Staff Reporter
Institute for Social and Youth Development (ISYD) organized 3rd Interactive Youth Forum 2021 (IYF 2021) in collaboration with Y-PEER Pakistan in collaboration with Ministry of Climate Change, ARROW, IPAS Pakistan, MASHAL, The Millennium Universal College, Opportunity Club, Proud Pakistan Foundation and Centre for Education & Development (CED).
The Interactive Youth Forum 2021 aims at sensitize the youth to the importance of skills and other sensitive issues of society.
The participants of session on the topic “Meaningful Youth Engagement Around Life, Skills Based Education and Population” said that the youth is less aware of issues like reproductive health, family planning, climate change, life skills, etc and do not claim their rights because of restrictions at communal, societal, institutional and political levels.
Representative of UNFPA Shoaib Ahmed, Mr Kamal of ARROW, representative of Bayer Pakistan Amir Majeed, Founder Mashal Laraib Abid, CEO Opportunity Club Ahsan Kamray, TransActivist Moon Ali spoke at session while Baila Anjum moderated it.
Participants of 2nd session on (Youth Leadership, Youth Friendly Health Services and Climate Change stressed that the two biggest challenges confronting Pakistan in the 21 century are climate change and growing population-poverty nexus. They are intertwined and hold Pakistan back from economic development and prosperity.
Despite an early start in tackling both, Pakistan did not continue with its focus on environmental protection and met only limited success in restraining population growth.
The rapid and unplanned increase in population adversely affects the physical environment, erodes the carrying capacity of ecosystems and increases the exposure to climate-induced disasters in both urban and rural settings.
Theatrical performance, musical performance was also held to amuse the participants. At the end, awards, souvenirs and certificates were distributed to the speakers and participants of the forum.