By Rimsha Ali Shah
The PUAN International Education Conference was held from July 22-24, 2016 in Islamabad with 200 exchange alumni from various U.S. State Department exchange programs from across Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In addition to two days of intensive workshops and discussions on mapping education in the 21st century, the concluding day introduced alumni to innovative education projects in six leading institutes in Islamabad including, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP), Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC) and a dialogue session between Madrassa students and the alumni.
Dr. Shahid Jan, an alumnus of the University Partnership Program said, “The visit to NUST was great! As I am currently involved in working on an incubation center, I found the visit to provide great exposure.”
Dilini, who attended the exposure visit to AIOU commented, “I was quite impressed with the framework in place for distance learning.”
The visit to STEP highlighted the difficulties faced by persons with disabilities in receiving education. Nageena who is a disability advocate, communicated to the participants through sign language, the importance of activism in teaching, particularly in the context of disability education. “We need to learn and teach others how to empathize with persons with disabilities,” said Ayesha Fazl, a Fulbright alumna.
These outreach sessions engaged students from Pakistan Sweet Homes, an orphanage in Islamabad; Mashal Model School, a charity school in Bari Imam and Madrassa students from across Rawalpindi and Islamabad to expose them to the educational reforms and innovations in a bid to energize these students for higher education.
A delegation of the Legislative Fellows visiting from the U.S. also had the chance to interact with the exchange alumni at the conference. Karen Smith, Director of Community Service Council (CSC), who had hosted several legislative fellows from Pakistan in Tulsa said the visit had been overwhelming for her.
“Our issues are the same and there is so much to learn from cross-cultural exchange on how we can overcome our problems.”
Concluding Remarks
Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD) alumna Arfa is now in the process of arranging training sessions for teachers through digital tools.
Muhammad Jawad, a Fulbright alumnus of Cornell University said, “I have been keenly observing the conference and the meaningful discussion. I am organizing a similar education-centered conference in Quetta and PUAN International Education Conference has offered immense value in this regard.”
Rohan Ranatunge said, “I enjoyed my time here so much! From the interactive sessions to the warm hospitality of the Pakistani people. I can’t wait to come back!”
For Priyanka, Pakistan turned out to be a “home away from home. The conference has inspired me to do more in terms of women empowerment and girls education.”
Check out photos from the conference here.
