Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest from tomorrow: The schedule of the third edition of the Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest has been released.

As with previous years, dozens of scholars, thinkers, and opinion makers from the world's leading universities and think tanks are converging on Lahore for two days full of conversations, thinking, and action.

The proceedings of the first day will be opened by Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood. The first plenary talk will be given by Dr Christophe Jaffrelot from Paris who will speak on 'Forms of Authoritarianism'. On day one, the other panels will include a talk on Self-determination in Kashmir by Professor Dibyesh Anand from the UK and a talk on 'Lahore, 1929: the Center of the Freedom Movement,' by Dr Kama Maclean from Australia and Dr Chris Moffat from the UK. Local topics will be covered by a session on changes in the Punjab, from Kartarpur to South Punjab, and a panel on cinema and popular culture led by Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed from Sweden.

Punjab Senior Minister and Minister for Local Government Aleem Khan and MPA Jugnu Mohsin will also lead a panel on ‘Democracy from the Grassroots.’

Foreign affairs will strongly feature with talks on Pak-US relations with former Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Dr Moeed Yusuf and Ejaz Haider, and a panel on Pakistan and India relations with former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Dr Moeed Yusuf from USIP, Dr Happymon Jacob and Dr Dibyesh Anand from India. Sir Tim Hitchens, a recently retired UK diplomat, will further weigh in on Brexit and the future of the UK in the world with journalist Miranda Husain.

The second day of the Think Fest will start with riveting discussion on the Manto film controversy by acclaimed scholar Ayesha Jalal in conversation with Raza Rumi. Federal Information Minister will then participate in a panel on the media. A panel on the state of the economy in the Punjab will feature Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht and another high-powered panel on economy will feature three former finance ministers Miftah Ismail, Hafeez Pasha and Salman Shah. Professor Cemil Aydin will launch his book, ‘The idea of the Muslim World’ in conversation with Dr Tahir Kamran from GCU and Ziyad Faisal. Also launching her book on the Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh will be Dr Nadhra Khan from LUMS with renowned Punjab scholar Jean-Marie Lafont from France. Dr Tariq Rahman will also launch his book on Jihad in South Asia. Other talks will cover topics like Afghanistan, urban planning in Lahore, fog and environment, nuclear non-proliferation issues and The #Me too phenomenon. Acclaimed British-Jamaican author Kei Miller will also speak on ‘The Lies Maps Tell.’

The Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest will also feature three other special plenary speakers where Professor Gauri Viswanathan from Columbia University will speak on History of English Literature, Professor Akeel Bilgrami, also from Columbia, will discuss his latest work on ‘Secularism and Identity,’ and Sir Richard Evans, a distinguished scholar of European history, will speak on ‘Conspiracy and Democracy.’

Over a dozen book launches, and over 40 panels will feature at this third edition. The Think Fest will start at 10:30am on Saturday (tomorrow) at the Al-hamra on The Mall, and continue till 7pm on Sunday. It is open and free to the public.