Gogi Studios fosters learning through play

Islamabad : Using her signature ‘learn through play’ approach, Pakistan’s first lady cartoonist, Nigar Nazar, and her Gogi Studios arranged a well-conceived activity for children of Saya School during the recently concluded National Book Foundation’s annual Book Festival.

The students of Saya School -- a Golra-based welfare school based that imparts education to impoverished children who do various odd jobs around the city—participated in a ‘Tahreer aur Tasveer’ competition in which they were required to paint the images of national heroes. The heroes for this year’s event were Arifa Kareem, one of the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professionals, and Iqbal Masih, a young Pakistani boy who campaigned and fought for bonded labour in Pakistan.

At the end of the event, Gogi Studios had nearly 50 entries to sort through. Tabeer, Rabbiya Zaman and Shanza Idrees grabbed the top three positions, respectively, with Mehroosh walking down the stage with a certificate. Noted start-up mentor and supporter of the eco system Syed Ahmed Masud presented prizes to winners. Speaking on the occasion, he complimented Nigar for waging a ‘jihad’ against the illiteracy through her Gogi Show and applauded her for the innovative approach she is using to tackle an issue that has shackled our society for decades.

After the competition, the children were treated to Gogi Cartoons dealing with the environment. During the event, they were questioned on how they could reduce the environmental impact of wasteful practices. Many students came up with well-thought out answers on how to reduce wastage at the grass-roots level.

“We live in an era of extreme climate change, natural disasters and water shortages. We, as citizens of Pakistan and as global citizens, must educate our future generations. I do not want the children of the future to ask their elders what trees are. For this reason, I believe that the seeds I sow here are the foundation for the solutions of tomorrow, Nigar stated.

Gogi Studios is a mixed media cartooning studio with a major focus on developmental and social work. It has worked on numerous projects dealing with issues ranging from harassment to getting girls back in school.