Girls take part in a cultural display (left), while a simulated scene depicts village life (above). PHOTOS: PRESS RELEASE
Lok Virsa has established children’s folklore societies in 10 schools in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh.
A press release issued on Saturday said that the project falls under the joint institutional cooperation between Pakistan and Norway, and is being implemented in close collaboration with district educational departments of the provinces.
According to Lok Virsa’s executive director Khalid Javaid, each Children’s Folklore Society (CFS) is conceived as a purely promotional, non-profit body to inculcate awareness among the younger generation about the folklore, local craft, music and cultural heritage of Pakistan.
It aims to foster appreciation of Pakistan’s folk and traditional heritage that has been orally transmitted through generations.
Javaid said that the project was an attempt on the part of Lok Virsa to dedicate culture for education under its popular slogan – harnessing culture for education. “With an emphasis on the direct exposure of children to authentic sources of folk and cultural materials, [we expect the societies to] to grow into a formal study on the cultural heritage of Pakistan,” he said.
The activities undertaken by CFS include regular interaction of children with folk artists and artisans, arrangements for informal talks with craft, music, folkloric and cultural personalities, study tours to various places of historical and cultural importance, screening of audio visual material on Pakistan’s cultural heritage, dramatisation of folk tales and folk romances.
In the first stage, Lok Virsa created the society in six schools of Sindh: Government Boys Higher Secondary School (Shahpurchakar, Sanghar), Government Girls Higher Secondary School (Tando Jam), Government Girls High School (Khadro, Sanghar), Government Girls Primary School (Qasimabad, Tahir Soomro), Government Boys High School (Sukkur) and Government Girls Higher Secondary School (Pano Akil).
In the second phase, the society was established in Balochistan at the Government Girls Model School and Government Boys Model School (both in Sibbi).
In K-P, government Girls High School, Bamboorate (Kalash), and Government Centennial Boys Model High School in Chitral were selected.
Javaid said the gender equality principle has been strictly followed in the society’s establishment in all three provinces. In the next phase, Lok Virsa plans to spread the network to other parts of the country, including the far flung areas of Punjab.
Since their inception, the societies have successfully arranged a number of activities and programmes with enthusiastic participation from the children, he added.
Javaid appreciated the role and contribution of the Royal Norwegian Government, in particular their mission in Pakistan, for generously supporting the cultural heritage of Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2011.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/124437/pak-norway-cooperation-harnessing-culture-for-education/
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