Archive for May 15th, 2008
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2 comments May 15, 2008
Ahmad and Sajid to represent Dubai in Golden Jubilee Games, in Kenya
by Rehmat Karim
Dubai, May 15: Two young players hailing from Gilgit – Baltistan and Chitral, Pakistan, will represent Dubai, as players of foot ball team in Golden Jubilee Games, going to be held in Kenya, from June 23rd to 29th 
2008.
Ahmad Karim, 26, from Lower Chitral who plays as Striker and Sajid Ullah, 25, from Puniyal Ghizer, mid fielder, have been selected for the Dubai Foot Ball Team that will participate in the up coming International Golden Jubilee Games (GJG),in Kenya.
Both young players were playing for The Aga Khan Gymkhana Karachi Pakistan for 4 years and, now, they are working over here in Dubai. Talking to Pamir News Blog after final selection for Dubai team, both Ahmed and Sajid resolved that they will show their best performance in Kenya and represent Dubai and Northern Areas at the international level.
“Both players are main players of our team and we will keep hope to win the international football game”, said the team Coordinator. He further said that the selection has been carried out on purely merit basis.
“Both are young and energetic players and it is my personal observation, in future they will be assets 
for the Dubai football team” observed the team Coach Mr. Hershel, hailing from Africa.
Ahmad and Sajid were selected after rigorous competition among 60 Ismaili players belonging to different Gulf States. Around forty teams are expected to play foot ball game as part of the international GJG, coming from round the globe and Dubai. Other games that will be played as part of the Golden Jubilee Event are Golf, table tennis, Cricket, athletics, volleyball, wrestling, among others.
The GJG event is being organized to bring together Ismaili players from across the globe as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Imamat of His Highness the Aga Khan.
1 comment May 15, 2008
Nisar Ahmad of NCA – Lahore
by Aslam Khan Ghalib
Lahore, May 15: Nisar Ahmed is a student of Film Making and Media at Pakistan’s elite National College of Arts, Lahore. He is currently working for the AAG TV, a channel operated by GEO TV network, in Karachi. He was selected to work for the said channel after tough competition with tens of students who had also applied.
Talking to Pamir News Blog Nisar said that he will be creating a documentary on the cultural heritage of Gojal Valley, as part of his thesis requirements. “The documentary”, he said, “will be research based and include old buildings and forts located in different parts of the largest Tehsil of Gilgit – Baltistan”. This, he clarified, is an effort to record and present the historical legacy of the region.
He will also focus on the common day to day practices of families of the region and study the contemporary family dynamics in terms of social engagements, associations and networks.
His thesis proposal, though challenging, is also a recognition of his soud academic record and his expertise in the area of research. We, the Pamir Times Family, wish Nisar the best of luck for his future endeavours.
14 comments May 15, 2008
Experts gather in Islamabad to discuss school safety in quakes
By Farman Ali
ISLAMABAD, May 14: An international conference on school safety will start here on Thursday to discuss measures to reduce risk to life of school going children in a country like Pakistan which is situated in an earthquake zone of moderate to high risk seismic activity.
Experts in their two-day discussions will come up with recommendations and possible steps to improve the safety of around 180,000 schools and their nearly 23 million students across Pakistan.
“Realising that children in school are the most vulnerable in any disaster situation, the conference is organised to promote awareness on the issue”, said a press release issued by the organisers here on Wednesday.
The Aga Khan Planning and Building Service AKPBS-P) and Focus Humanitarian Assistance Pakistan (FOCUS-P), the two affiliate agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), have organised the conference in collaboration with Ministry of Education and nine other agencies, including three UN organisations.
Eight prominent speakers from abroad from among 19 countries attending the conference would cover six different themes including policy framework, technical aspects, capacity building, education, community preparedness and financing.
The conference supports the Pakistan Disaster Management Framework developed by NDMA as well as the International Hyogo Framework for Action which has been ratified by all major countries in the world.
Without safety measures, years of investment in building schools and educating children can be wiped out in seconds as was seen in the South Asia earthquake of 2005, when approximately 8,000 schools collapsed completely and over 18,000 children perished in the falling debris while attending school. The reconstruction cost of these destroyed school structures, by itself, is expected to be $480 million, apart from other social and emotional costs. There is a general agreement among experts that schools, during earthquakes, collapse because of lack of knowledge and policy for school site selection; inappropriate school structure design, poor construction quality, and use of substandard construction material. Existing technology and knowledge, however, can be applied in a cost effective manner to minimise risks to schools.
The eight foreign speakers expected in the conference include the head of the UN Inter-Agency Secretariat for International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), Salvano Briceno; Adviser to the Indian Government on Seismic Affairs, Prof Anand Arya; co-founder of the Global Coalition for Schools Safety Garry De la Pomerai; former Executive Director of the Asias Disaster Preparedness Centre, Thailand Earl Kessler; Chairman of Earthquake and Megacities Initiatives, USA Fouad Bendimerad; EC expert on Disaster Preparedness Indira Kulenovic; Dr M. Sohail Khan, Professor University of Loughborough, UK, NATO Science Prize Winner, Professor Polat Gulkin of METU, Turkey, and others.
Our Correspondent adds: FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance Pakistan and Aga Khan Planning and Building Services Pakistan along with other partners are organizing an International Conference on School Safety from 14th to 16th May 2008 in Islamabad. This conference is one of the events being arranged to mark the Golden Jubilee Year of His Highness the Aga Khan as 49th Imam of the ISmaili Muslims by the AKDN Institutions.
The conference will bring together experts, donors, philanthropist, media, legislators and media to debate the issue of school safety and will come up with a collective conference declaration and a pragmatic action agenda.
1 comment May 15, 2008
