Dawood Global Foundation and UNDP co-hosted the 9th LADIESFUND UNDP Sustainability Powerhouse at the Acton House Gardens, Runnymede British Deputy High Commission Karachi, supported by ADB and the World Bank, with the theme “Empowered with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Partnerships for the Goals.”
The event centered around UNSDG Goal #17 Partnerships for the Goals, by bringing together powerful, dynamic men and women across sectors to meet, network and find ways to connect and support each other for the achievement of People, Planet and Prosperity. The British Deputy Head of Mission Martin Dawson warmly welcomed guests and shared insights about the Deputy High Commission’s 15 years of collaboration with the LADIESFUND and his own personal three-year journey and relationship with LADIESFUND. He commended LADIESFUND for its “exceptional impact on society, particularly in advancing initiatives aligned with the UNSDGs but also for its wonderful work for education of girl child, food rations, wheelchairs and women entrepreneurs.”
He expressed his admiration for LADIESFUND’s dedication to empowering women and fostering societal growth, highlighting how its initiatives resonate with global goals for progress. Concluding his remarks, Mr. Dawson extended his heartfelt good wishes to LADIESFUND and the esteemed guests present at the occasion. LADIESFUND President Tara Uzra Dawood welcomed guests, giving a powerful speech about Pakistan’s legacy of being natural recyclers and upcyclers and wanted to work with UNDP and other developmental agencies to not only train our people in our traditional sustainability (bottle gali, madka kulfi, newspaper covers for street corn), regenerative sustainability, solar ovens and ecommerce but to take our trainings to other countries. “Pakistan’s care for our country is one that we are very proud of and others can learn from.”
Rida Amjad Malik, UNDP, spoke about UNDP’s recent collaboration with Dawood Global Foundation for green skills trainings of 1200 youth in Interior Sindh, and their long standing partnership with LADIESFUND since 2015’s Educate a Girl Climate, where 400 female journalists were trained in Climate Journalism. She also spoke about looking forward to more collaborations with the LADIESFUND.Sarmad Khan, formerly of UNDP, who had flown from New York City just for the event, spoke about being tasked by UN Secretary General to spearhead the implementation of the UNSDGs. He emphasized, “Goal 17 serves as the cornerstone of sustainable development, fostering collaboration among governments, the private sector, and civil society to achieve the global objectives. By promoting inclusive partnerships built upon shared vision and mutual goals, this aim ensures the mobilization of resources, technology, and expertise needed to address pressing challenges effectively. Sarmad stressed the importance of collective action and strategic alliances to create a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future for all.”Jaweria Ali spoke about being a news anchor today with roots as an Educate a Girl scholarship girl.
Faisal Kachelo reflected on a challenging time a few years ago when Interior Sindh faced a devastating flood, and how Tara Uzra Dawood and the team of Dawood Global Foundation had come in person with 5 trucks of food rations. The gathering also featured a heavy hitting ECG panel of women, sponsored by HMB, trailblazers in aviation (Ayesha Afzal, PSO), e-publishing (Ameena Saiyid) and sustainable finance (Madiha Sarim Alvi, HMB), as well as Farrukh Sabzwari (CEO, PSX), Mehfooz Qazi (World Bank Sindh Solar Project), and Haroun Khawaja (ADB Manila) who had flown from Philippines.
The Who’s Who Guest list of 200 included Senator Nasreen Jalil, Senator Javed & Shabnam Jabbar, Jamila Habib, Tariq & Sabiha Kirmani, Amin Gulgee, Yaseen Anwar, Syed Ali Raza, Naeem Zamindar, Frieha Altaf, Saquib Malik, Shamaeel Ansari, Seema Taher Khan, Fatema Hassan, Izdeyar Setna, Hamida and Ayaz Dawood, Ameena Saiyid, Moneeza Butt, Sabiha Khatri, Aysha Baqir, Haseeb & Amrah Khan, Faisal Kachelo, Pir Muhammad Saleh, Irfan Soomro, German Deputy Head of Mission Andreas Wagner, Samir Dossa, Abid Qamar, Zeba Shah, Maliha Bhimjee, Nuzrat Khan, et al.Senator Nasreen Jalil won the Best Dressed award for the Eco Glamour dress code, wearing a stunning block print sari that is the height of class, a true symbol of our culture, as well as eco-fashion having been worn more than 30 times before.
Nabila Bano delivered an outstanding rendition of both the Pakistan and British National Anthems, Muhammad Rajper expertly served as the Compere, Misbah Khalid beautifully performed the recitation, with Atiya Khan providing a thoughtful and eloquent translation of the recitation, and Fatema Hassan recited a heartwarming Urdu poem on the environment.
