Youth enjoy 5-day study, cultural tour to Peshawar, Swat

PESHAWAR: A five-day long adventure, study, cultural and camping tour was arranged for over 100 youth and male and female students of various universities from across the country to the historic and scenic places of Peshawar and Swat valley.

Organised by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) and Work to Empower (WE) of Dost Youth Wing Organisation, a non-governmental entity, the activity was aimed at working for overall development of society through capacity-building, promotion of tourism, education, youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, global change and leadership among youth and general community of different strata of the society.

The event named as “We Boot Camp (WBC) Season-V” was a five-day residential, rigorous and thought-provoking leadership training programme focusing on the hidden skills of youth, innovation, social entrepreneurship in the context of socio-economic and political development in the larger global canvas commonly known as “global change”.

It was meant to attract youth and tourists to the serene places of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and provide leadership potential to youth in context of socio-economic changes in the world, particularly in Pakistan. The participants of “We Boot Camp (WBC) Season-V” visited historic and tourist places in Peshawar and Swat Valley including Mahodhand, Kalam and others.

French ambassador to Pakistan was the chief guest while other dignitaries, including Yousaf Bashir Qureshi, Atif Iqbal, Samad Abbas and others also enjoyed the camping tour.

The enthusiastic youth and students participated in various activities including adventurous, study, cultural and camping, hiking, trekking, seminars, fireworks, bonfire, group discussions, teamwork, leadership in volatile situation, feats of courage and bravery and other training and skill development programmes. The youth also ran a campaign in Kalam “Tag A Tree” and participated in jeep rally from Mahodhand to Kalam.

They set up a tent-village in Kalam where they spent a few days to enjoy the natural beauty. They also arranged various programmes and cultural nights besides traditional music and foods during their stay at different destinations.

The students stayed and discussed diverse cultures of the country. They also ran a cleanliness drive and disposed of garbage of plastic bottles, packs of snacks and trash in the tourist resorts. The cleanliness drive was aimed at creating awareness among the masses, tourists and visitors to take care of scenic sites and avoid littering them with dirt and garbage.

An official of the Tourism Department said that camping pods in Thandiani, Sharan and Bashigram had been opened for the tourists. He said that such camping pods in other tourist attractions would also be established so they could not face any problem of accommodation during their stay at the serene sites.