Trans activist Nayyab Ali wins GALAS International Activist Award

Nayyab Ali was announced as the recipient of the GALAS International Activist Award at a ceremony in Dublin, on Saturday, Feb 8, 2020. The award, presented by the National LGBT Federation (NXF), recognises the contribution of an international LGBT+ activist, from outside of Ireland, who works tirelessly to promote the full equality and inclusion of LGBT+ people in society. Nayyab is a trans woman from Pakistan, an acid attack survivor, trans activist and the founder and chairperson of the All Pakistan Transgender Election Network. She also manages the ‘Khawaja Sira Community Centre’ in Okara, which offers a basic literacy and […]

HVTN 702 clinical trial of an HIV vaccine stopped

GENEVA, 4 February 2020—The United States National Institutes of Health has announced that its HVTN 702 clinical trial of an HIV vaccine has been stopped. While no safety concerns were found during the trial, the independent data and safety monitoring board found that the vaccine was ineffective in preventing HIV transmission. The trial, conducted at 14 sites across South Africa, followed more than 5400 HIV-negative 18–35-year-olds over 18 months. The participants received six injections during the six-month period, either the vaccine or a placebo. An analysis undertaken after at least 60% of the participants had been in the study for […]

New support programme for local small-scale projects in developing countries

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid in December 2019, the Federal Environment Ministry of Germany, together with the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), presented its new support programme for local projects that protect the climate and biodiversity. It focuses on supporting small organisations and initiatives in developing countries. The programme’s goal is to select, by 2025, more than 100 “small” projects through international calls for proposals which will be awarded a grant of up to 100,000 euros each. GIZ is responsible for the new IKI Small Grants and for its coordination. The funds are provided by the International Climate Initiative. […]

Save the Children is looking for new partners

Save the Children, Pakistan has been implementing a 5-year program on Child Rights Governance (CRG) in collaboration with Swedish International Development Corporation Agency (SIDA) since 2017. SCI reach out to its beneficiaries through collaboration and partnership with local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). We are currently mapping out and identifying new potential partners based in Islamabad for implementing CRG component at federal level. Interested registered CSO are requested to provide organizational profile, that would reflect their; Working knowledge, expertise and experience in Child Rights Governance (CRG) programing in the respective location during last five years. (Project reports etc, recommendation letter from […]

Dialogue Pakistan 2020 Stirs Up the Capital with an Intensive Discourse

Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, PIPS, organized a one-day event titled Dialogue Pakistan 2020 at Hotel Margala, Islamabad, wherein issues like, and related to, state, society, religion, constitutionalism, future of parliament, regional political landscape, freedom of expression, women rights, and student unions were discussed by eminent scholars and experts. Dignitaries and scholars from all over Pakistan were invited to deliver their talks. The event remained jam-packed and included a total of 10 dialogue sessions that continued throughout the day. In the inaugural session titled The Need for Dialogue in Today’s Pakistan, I. A. Rehman, former chairman Human Rights Association (HRCP), […]

Nominations open for Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award

Nominations are open for the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award 2020 to identify and honor those who embody Robert F. Kennedy’s belief that the power of individual moral courage can overcome injustice. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award identifies and honors those who embody Robert F. Kennedy’s belief that the power of individual moral courage can overcome injustice. Each year, we invite the public to nominate outstanding champions of moral courage who stand up to oppression, even at great personal risk, in the nonviolent pursuit of human rights.  Over the past 37 years, the Robert F. Kennedy Human […]

Trailer released – Gul Makai: A Film on Malala Yousufzai

The trailer of Gul Makai was released on YouTube on Jan 8, 2019. It has already been viewed more than 17.9 million times. The film is based on the life of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. The film portrays Malala’s life before and after the brutal Taliban attack and draws attention towards the role of Malala’s family throughout her journey. The film has been directed by HE Amjad Khan and produced by Sanjay Singla. It is presented by Jayantilal Gada and Tekno Films. Actor Reem Shaikh will star as Malala. The movie also features Divya Dutta, Pankaj Tripathi, Atul […]

Digital Rights Foundation releases its report ‘Sifting truth from lies’

Jan 8, 2020, Lahore: Journalists have identified social media, particularly WhatsApp, as the hotbed for the spread of false information, noting that the increasing crisis of confidence in journalism is being fed by the weaponization of the term fake news, according to a recent Digital Rights Foundation study. The Digital Rights Foundation, a registered non-governmental advocacy-based research organisation – on Wednesday released its report titled ‘Sifting truth from lies in the age of fake news’. The study attempts to identify topics that are more susceptible to fake news, and common methods of its dissemination. It also examines the extent of […]

Solar Mela held in Okara

CSC Empowerment and Inclusion Programme organized a Solar Mela in Okara on 3rd January 2020. The purpose of this event was to market the solar products under the PMIC (Pakistan Microfinance and Investment Company), PRIME project for the financial year 2019-2020. The Mela kicked off with the recitation and national anthem. The major highlight of the Mela was the theatrical performance by Dream Theatres in which ten artists performed a short play, titled,  “Roshan  Zindagi ki Shurawat”. The objective of the play was to enlighten the audience about the benefits of renewable and clean energy with a significant focus on […]

Prince William Announces Environment Prize

from Time.com Prince William has announced a multi-million pound prize for “visionaries” working to solve “Earth’s greatest environmental problems,” from climate change to air pollution. The Earthshot Prize will be awarded to five winners, every year, for the next 10 years. The initiative’s goal is to provide “at least 50 solutions to the world’s greatest problems by 2030.” The prize was designed by and will initially be handled by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — headed by Prince William and Kate Middleton. More than 60 organizations and experts were consulted in the process; in time, […]

Theatre Wallay raises awareness about illegal migration through a play ‘Bhago’

Theatre Wallay (TW), in collaboration with Migrant Resource Center (MRC), performed its new production ‘Bhago – A Play on Illegal Migration’ – at various venues in Gujranwala, Gujrat, and Mandi Bahauddin – 3 performances in each district. It toured the target districts in Dec 2019. Illegal migration, helped by a network of human smugglers, is a decades old phenomenon in Pakistan. illegal migrants face immense difficulties and risk their lives while undertaking such a dangerous venture. However, general public does not know much about the hardships. Hence, more people fall prey to the human smugglers who lure them by promising wealth […]

UN Women, Ombudsperson Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ink accord to fight sexual harassment at workplaces

UN Women Pakistan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Office of Ombudsperson Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for protection against sexual harassment of women at the workplace. Aisha Mukhtar, Deputy Country Representative, UN Women Pakistan, and Rukhshanda Naz, first Ombudsperson of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, signed the MoU. Under this MoU, database for reported cases will be supported to assess the trends of sexual harassment at the workplace along with capacity building of inquiry committees to deal with cases of sexual harassment. UN Women and Office of Ombudsperson KP will also collaborate for raising public awareness on sexual harassment laws and […]

Islamabad Deworming Initiative Launches 2nd Annual Mass Deworming Campaign in Islamabad

Deworming 574,000 children for a safe and healthy future December 23, 2019: The First Lady of Pakistan, Mrs. Samina Alvi, launched the 2nd annual mass deworming campaign of the Islamabad Deworming Initiative at Islamabad Model College for Girls, F-7/4 Islamabad. The school-based deworming program will treat 574,000 school-age children within 2,300 government and private schools, as well as Deeni Madaris, in Islamabad Capital Territory on 23rd January 2020. All children enrolled in classes 1-10 and out-of-school children aged 5 – 14, will be encouraged to access treatment at a nearby school on deworming day.  Ms. Samina Alvi, the chief guest […]

ITA holds consultation to accelerate notification and implementation of PFCE Act 2014

Civil society organization Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), in collaboration with Oxfam in Pakistan, United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) and Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI) organized a consultation session on Tuesday, December 17, in Lahore, with stakeholders from government, civil society and education sector to discuss acceleration of notification and implementation of Punjab Free and Compulsory Education (PFCE) Act 2014. Punjab Standing Committee on Education Chairperson Aisha Nawaz Chaudhry, Punjab Standing Committee on Gender Mainstreaming Chairperson Uzma Kardar, MPA Ayesha Iqbal, Advisor to Punjab Education Minister Aasiya Khurram Agha, and members from Private Schools Association, civil society and academia attended the event. The meeting explored […]

Nominations Open for USIP’s Women Building Peace Award

United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Women Building Peace Award represents the Institute’s commitment to highlighting the vital role of individual women who are working every day in fragile or conflict-affected countries or regions in the pursuit of peace. The award will honor a woman peacebuilder whose substantial and practical contribution to peace is an inspiration and guiding light for future women peacebuilders. The awardee will receive $10,000, to be used at the recipient’s discretion, and be recognized at a ceremony in October 2020 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. Because this award aims to celebrate the […]

FAO organizes a technical session on ‘Accounting for Water’

Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO) organized a Technical Session Water Accounting Results at Provincial Level for Sindh and Punjab from 2012-2013 to 2016-2017. It was held in Islamabad on December 9, 2019. It was attended by participants from the world bank, and Agriculture Departments of different provinces including FAO technical experts. Pakistan faces an acute water shortage which is compounded by high climatic variability. In light of the growing concerns to address the water crisis, sustainable management of water resources merits urgent attention and remains a key government priority. In an effort to promote judicious management of […]

Human Rights Reel- Film Festival 2019 concludes marking the Human Rights Day

Islamabad, 10 December 2019: The 5th edition of the “Human Rights Reel- Film Festival concludes marking the Human Rights Day (HRD) in Islamabad. The closing ceremony of the festival and commemoration of the HRD was co-organised by the Embassy of Switzerland and United Nations in Pakistan. The theme of this year’s HRD was “Youth Standing Up for Human Rights”. The objective of the film festival was to amplify the importance and enhance knowledge about the universality and diversified nature of the human rights issues among Pakistani audience especially the Youth through the creative medium of films.  H.E, Thomas Kolly, Ambassador […]

Pak NGOs launches WhatsApp alert service

In response to growing demand from its users, Pak NGOs has launched WhatsApp Alerts Service on December 1, 2019. It is a paid service. It can be availed even if a user is not in Pakistan. It remains active as long as the user’s WhatsApp account is active. How it works: Charges: Rs 1000 per year The amount can be paid through easy paisa account. The WhatsApp number is 0333 8890823. The user MUST save this number in his/her phone in order to receive alerts. The user can send a screen shot of the message he/she receives after making the […]

Poster Competition “Youth Voices on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights”

Blue Veins is a non-governmental organization working for the empowerment of women and other socially isolated groups. Blue Veins works to empower communities towards improving their status which is essential for them in realizing their full potential of social, political and economic development and for promoting gender diversity and inclusiveness. Blue Veins is organizing a national -level poster competition having out the theme of ” Youth Voices on Sexual and Reproductive Health & Rights”. Through this competition the youth would be provided an opportunity to showcase their thoughts and explore their ideas regarding to the issues of their SRHR and […]

Two-day Children’s Literature Festival comes to Peshawar

The two-day 63rd Children’s Literature Festival (CLF), the largest learning festival for children and teachers in Pakistan, a flagship program of civil society organization Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), will be held on December 10-11, 2019 at two well-known locations in Peshawar – Nishtar Hall and Peshawar Museum. The event, being co-hosted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Department of Culture, will be held in collaboration with provincial departments of Tourism, Youth & Sports and the Elementary & Secondary Education. The festival will be open to all from 9am to 4pm on both the days. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Tourism, Culture, Sports, Archaeology and Youth Affairs […]