Lok Virsa to hold summer camp for children in June

Islamabad : The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) is set to hold a 30-day ‘Children Summer Camp in Traditional Skills: Lacquer Art and Block Printing’ here on its premises.

The camp will begin on June 25 with interested children of the 5–14 years age bracket allowed to apply until June 20.

The objective of the camp is to promote traditional crafts and to inculcate awareness among children about the cultural heritage of Pakistan.

The Lok Virsa had successfully organised four summer camps during summer vacations from the year 2015 to 2018 with a large scale participation of children.

Announcing the event, Executive Director of Lok Virsa Shahera Shahid said the summer camp was meant to provide basic orientation to children about traditional skills. Master artisans in two specialised craft fields of lacquer art and block printing will be invited to conduct training classes at the Pakistan National Museum of Ethnology (Heritage Museum), Shakarparian from 25th June to 23rd July 2019 with daily timings from 10 a.m to 1 p.m (Tuesday to Friday).

There will be three periods; first period will focus on history of the relevant craft, the children will get practical training under master trainers/artisans in the second period and in the third and last period, children will get acquainted about storytelling, folk music, folk games, drawings, etc.

They will also be given an opportunity to interact with cultural experts, folk artists and folk musicians”.

During the 30-day summer camp, children will also be taken to visit three National Museums i.e. Pakistan National Museum of Ethnology (Heritage Museum), Pakistan Monument Museum (PMM) and Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) in order to provide them exposure about the cultural and historical heritage of Pakistan.

A non-refundable registration fee of Rs3,000 per child will be charged. Lok Virsa will provide lunch to the children during the classes. Raw material for training classes will also be provided by Lok Virsa.

The summer camp will conclude with a prestigious colourful ceremony to be held on 23rd July 2019. It will feature live performances by child folk artists. Participation certificates will also be granted to the children during this ceremony.