Pakistan Youth Festival: 2023 to kick off at Arts Council on Jan 23

The Arts Council Karachi announced on Friday a seven-day ‘Pakistan Youth Festival 2023’ would be organised from January 23 to January 29.

The announcement was made at a press conference in the Haseena Moin Hall by renowned playwright and humorist Anwar Maqsood, President Arts Council Muhammad Ahmad Shah and Secretary Arts Council Prof Ijaz Farooqui.

Shah said the Arts Council Karachi organises 550 programs in a year and is starting the Pakistan Youth Festival on January 23. He said the successful youth will be awarded Rs200,000.

He said that due to Covid-19, the continuation of the youth festival was broken, but the event is being restarted on January 23. Fifty thousand youths participated in the last youth festival, the youth are the future of this country, and the Arts Council has always provided opportunities to them to develop their skills, he added.

Shah further said the prize money for the successful youth in this festival has been increased to Rs200,000 and those who cannot get the position will be given a three-year diploma for free. All the students of the city’s universities and colleges are invited to participate in this festival.

Various bands and singers, including Asim Azhar, Ahmed Jahanzeb, Kaifi Khalil, Wahab Bugti, Natasha Baig, Sahir Ali Baga, Arman Rahim, Afaq Adnan, AUJ and Kashmir Band, will perform in the festival, he said.

Anwar Maqsood said that this is the first competition in which migrant youths are also participating. He said Karachi is a city of 30 million, and no matter what the situation is in the city, the Arts Council continues its work. He said the Pakistan Youth Festival belongs to the youth and includes painting, photography, dance, essay-writing, acting and theatre events. He said this festival can only be controlled by one person and that is Ahmad Shah.