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.

Active Youth Organization (AYO) is working voluntarily for the betterment with the youth of universities, colleges and schools of Pakistan.

The Active Youth Organization (AYO) aims to increase the contribution of community leaders towards achieving sustainable development both locally and globally. It also encourages peer-to-peer relations across cultural, geographic and political boundaries via a lively online social network of participants and Conflict Resolution, Non formal education, and youth development.

Adnan Abbasi is Editor-Digital Publishing, Oxford University Press Pakistan.

Zobaida Jalal is a Pakistani teacher, libertarian, social activist, and politician.[1] After successfully contesting in general elections held in 2002 on a PML(Q) platform, she came in national prominence and public fame as a leading woman minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. From 2002–07, she was the minister of Minister of Education (MoEd) and unsuccessfully contested for general elections held in 2008 on a PML(Q) platform.
After a five-year brief break from the national politics, she joined the Pakistan Muslim League and but stepped down in favor of Kiran Haider who successfully retained her seat in 2013 general elections, although she retains herself as a woman leader of the Pakistan Muslim League.

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 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.

Abdul Hameed Nayyar is a physicist, who retired from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad after serving it for over 30 years. He has also worked at the Lahore University of Management Sciences as a visiting professor of physics, Ali Institute of Education Lahore as Director, and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad, as a senior research fellow. His work on education explores problems of access and quality, and of curriculum and textbooks in the public education system.

The Alif Laila Book Bus library is exclusively for children up to 8 years and below. The bus has two decks; the upper deck is for story telling where a female teacher narrates stories to children while the lower deck is stacked with books.
Its basic objective is to promote reading culture in Pakistan and evolve solutions to Pakistan's educational problems within the given socio-economic constraints, find strategically effective paths to universal literacy and educational modernization, which would show the quickest results and the most favorable cost-benefit ratios.

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.

Ammar is an anthropologist by training and got his MA from Columbia University, USA, in 2012. He is currently working for The Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) where he has been documenting stories of Partition and subsequent events in Pakistan's history. He also works on implementing "Exchange for Change" (a collaboration between CAP and Routes 2 Roots, India) which aims to connect Indian and Pakistani schoolchildren through cross-border correspondences.

Based in Karachi, Amra Alam has authored over eighty storybooks in Urdu for children of all ages. She has also written and translated numerous stories for publications in India, many of which have been further translated into various regional languages. Amra was the Founder and Chief Editor of Suntra, a magazine for children in Urdu, published from 2006 to 2012. She is nowadays working as Editor of the children’s magazine, Uran Tashtaree, Flying Saucer. This magazine is published from the platform of Children’s Literature Festival.

Dr. Arfa Sayeda Zehra has been a Professor for over forty years and has been intimately associated with issues dealing with women's education and empowerment. She continues to teach as visiting faculty.

Presently, Dr. Arfa serves as Chair of the National Commission on the Status of Women, Government of Pakistan. This puts her at the center of discussions about socio-cultural issues in national and international policies that focus on the empowerment of women.

She got her doctorate in History from the University of Hawai'i in 1983 and was a fellow at the East-West Center between 1978 and 1983. She is a member of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, a Federal Government institution, established under an Ordinance (XIV) of 1979. The Commission is headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and comprises 12 other members.

Asad Karim is the CEO of Tele Taleem. He is a Serial Entrepreneur credited with multiple successful ventures. Asad has a diversified management exposure of leading Product Development companies and Telcos, in Pakistan and abroad. He also has a strong operational background in transforming startups to growth mode companies. He led wi-tribe's technical operations from its inception to commercial roll-out. Additionally, he is also a contributor to Pakistan's IT Policy.

Asad I. Mian MD, PhD is a pediatrician, ER physician and clinical researcher by profession. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Aga Khan University in Karachi. He developed the Biloongra series of bilingual (Urdu-English) books for children, a venture that started in Houston in collaboration with Bookgroup. He is author of ‘An Itinerant Observer’, a book of stories that will be published by Bookgroup in Pakistan and Acacia in the United States. At the CLF, as a resource person since winter 2013, he has facilitated creative writing/illustration and reading sessions for kids. He writes for newspapers in Houston and Karachi, tweets as @amian74 (twitter.com/amian74) and blogs at biloongra.com.

Asad Umar is currently the Senior Leader and Policy Head at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He served as CEO and President of Engro Corporation for 8 years during a 27-year career with the company. He resigned from his post at Engro and joined Imran Khan led political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on April 2012. He received Sitara-i-Imtiaz for his business achievements in 2010. Asad did his MBA from the Institute of Business Administration.

Asma Mundrawala is a visual artist and theatre practitioner with a PhD from the University of Sussex UK. She is Associate Professor in the Department of Fine Art at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi. Asma is the director and sound designer for Zambeel Dramatic Readings.

Ayub Baloch is a Quetta-based scholar working for the promotion of Anthropology in the Balochistan region. In addition to an LLB, he holds a Masters in Sociology/Anthropology from the University of Karachi and a further Masters in Development Studies from Erasmus University, Holland. He founded in 1995, a research institute, The Institute of Balochistan Studies, dedicated to the study of the region, its peoples and their cultures. Baloch has also served as Secretary to the Government of Balochistan for about a decade and as Member Balochistan Public Service Commission for five years.

Azka Khan completed her masters in Linguistics from NUML University and was awarded a gold medal. She currently works at OUP.

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) and the Institute for Professional Learning (IPL. 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)

Bakhtawar Shah has been a teacher at the Kalash Dur Private Institute of Kalash Cultural & Tradition Centre since 2005. Subjects taught by Bakhtawar include English, Urdu, Science, Kalash language and others. Bakhtawar has also taught at government schools. He believes that every child should at least be given basic education. He has big dreams for his students at the Institute. Bakhtawar Shah has three daughters.

Basarat Kazim is director of Alif Laila Book Bus Society. She is also the author of several storybooks for children. For decades she has been providing meaningful education in Pakistan to children, especially girls, from disadvantaged backgrounds. She is responsible for the growth of the Alif Laila (1001 Nights) Book Bus Society that began as a children's library and has grown into an entire educational ethos. Active in a range of pursuits – from art exhibitions in major cities and learning centers in the North West Frontier Province to children's protest marches when a children’s library is threatened with closure – Basarat has introduced the concept of project-based learning in government schools, developed and produced an Urdu literacy kit and initiated child-to-child teaching programs. She is a National Book Foundation award winner and a presenter of seminars and papers. Basarat represents Pakistan at the IBBY Congress, and at NAMBOOK. She resides in Lahore and continues to share her love of books with her grandchildren – and all the children of Pakistan.

Batool Nasir is currently the Manager Museum and Archives at Oxford University Press. Over 15 years of hands on practical experience in graphic/publishing design. Fully conversant with all major design development software including Adobe Creative Suite. Highly skilled professional photographer. Considerably well read in Design for publishing, both in print and on web, and the use of art as a marketing tool. Excellent communication skills, oral and written in English and Urdu.

History of attending events ranging from workshops, conferences, seminars, lectures to courses on Design in Publishing, Marketing, Sales, Communication Arts, Photography, and Audio-Visual Materials Production.

Bibi Riffat Shaheen is an Assistant Professor of Education at the Federal College of Education. She has done M.Ed and MA in Islamiat.

Bushra Shahab is working as Academic Coordinator at Oxford University Press Pakistan since 2005. She has also worked in different capacities at prestigious educational institutions of Peshawar and Risalpur. She has conducted more than 900 workshops and trained around 15,000 teachers on different topics like Child Psychology, Effective Teaching, Phonetics, Integrated Approach in Teaching, Remedial Reading etc.

Chintan Girish Modi is the founder of Friendships Across Borders, a social media initiative that builds on the power of personal friendships to transform the long-standing hostility between India and Pakistan. The offline arm of this initiative engages with students in schools, colleges and universities around the idea of cross-border friendships for peace building. He is also part of the Building Peace Project 2014 run by the Red Elephant Foundation, wherein young people from India and Pakistan are paired with each other to correspond for a year using various means of communication, and maintain a peace journal during the process. He is actively involved in friendship and peace initiatives between India and Pakistan, and has participated in programmes organized by the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, Aman Ki Asha, Pul-e-jawan, Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi, Aaghaz-e-Dosti, and Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace.
Chintan has received fellowships from Community – The Youth Collective, the Seagull Foundation for the Arts, the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Peace and Conflict Studies programme run by the Norway-based Kulturstudier in collaboration with the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, and the Vermont-based SIT Graduate Institute’s Conflict Transformation Across Cultures programme in Kathmandu. In his work, he tries to explore the connections between education, social awareness, the arts and peace building.
He has also led the educational outreach programme at the Kabir Project, developing ideas for using folk music and mystic poetry to facilitate conversations around diversity, harmony and peace building. He has also worked with the Hri Institute of South Asian Research and Exchange on projects around the love legends of Punjab and archives in South Asia.

Danish Faruqi graduated from McGill University with a Major in Economics. He now works with Teach for Pakistan, teaching English at the Gizri Government School. He also creates electronic music and has recently produced the original score for Zambeel’s production Samandar ki Chori at the multi tiered art and performance project Pursukoon Karachi.

Faheem Abbasi is Ph.D in Education having more than (10) ten years of experience in the field education and development sector with deep understanding about education system in Pakistan. He has excellent knowledge about teacher education programs including vast knowledge about best practices teacher education programs at national and international level. He has also rich experience in policy, planning, designing, implementation and Monitoring &Evaluation of education programs/ projects in four provinces of Pakistan including AJK and FATA. Dr. Faheem is a thorough professional having working experience with Asian Development Bank (ADB), Education and Literacy Department, National Commission for Human Development (NCHD), Academy for Education Development(AED), Abt Associates Inc., International Relief and Development (IRD), iMMAP and International Rescue Committee (IRC).

His last assignment was GIS mapping under District School Consolidation Program-Sindh Basic Education Project (SBEP) funded by USAID-PAKISTAN where he was working as Education Planner/ Acting Chief of Party in iMMAP Pakistan and currently he is working as Teacher Training Coordinator with IRC in USIAD Pakistan Reading Project. In addition, Dr Faheem has contributed a lot in research studies and has research papers in his professional career.

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.

Farah Sadia is a Pakistani television actress and presenter, whose career started as a side role in a TV drama serial,Bandhan.[3] Farah played a minimal role but had a very strong character which left her in the hearts of millions of her fans. The character was named Dil Baji and for a long time people would call her that.
In recent years Farah has been the host of a morning shows “A Morning with Farah” with a private channel ATV. The show is a mix of different segments, basically inviting a guest for a light interview. Each segment has a live telephone call and features prominent personalities, fitness, self grooming and fashion tips, jewelry designs, delicious recipes and more.

Fareeha Idrees is a well-known talk show anchor from Waqat TV. She was born in Lahore, did her Masters in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Westminister London. She’s been allied with the media industry since the last ten years. She started her career in 2000 and since then has gained fabulous experience as a writer, editor, documentary maker, journalist, producer and now a well-known anchor.
Fareeha's other attentions include reading literature. She is also working with the Muslim Council of Britain, Evening Standard, Eastern Eye, Daily Mirror and blogs for The Guardian's Comment. Her documentary 'Unsung Heroes' was selected for the Banff Awards.

A serious political show with Fereeha Idrees, where the top policy makers of the country analyze news and current events that have shaped the current circumstances of the country.

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.

Farooq Qaiser is a Pakistani artist, columnist, director, puppeteer, script writer and voice actor. He is also author of some books. Qaiser is well known for his fictional puppet Uncle Sargam introduced in 1976 in children's television show Kaliyan. Farooq is also a cartoonist, columnist and writing for the newspaper Daily Nai Baat in Lahore and famous for his column writing name Meethay Karelay (English: Sweet gourd).

Fatima Hussain is the Director of Laajverd. An Artist-Curator/Theatre Practitioner based in Lahore and Islamabad. She also runs an artist collective ‘Other Asias’ with Hamja Ahsan. Fatima has presented projects at the Shanakht Festival Karachi, SPILL Festival 2011 (London), Aicon Gallery London, The Guild NY and many others.
Her work over the last few years have addressed multiple issues bringing into it the political, the historical, the everyday, and whether with intention or escape, ‘art’ for her, has fallen within a larger interpretation of the colonized structures, languages and territory.
Fatima is a 2005 graduate of NCA (Lahore campus) where she was trained as a painter. She moved on to Central Saint Martins, UAL for her MA in Fine Arts (2007-2008).

Fauzia Aziz Minallah is an Islamabad-based artist and author of children’s books. She is also an activist for issues related to heritage conservation, environmental protection, peace and social justice. A graduate of the Pratt Institute, New York, she has created a number of well known cartoon characters in her books, such as Amai, The Bird of Light. Her picture book Sadako’s Prayer (winner of the Hiroshmia Citizen’s Award for Peace Education) and Amai and the Banyan Tree won the Khaliqya award at the Children’s Literature Festival in Peshawar in 2012. Chitarkari and Banyans: The Pursuit of Identity documents aspects of Pakistan’s cultural past.
Fauzia is the winner of the Junior Global Challenge in Rome 2012 and the Ron Koivc Peace Prize 2010. She is also the female editorial cartoonist of Pakistan to have won the All Pakistan Newspapers Award for Best Cartoonist.

Dr. Hamida Khuhro is a renowned historian and public figure. She was educated at the Universities of Karachi, Cambridge, London, and Oxford. She taught at the Universities of Karachi, Oxford and, lastly, Sindh, where she was Professor of History. She left to concentrate on writing and politics, and has twice served as Minister for Education and Literacy, Government of Sindh. She has led a number of delegations abroad, and served on political, academic, and government committees. She has published various books including The Making of Modern Sindh, Mohammad Ayub Khuhro: Life of Courage in Politics, and was an editor of Sindh through the Centuries and Papers of the Separation of Sind from Bombay Presidency.

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 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 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.

Hira Ilyas Bawahab is a wonderfully talented ToffeeTeller who contributes some of her time to being part of ToffeeTV's Kahaani Times for children's theater and fun! He is an architect otherwise.

Huma Mirza, Senior Education Advisor, Canada-Program Support Unit, Islamabad, Pakistan

Huma brings with her rich experience of the education sector having worked in the education sector for 29 years across all sub sectors, including elementary and higher education, teacher education, and youth and adult literacy. As Lead Consultant for a USAID funded project she steered the development of Curriculum Guidelines for Adult and Youth Literacy in 2004-5, during the same year she remained associated with the Curriculum Wing, Ministry of Education, where she worked as member of the core team responsible for developing the English curriculum for primary classes (2006). Huma served as Long Term Consultant for the Northern Areas Education Project 1999-2003, she led the quality component that encompassed teacher training, materials development and continuous assessment.

She holds Masters Degrees in English Literature and Teaching of English as a Foreign Language, and professional training from Chester College of Higher Education, UK. She has extensive experience in teaching and management at leading national institutions such as Oxford University Press and Aga Khan University, Karachi. She is passionate about improving the quality of life for children in Pakistan; outside work she supports three reading rooms in Lahore and Multan; and a Children’s Activity room at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore.

Ilona Yousaf is a poet, printmaker and designer. Her poems have been published in book form (Picture This) and thereafter in literary journals, in print and online, in Pakistan and abroad. She has also written essays on Pakistani poetry in English, and worked on editing projects, most recently as a guest editor for a special issue on poets from Pakistan for the Canadian poetry journal Valium. She freelances for several magazines, writing on art and literature. She has recently begun to integrate word and image, making artist’s books.

Khaled Anam is a popular Pakistani TV artist as well as a musician and singer. He has an opinion on everything and he doesn’t shy away from speaking his mind. He is passionate about children. In fact, he is passionate about quite a few things: politics, music, parenting, environment, education.
His music album ‘Ray’ Say Rail Chali is geared towards children between the ages of five through 10. Abroad, children’s educational music and programming has been popular since the ’80s, just the way it was in Pakistan back in the day. However, after the likes of Sohail Rana, not much work has been carried out in this genre for a decade or so. Khaled, who has been at the forefront of children’s music and was even involved in the Urdu version of Sesame Street, called Open Sesame, has introduced his album hoping to bridge the gap between then and now.
He has been in the Pakistani media industry for over two decades, so it can easily be said that he is one of the experienced heads.

Khursheed Hyder is a feature Writer at Dawn Group of Newspapers since the past 6 years.

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).

Since starting out in 2007 as a student-led initiative, Laajverd has evolved into a varied interdisciplinary collective with a focus on the intersections of culture, art and architecture.
Laajverd aims to stir, sustain and channel exchange and awareness across social, geographic and creative boundaries.
Our projects reflect this; in their experiments with communication and designed interactions; in their geographical, participatory and audience diversity; and in their staunch refusal to buckle to convention.

Mahvash Faruqi is an educator with a background in theatre for the past eighteen years. She has performed in numerous theatre productions, attended workshops conducted by eminent theatre directors and has toured internationally and within Pakistan. Mahvash is a lead performer and co founder of Zambeel Dramatic readings.

Mehnaz Aziz is the Founding Director of Children’s Global Network Pakistan, a leading profit educational institution, implementing education reforms in Pakistan. She has to her credit many innovation interventions and especially creating youth educational entrepreneurs. Her organization introduced child centered methodologies to public schooling systems. She has served as a senior member of the Education Task Force under the Prime Minister of Pakistan and is also the member of Punjab Compulsory Education Commission. She initiated the Early Childhood Care and Development Centre of Excellence at CGN-P and had served on the Board of Directors for ‘Zara Sochiyay’, National Media Campaign on Education. She is also the member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Pakistan. Aziz holds a MSc in Anthropology from Quaid-e-Azam University, Pakistan and a MA in Gender and Development from the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University, UK.

Mian and the Mithus is a bi-lingual music group comprising teachers and students at the NJ's House school in Islamabad, Pakistan. They focus on writing and composing children's songs, primarily in Urdu, in order to promote Pakistani language and arts content that connects to school curricula. This will be their first public performance.

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.

Muhammad Ajmal Khan is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Federal College of Education. He has done MA in international Relations.

Muhammad Jamil Bajwa is Associate Professor of Education at the Federal College of Education. He has done MA in Education and M.S Assessment & Evaluation.

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.

Nasreen Iqbal is the Director of Pesh Raft Foundation, Grammar School Rawalpindi (GSR) and Centre for Peace and Human Rights Education.

Nadine Murtaza is a teacher, curriculum writer and storyteller. She runs NJ's House, an alternative IB PYP (candidate) school in Islamabad, which employs play-based teaching. She is also an Assistant Director at Headstart School (Islamabad), where she oversees academic programs. Nadine volunteers as a storyteller at Kuch Khaas and other children's conventions. She is a mother of two.

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.

Nasim Zehra is a Pakistani anchor and a columnist. Ms. Zehra, Director Current Affairs at Dunya Television and host of Policy Matters, is trained in international security and business management, writes and lectures internationally and nationally on national and international political and security issues. As an Analyst on Pakistan’s political experiences and international security issues Nasim has written and lectured widely nationally and internationally. Nasim has written as a Syndicated columnist for Inter-Press Services (IPS) and for national dailies and for journals including The News and the Defence Journal. In the Arab world she has written regularly for the two leading dailies; the Gulf News, Dubai-based Khaleej Times and the Jeddah-based Arab News. Nasim Zehra regularly lectures at the National Defense College, Command and Staff College, the Air War College, the Institute for Strategic Studies Islamabad and National Institute for Public Affairs. She has also lectured abroad in the United States, Germany, India, Egypt, Iran, Britain etc.
As an Expert Commentator, Ms. Zehra is invited by local and foreign television and radio networks including GEO Television Network, Pakistan Television, BBC, al-Jazeera, Gulf television, Middle East Television, CNN, Radio Australia and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for expert comments on domestic issues and international security issues.
Ms. Zehra has also combined writing with management and development consulting. As a writer she specializes as an analyst and strategist in national and international security. Nasim Zehra’s employment record includes working with the private sector and CIDA, and consulting assignments for bilateral and multilateral organizations.

Nida Yaseen is a lecturer at the Federal College of Education. She has done her MA in Education.

Nigar Nazar is the CEO of Gogi Studios PVT-LTD. A graduate of Punjab University, she went on the Fulbright scholarship for professional up-gradation. Her achievements include: a recent fellowship in Colorado College USA; Solo exhibition with PNCA, Shakir Ali Museum Lahore, Karachi Arts Council, and Abbasin Arts Council Peshawar. Nigar created Gogi comics for national dailies such as Jang, Dawn, The News and The Muslim. Bus wrapping with Gogi Cartoons took place in 2004, i.e. 9 buses in Twin Cities and 3 buses in Lahore and 2 coasters. She also prepared cartoon murals for 3 hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi including PIMS, CGH, and DHQ. Nigar authored 7 comic books and illustrated and authored 8 books for different national and international organizations. She has experience in conducting workshops and outreach programs in schools for the underprivileged students, to date 6000 children have been addressed through this program. Nigar was invited to be on the jury in Turkey, China, Malaysia, and Algiers. The Government of Pakistan conferred on her Fatima Jinnah award for her contribution in the field of Art.

Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and defense analyst. He has also taught as the visiting professor of Physics at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) where he also worked on topics in theoretical applications in the topological insulators, various Hall effects and Graphene. Before joining LUMS, he was the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and also the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University. Currently, he holds the Zohra and Z. Z. Ahmed endowed chair in the departments of Mathematics and Physics at Forman Christian College.
He graduated and also received a PhD from MIT and continues to do research in Particle physics. He received the Baker Award for Electronics in 1968 and the Abdus Salam Prize for Mathematics in 1984. He has authored various scientific research papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Hoodbhoy is also a prominent environmentalist and social activist and regularly writes on a wide range of social, cultural and environmental issues. He is the chairman of Mashal, a non-profit organization which publishes Urdu books on feminism, education, environmental issues, philosophy, and modern thought. Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy is a strong supporter of peaceful use of nuclear technology in Pakistan, nuclear non-proliferation, and nuclear disarmament; he has criticized the United States, Israel, Pakistan's and India's nuclear program in many national and international forums.

Rakae Rehman Jamil is a Lahore-based Sitar-Nawaz, classical musician and musicologist. He spent four years under the tutelage of Ustad Shujaat Khan, son of the late Ustad Vilayat Khan, and eight months at the ITC-Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata, where he learned under the guidance of Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, the legendary Sarod maestro, and Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, one of India’s leading classical vocalists. He went on to join the Musicology Department at NCA, Lahore, in 2003, where he acquired an understanding of South Asian Musicology. He graduated from NCA with an Honours Degree.
In 2013, Rakae completed his degree in the Master of Arts’ Program in Humanities from the University of Chicago, with a concentration in Ethnomusicology. Currently, he heads the Department of Musicology at the University of the Punjab, and is an adjunct faculty member at the Mushtaq Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences at LUMS, where he teaches the course on Evolution of Music in the Sub-continent. He is also conducting research on the folk and classical musical traditions of Punjab, for which he plans to create a short documentary which will be completed by July, 2014.

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.

Rubina Anjum is the Principal of Al-Maktoum Special Education Centre Islamabad.

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.

With a major in English Literature, Saeed is currently heading Girls Education Program of Oxfam GB Pakistan since 2010. He has over decade long extensive experience of leading education programmes/projects which are vertically integrated from grassroots activism to district, provincial and national level Advocacy and Policy Change work involving a range of civil society alliances and coalitions. As an educationist, researcher, certified trainer, writer, and development practitioner, he demonstrates passion and proven track record of rights based gender responsive education programming (esp. girls’ education) leading to effective governance in education through citizen-led social accountability. Representing regional and global education campaigning networks, his expertise are well-grounded in systematically connecting informed rights holders with duty bearers at all levels. Saeed’s learning & development has been strongly backed by national, international trainings & exposures (United Kingdom, South Africa, Malaysia, Thailand, Senegal and India,). Representing a leading national level NGO, he is the first South Asian winner of Commonwealth Education Good Practice “Special Nomination”Award and Govt. of Malaysia CEGPA (2009) and is the Founder and Chair of the first ever Children Parliament of Pakistan.

Saife Hasan initiated his career in the performing arts through theatre in 1997 and has performed in many prestigious theatre festivals internationally and in Pakistan. Saife is also a well-known actor for television and has directed several plays for renowned production houses in Karachi. He now works independently and has recently established his own production house. Saife is a lead performer and co founder of Zambeel Dramatic readings.

Saleem Mairaj initiated his career in theatre with the group Katha in the mid nineties and has also worked with Tehrik e Niswan since 1999. He has participated in several theatre festivals and worked with renowned theatre directors in the course of his career. Saleem is a well-known actor for television and has been commended for his work in films such as Ram Chand Pakistani and Mein Huun Shahid Afridi. Saleem makes his debut with Zambeel Dramatic Readings with the children’s story Raaja Kay Do Seeng for the CLF in Islamabad.

Saman Shamsie is an author who specializes in writing books for children. Educated at Karachi Grammar School, Allegheny College, USA, and King’s College, London, she has worked both as a ceramicist and as a physics teacher. She is the author of two children’s books- The Adventures of Slothful Slough-off (OUP, Pakistan) and The Magical Woods (OUP, Pakistan). She has also written a story titled The Heartbeat Tree, published in Magic: Stories for Eight Year Olds (Puffin, India).

Documentary Filmmaker and Anthropologist, Samar Minallah has been referred to by the media as ‘Saviour of the Soul’, ’Woman who Rocks the world’,‘The Crusader with the Camera’, ‘Women that changed Pakistan’, and the ‘Mover and Shaker’. Hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Samar’s work focuses on women, girls, and children from Pakistan and Afghanistan. As an anthropologist and a documentary filmmaker, she has been a pioneer in using film and traditional culture as a tool for change and development in Pakistan. A graduate of Cambridge University, with an MPhil in Anthropology and Development, she uses innovative media, such as truck art and folk music, to reach out to her audiences. One of her documentaries, Swara—A Bridge over Troubled Waters has won several national and international awards for breaking the silence around a practice that violates the rights of the girl child. It helped in legislation and is currently being used for advocacy in the tribal areas.
Samar has won several national and international awards.

Saima is an Associate Professor of Physics at the Federal College of Education, Islamabad. She has done M.Sc in Physics and M.Ed.

Sehar Tariq is a development consultant and an English teacher at a private school in Islamabad. She previously worked as Manager Corporate Social Responsibility at Mobilink. She also worked for the Jinnah Institute, a public-policy think-tank based in Islamabad. She has written numerous articles and is also a blogger.

Shafia Hanif is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Federal College of Education Islamabad. She has done B.Ed and M.Sc in Mathematics. She studied from Gomal University Dera Ismael Khan.

Dr. Shahid Siddiqui obtained his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from University of Toronto, Canada, M.Ed. TESOL from University of Manchester, U.K. and M.A. English Language and Literature from Gordon College. Dr. Siddiqui has worked in prestigious universities such as the Aga Khan University, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Currently he is working as a Professor and Head of Department of Social Sciences in Lahore School of Economics (LSE). His areas of interest include socio-cultural aspects of language, gender, educational change, and critical pedagogy. His published books include, Rethinking Educational in Pakistan: Perceptions, Practices, and Possibilities (2007, 2010); Adhe Adhoore Khawab- An Urdu Novel (2010), Education, Inequalities, and Freedom (2012), and Language, and Gender, and Power: Politics of Representation and Hegemony in South Asia (2013). He regularly writes on educational and linguistic issues for the editorial pages of national newspapers. He can be reached at: http://shahidksiddiqui@gmail.com

Sheherezade Alam studied art and design at the National College of Arts, Lahore. She did her post graduate studies from the West Surrey College of Art and Design, UK. Her intimacy with clay, beginning in the early 1970’s, made her Pakistan’s first female studio potter; her travel and work can be seen with some of the most acclaimed twentieth century potters in Europe, Asia, USA and Canada.
In 2000, she established LAAL, an artist’s collective, whose mission is to bring cultural and heritage education to young children. The Jahan-e-Jahanara, Center for Traditional Arts, is an attempt to contribute/share this passion to/with the children of Lahore.

Tahira Abdullah is a Researcher & Economic Development Worker, Peace Activist & Human Rights Defender. She does volunteer work with:
• Pehli Kiran School System in Katchi Abaadis (PKSS), operated by the JAQ Education Trust
• Women’s Action Forum (WAF)
• Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
• Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace & Democracy (PIPFPD)
• Insaani Huqooq Ittehad Network (IHI)
• Ending Violence Against Women & Girls Alliance (EVAWG)
• Pakistan Reproductive Health & Rights Network (PRHN)
and several other organizations working for peace with justice, equality, tolerance, pluralism, human security, rights-based & sustainable development, democracy and the rule of law.

A Civil Servant by profession, Tajdar fell in love with Urdu prose and poetry during his studies at Government College Lahore and has never looked back since. This love combined with his passion for classical Pakistani music, including qaw wali, makes him one of the driving forces in the theatre group known as ‘Theatre Wallay’ for the revival of Urdu and classical literature on the stage. He is not only the organizer and presenter at several reading events but also has shown his talent for acting in both English and Urdu with plays as diverse as the absurd “Godot kay intezaar mien” and hilarious “The Good Doctor”.
Tajdar also has an infectious laugh and sharp sense of humor so Theatre Wallay gatherings with Tajdar present usually end with roars of laughter and everyone rolling on the floor… directly propositional to how late in the night the evening ends.

Taya Online is a popular comedy show being broadcasted on ATV since the past three years. It’s a unique show as it does not target and political party or individual and instead presents topics for the improvement of the individuals and the society. It is liked by people of all ages. Another specialty of this program is a parrot that identifies when someone is lying. This was a unique concept and highly appreciated by the viewers. The character of taya (elder paternal uncle) is played by Yar Muhammad Kan.

Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by the Telenor Group, an international provider of high quality voice, data, content and communication services in 12 markets across Europe and Asia. Telenor Group is among the largest mobile operators in the world with 150 million mobile subscriptions and a workforce of approximately 32,000. Telenor Pakistan has invested over US$2.3 billion in the local economy so far. It acquired a GSM license in 2004 and began commercial operations on March 15, 2005.
In October 2012, Telenor Pakistan’s crossed the active subscriber base is 30 million retaining its position as the country's second largest mobile operator.

Tele Taleem is an interactive eLearning service connecting teachers to learners,across all boundaries. T2’s promise is built on freeing up the teacher from geographical dependency, virtually transporting them anywhere … anytime. This is the start of bringing the best learning and information resources to any location in Pakistan.
The TeleTaleem initiative is poised to transform the educational landscape of Pakistan. TeleTaleem (T2) proposes a new paradigm of learning, promising the maximum impact in shortest timeframe.
• Defines a paradigm shift in mode of learning.
• Leverages ICT drivers, to grow highly scalable and efficient educational network.
• Offers a dynamic environment to create and share rich content.
• Delivers a portal to enable broad based interactions amongst teachers, students, schools and parents.

ToffeeTV.com is a digital initiative that creates songs, stories and activities in Urdu, delivering them through the web and mobile platforms which children are native to. The idea is to create educational programming for young children and get them as excited about learning Urdu, as they are with readily available content for other languages. ToffeeTV was founded by Talea Zafar and Rabia Garib, while Hira Ilyas Bawahab and Hamza Lari are ToffeeTellers. For more information, please log onto http://toffeetv.com

The World Bank Group has set two goals for the world to achieve by 2030:
⦁ End extreme poverty by decreasing the percentage of people living on less than $1.25 a day to no more than 3%
⦁ Promote shared prosperity by fostering the income growth of the bottom 40% for every country
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. We are not a bank in the ordinary sense but a unique partnership to reduce poverty and support development. The World Bank Group comprises five institutions managed by their member countries.
Established in 1944, the World Bank Group is headquartered in Washington, D.C. We have more than 10,000 employees in more than 120 offices worldwide.

Yahya Faruqui is the founder and CEO of eLearning and EdTech firm 3i Logic.  3i Logic specializes in digital content development, open source learning technologies, mobile applications and games for education and learning.  3i Logic is launching a comprehensive educational model called Jugnu TV to promote primary and basic education through eLearning, mLearning and Blended Learning.  Prior to establishing 3i Logic in 2006, Yahya worked in banking in Pakistan and the Middle East for nearly a decade.  He holds an MBA from IBA, Karachi and MSc in Finance from Cass Business School, London.

Yaminay is the founder of Tentative Collective. The ‘Tentative Collective’ is a group of people who share resources to create interdisciplinary works of art in public places.  These works hope to excite local imaginations and create new, inclusive, spaces for social engagement—ininherently ephemeral or tentative ways. Our projects strive to be collaborative, site sensitive, and open to a diverse range of participants.  We tend to choose everyday and left-over sites in urban settings, from dividing boundary walls to neglected inner city streets—we ask how one could re-invent makeshift, tentative andmundane opportunities in everyday urban life. In the process of marking these collective sites with conviviality, we leave behind additional layers of memory, and take away interdisciplinary learning about the way large cosmopolitan cities are lived. 

Zainab Omar is Chief Executive Officer of My Art World www.myartworld.com.pk / www, myartworld.org, an online art gallery for contemporary Pakistani art. My Art World is Pakistan's leading online art portal providing a platform for artists to display their portfolios, and art collectors globally to browse and purchase online.
Zainab's journalistic work includes diverse publications e.g, in 2004, Zainab played an integral role in launching Pakistan’s leading business magazine, Blue Chip. As Editor-at-Large her monthly back page column High Life Low Life! has been widely read. She has written for The Friday Times (Contributing Editor), Libas and Zameen. As a communications consultant, her clients have included IAL Saatchi and Saatchi, The Asia Foundation, CIDA, PPAF, and UNIC. She has been published in the Alhamra Literary Review, and she is currently writing a series of short stories. 
Zainab has deployed her PR skills as a moderator at select corporate and literary events and she volunteers time to fundraising activities, including LRBT and SKMT. She has participated in plays, conducted readings and recitals to raise funds for good causes.
In 2006 she co-produced/hosted a successful prime-time cookery/chat show, *Zainab Can’t Cook*, for Aaj TV, with leading personalities. Due to its popularity the show also broadcast on Asian media channels in UK, Europe (Prime TV and Venus).

Zeerak Ahmed is a mixed media artist and singer. She started training with Ustaad Rauf Sami eight years ago. After graduating in Studio Art from Hiram College, OH, she moved back to Karachi where she currently works on art and music. 

Zehra Arshad is the National Coordinator of Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE). She has been working on development issues related to Women, Peace, Health and Education in various national and international professional organizations, networks and forums for last 17 years. She is human right activist and strong believer of inclusive and pluralistic approach for development.
Zehra is member various national and international networks and alliances working for promotion of Education ,Human Rights, Women and Child rights, Peace  etc. she is quiet vocal and assertive about rights based approach, active citizenship  and social accountability .  She is on board of various networks and organizations.
Recently, she is working as the National coordinator of Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE), a national network of civil society stakeholders. Under her leadership the coalition undertakes research- based public policy advocacy/ lobbying on different aspects of education through public policy review and reforms and well-placed advocacy initiatives and engagements with relevant stakeholder including parliamentarians, policy makers at national, provincial and district level. She is representative/ member of various international forums. She has conducted several researches and author of reports, and articles related to her area of work including education, Women rights etc.

Zehra Zaidi is a team leader at ilm ideas.

LAAL theatre is a voluntary organization that promotes social issues through the medium of theatre for community empowerment. LAAL theatre trains and prepares actors from within marginalized communities and presents them with a cost effective means of entertainment that highlights issues affecting their communities. Since 2009, LAAL theatre has carried out more than a 100 performances in various cities, locales, bazaars and slums, and reached more than 4000 people with its message. The organization will be doing a repeat performance of the original play “Kabhi ham bhi baray honge”. The story focuses on the untapped potential of Pakistani youth and how it has the means to combat the myriad problems the nation faces. The play targets a younger audience and offers them humor, drama and a hope for a better future.

Contact

Mr. Younas Chowdhry
Director and Founder, LAAL Theatre Cell:0323-4372213
E-mail: Younas.chowdhry@gmail.com website: laal.com.pk
Facebook page for Laal theatre: https://www.facebook.com/laaltheater Facebook page for Laal: https://www.facebook.com/laalpak

Mohsin Tejani is the Founder and Executive Director of The School of Writing and the Director of Andover Bread Loaf (ABL), Massachusetts, USA. He has an MA in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English – Vermont, USA where he attended courses on writing and the teaching of writing. He has attended and presented at the ABL writing workshops in Andover, Massachusetts, USA and has worked extensively with students and teachers on improving their writing and teaching skills.

Peter Jacob studied Law, Rural Development and Political Science. He has been part of several studies and researches including; 'Working Conditions of Agricultural Labour in Punjab' Published 2001, 'Life on the Margins' a qualitative and quantitative study on the minority women in Punjab and Sindh, published 2012 and 'Taleem Ya Nafrat Ki Abyari' a study that identified hate material in Text Books used in Punjab and Sindh (2012).
He has been active in many social movements including; the campiagn for abolition of Separate Electorate system and Labour Rights. He has been associated with the Natrional Commission for Justice and Peace for past 25 years and currently the Executive Director of the organization.

‘The Little Art’ is a non-profit arts education organization, which uses the medium of art to promote positive social values through innovative learning opportunities among children and young people, especially those who are marginalized and from low income backgrounds. Apart from organizing workshops on film-making and photography, the group is also responsible for the ‘Lahore International Children’s Film Festival’ and ‘Children’s Performing Arts Festival’. ‘The Little Art’ will be screening six film shows over a two day period for the CLF. The films will be chosen from around the word on the basis of their importance to Pakistani children, and will deal with issues pertaining to education, human rights, religious tolerance, peace and the environment.

Zahra Hussain is an architect, researcher and activist based in Pakistan. She is the founder and Director of Laajverd, currently working on the project ‘Bacha Bulletins’ that is being broadcasted on Aamawaam radio (www.aamawaam.org) which is yet another initiative of this organization. Although active in projects related to documentation of heritage buildings and earthquake affected building stock in Northern Pakistan, Zahra’s special interest lies in city and forces that constantly morph the urban terrain. She has hosted Tea sessions, a discussion forum in Lahore and Islamabad where students and professionals of the art and architecture try to look at the city together. Her recent research is based on the contemporary urban and regional space of Pakistan. Zahra is a 2009 graduate of NCA (Lahore Campus) in Architecture Design and did her MA in Research Architecture, Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths University, UK.

A business student and a struggling social entrepreneur, I started my first social venture at age of 19 with my business school, by the name of mumkin kar. I am a social worker at a learning stage and provide social solutions to different ventures throughout Multan. From rehabilitating flood affected widows to re-defining social learning in underprivileged government schools, I will be found working with different youth groups on religious-secular intolerance, compassion drives, education in Baluchistan and anything that favors building our nation. To learn writing is one way a woman can strive to invest in and survive this society, so do I try to write occasionally. Fighting the insecurities of our relations in these times serves as a challenge and that’s where struggle comes in play. I have started my journey to leave back positive behind me, so that my coming generation won’t be there facing the same deprivation and ignorance what I or my generation suffered from. Because I can’t afford opting an easy way out, I can’t afford not paying back to my country.