan, Assistant Director Youth Affairs Nazish Noor and hundreds of male and female volunteers also attended the seminar. Addressing the seminar, Secretary Youth Affairs Punjab Ehsan Bhutta said the impressive and effective role of volunteers cannot be denied at any testing time. “Volunteers had played a decisive role in the Pakistan Movement and other disasters like floods and earthquakes,” he added.

Bhutta emphasised on the need of solid planning for better results of volunteering. “Different kinds of calamities and disasters are quite common in different parts of world but the loss of lives and other valuables can be controlled through concrete planning. There three key prerequisites - What to do and how to do, motivation and strict check & balance - that can play important role in the progress of the country,” he explained. A Panel Discussion was also conducted in which Mudassir Riaz Malik, CEO Lahore Qalandars Atif Rana and CEO LWMC Ali Annan Qamar expressed their views to underscore the significance of volunteers and their role in different kinds of calamities and other difficult times. The panelists said the contribution of volunteers is an essential component to eradicate poverty, hunger, illiteracy, mitigate disasters, which will contribute to prosperity of our country at large. Talking in the Panel Discussion, Mudassir Riaz said that Punjab Food Authority is preparing volunteers to educate people about food and its purity. “Volunteers played an important role in wars in Islamic history”, he added. He said that PFA is going to introduce a star rating system in which 400 restaurants are being listed. “We expect that the restaurants will show their willingness about their inclusion in the star rating system voluntarily”. At the end of the seminar, Secretary Youth Affairs Punjab Ehsan Bhutta, DG PFA, and CEO Lahore Qalandars Atif Rana also participated in an awareness walk to highlight the importance of International Volunteers Day and visited a stall established by LWMC.