Youth festival celebrates next generation

Islamabad : Two hundred students and young professionals from across Pakistan gathered at the “Good for Youth—Good For Pakistan” festival on here on Thursday, sponsored by USAID Pakistan.

The festival brought together some of the brightest members of Pakistan’s next generation to exchange ideas about the country’s future and their role in shaping it. Ambassador Paul Jones, Chargé d’Affaires recognised these young people for their exemplary civil leadership at the festival’s closing ceremony.

The event featured a mix of fun interactive activities, motivational speeches, music, and a competition of live presentations and video messages from a geographically and economically diverse slate of young people about the opportunities they seek, the challenges they face, and the solutions they propose.

During the closing ceremony, Ambassador Jones handed out awards to several participants in honour of their active role in Pakistani society and their contributions to the festival.

Ambassador Jones told festival participants, “I’m delighted that the United States is able to partner with Pakistan to support priorities identified by youth at this festival: quality education, training for jobs in today’s economy, and gender parity. These are priorities our countries share.”

Three short films were also premiered. The films highlight the achievements of young people who, with a little help from the United States Mission to Pakistan, have overcome significant challenges to realize better futures for themselves, their families, and their communities.