Abbas Husain is a Pakistani scholar who has directed the Teachers' Development Centre since 1997. He is one of the founders of the Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT) and has published in national and international journals. Recently, he has launched the School of Intelligences, a pre-primary and primary school dedicated to the theory of multiple intelligences. The Teachers' Development Centre is a collaborator of the Charter for Compassion in Pakistan. Husain has an MA in English Literature and an MEd for teaching English to speakers of other languages from Manchester University. As director of the Teachers' Development Centre he has conducted the Master Teacher's Course since 1997 and has so far contributed 289 teacher trainers to the national pool of trainers. Of them, 62 have achieved leadership positions in their respective institutions. He is invited by Roots School System to their Annual Teacher’s Development Conference, as well as the Sindh Education Foundation for keynotes and Seminar Papers. The Teachers' Development Centre has been a significant contributor to a variety of training needs and services. The Aga Khan Foundation, CBORC, Sindh Education Foundation, Notre Dame Institute of Education, The City School Network, The Beaconhouse School System, The Defence Housing Authority School Network, Cadet College Petaro, have all invited the Director for an ongoing dialogue on improved education in Pakistan.
Adeel Hashmi
Adeel Hashmi is one of the most popular and well known young director, Actor and model in the world of media in Pakistan. He has been writing, acting, anchoring and directing for and on Television for the past 10 years. His dramas are not only trend setters in every way but are hugely popular both with Pakistani audiences and abroad. His style of writing is both funny and most thought provoking. His comments on social issues are focused without being offensive. Adeel Hashmi is one of the most popular and well known young directors in the world of media in Pakistan. Adeel's sense of humor, his inclination towards literature & reading and family background, all insisted him to be an ambassador of Children's Literature Festival.
Dr. Afshan Huma
Dr. Afshan Huma is working as a specialist in Educational Planning, Policy Studies, and Curriculum for teachers' professional learning. She also provides guidance and counseling in social, professional, organizational and educational settings. Additionally, she offers consultancy in designing research and professional learning programs, projects and courses.
Ameena Saiyid
Ameena Saiyid OBE is Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan. She is the first woman in Pakistan to become head of a multinational organization. In 2009, she was elected Vice President of the Overseas Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) and, in 2010, she became the President of OICCI. She is the first woman in the 150 years’ history of OICCI to become its Vice President and President. In 2005, Ameena was honored by the British Queen with the award of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services for the promotion of Anglo-Pakistan relations, democracy, education, intellectual property rights, and women’s rights. In 2013, she was awarded the French Knighthood, Chevalier de Arts et Lettres, (Knight of the Order of Art and Literature) by the Government of France, and Woman of the Year Award by the Ladies Fund. She has been Chief Executive of Oxford University Press Pakistan since 1988. In 2010, she founded and organized the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) which was the first such literary festival of its kind to be held in Pakistan. Ameena is, also, the co-founder and organizer of the Children’s Literature Festival (CLF), first held in Lahore in November 2011 and in Quetta in September 2012.
Baela Raza Jamil
Baela Raza Jamil is a public policy specialist. She has been a technical adviser to the Ministry of Education, supporting the Government of Sindh in education sector planning and public private partnerships. She is currently leading the learning and accountability initiative called ASER Pakistan and the Children’s Literature Festival (CLF). Baela has worked extensively in the areas of curriculum reforms, early childhood education, teacher education, community based initiatives for education access and quality, district education planning, local governance, technical vocational education, and public private partnerships in three continents and across several countries. She has served as Visiting Faculty at Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU). She studied comparative education, public policy, and economic history at the Institute of Education, University of London, Rosemont College of USA, Graduate School of Education at Harvard and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the UK. She is a member of the Advisory Board Global Monitoring Report (GMR) UNESCO, Paris, and serving on the boards of many institutions in Pakistan and the UK. Baela is the Coordinator South Asia Forum for Education Development (SAFED)
Faisal Bari
Dr. Faisal Bari, Associate Professor of Economics at LUMS, is currently also Deputy Country Director for Open Society Foundations in Pakistan, and a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS), Lahore. He has been an active researcher in the area of education for the last 10 odd years. His other area of research interest is industrial organization. Faisal holds a B.Sc. from Government College, University of the Punjab, a B.A. (Honours) from University of Oxford and a Ph.D. from McGill University.
Faridullah Khan
Faridullah Khan is the Secretary Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division, Islamabad. He was previously the Managing Director of Enercon. He has a strong academic background including Masters Public Administration from Idaho State University, USA in 1983, Masters Strategic Studies from National Defence College (NDC), Islamabad in 2001, Masters Political Science and LLB from University of Peshawar. Faridullah Khan has a long service record in credible departments of government of Pakistan. He served as National Project Director of District Government System in Pakistan, Member Federal Land Commission and Kashmir Council, Joint Secretary for Population Welfare, Joint Secretary for Food and Agriculture.
Harris Khalique
Harris Khalique is a critically acclaimed poet in Urdu and English, a widely published writer, and a regular newspaper columnist. He has eight collections of verse and a book of creative non-fiction behind him and his work has been anthologized internationally. Recently, he won the UBL-Jang Literary Excellence Award 2013 in the category of Urdu poetry for his collection of verse Melay Mein. His interests straddle South Asian history and culture, politics, human rights, and international development. Currently, he is working on a book of essays.
Haseena Moin
Haseena Moin is a Pakistani dramatist, playwright and scriptwriter. She has written several plays for stage, radio and television, some of which have even gained international repute. She is the recipient of the Pride of Performance award for her services to the performing arts in Pakistan. She wrote Pakistan's first original script 'Kiran Kahani' aired in early 70's. Before this, PTV relied on novel-based scripts for dramas. She is considered to be the best playwright and dramatist Pakistan has ever witnessed. Some of the most popular dramas she wrote that gained international repute include Ankahi, Tanhaiyaan, Kiran Kahani, Dhoop Kinaray, Aahat, Uncle Urfi, Shehzori, Kohar, Des Pardes, Pal Do Pal, Aansoo, Kasak, Parchaiyan and Parosi. Other notable works include Mere Dard ko Jo Zuban Milay, Kaisa Yeh Junoon, Dhundle Raaste, Shayad ke Bahar Aaye, Mohim Joo, Tum Se Mil Kar,Bandish and Zer Zabar Paish. It appears strange that with such a success following even greater success on the TV screen, Moin didn't branch out into other literary forms like novels or short stories which are such a popular genre among Urdu fiction writers.
Helen Kamal
Helen Kamal has worked directly with teachers and with governments to design teacher education programmes and to strengthen systems for teacher development and management. Her work has taken her to South Africa, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and for the last 10 years she has worked in Pakistan. She started her career in the UK as a primary school teacher and she has a particular interest in how teachers learn to teach children to read. Helen is currently a member of a team working with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to support the implementation of the provincial Education Sector Plan.
Kishwar Naheed
Kishwar Naheed, Sitara-e-Imtiaz is an Urdu poet from Pakistan known for her pioneering feminist poetry. Kishwar Naheed held administrative roles in various national institutions. She was Director General of Pakistan National Council of the Arts before her retirement. She also edited a prestigious literary magazine Mahe naw and founded an organisation Hawwa (Eve) whose goal is to help women without an independent income become financially independent through cottage industries and selling handicrafts. Kishwar has published six collections of poems between 1969 and 1990. She also writes for children and for the daily Jang, a national newspaper. Her poetry has been translated into English and Spanish and her famous poem We Sinful Women gave its title to a ground breaking anthology of contemporary Urdu feminist poetry translated and edited by Rukhsana Ahmad published in London by The Women's Press in 1991. She was awarded for Adamjee Prize of Literature on Lab-e-goya (1969), UNESCO Prize for Children's Literature on Dais Dais Ki Kahanian, Best Translation award of Columbia University, Mandela Prize (1997) and Sitara-e-Imtiaz (2000).
Mosharraf Zaidi
Mr. Zaidi is a leading education campaigner and a political analyst of Pakistan. Mr. Mosharraf has written Op-Ed pieces for various national and international newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal and The News and he regularly appears in the Pakistani and the international media as an education campaigner and public policy advisor. Mosharraf is a former Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan. In his capacity as a political expert, Mosharraf has advised governments and international organizations on topics such as public policy and international aid.
Nargis Sultana
Nargis Sultana is currently working with Open Society Foundations (OSF) - Pakistan. She has vast experience of working in Education Sector, Economic Sector, other Social Sectors and research on social and economic related issues. During her academic career, she received several awards and distinctions. She has a number of publications to her credit, some of which have been published in the Pakistan Development Review, the country's leading journal of economic research. She has also co-authored a book entitled Pakistan's Economic Performance: 1947 to 1993 - A Descriptive Analysis.
She has worked as Education Specialist at MSU/World Bank, Senior Program Officer (Education) in DFID, Research Manager in IFPRI/USAID, and also worked with FAO/UNDP.
Muhammad Rafique Tahir
Joint Secretary (Education) at Ministry Of Capital Administration and Development, Islamabad. Rafique’s previous services include Director (BS-19), Federal College of Education, Islamabad; Director (BS-19), Federal Directorate of Education, Islamabad; Associate Professor (BS-19, BS-18), Lecturer (BS-17), in F.G. College of Commerce, Islamabad. He has also attended various courses in a number of countries including Nepal, USA, Malaysia etc.
Rashada Fatima
Professor Rashada Fatima is the Director of Federal College of Education since 2011. She has done M.Sc and M.Ed. apart from her administrative responsibilities, she also teaches at the College.
Rumana Husain
Rumana Husain is the author of a coffee-table book, Karachiwala- A Sub-continent within a City, about Karachi’s diverse communities. Trained as a graphic designer, she has had an evolving career: from teaching art to making frabic-toys and quitted artwork, to becoming innovative school head, teacher-trainer, book illustrator, writer and journalist. From 1986 to 1996, she was with the C.A.S School, first as Headmistress of the junior section, and later Vice Principal of its senior section. In 1988, she co-founded The Bookgroup and has, over the years, written and illustrated more than 50 children’s books and numerous teachers’ manuals for several publishers, including the Oxford University Press. From 2001 to 2008, she worked as Head, Activism & Outreach at the Children’s Museum for Peace and Human Rights. In 2005, she co-founded NuktaArt, a bi-annual contemporary art magazine, and continues to be its Senior Editor. She contributes regularly to national dailies, Dawn and The News on Sunday, as well as to other popular magazines. She is a Director on the Board of the Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) and General Secretary of the Karachi Conference Foundation.