Her Abilities Award 2020: Honouring the Achievements of Women with Disabilities

Nominations are open for the Her Abilities Award 2020 which is the first global award honouring the achievements of women with disabilities. Her Abilities was launched by Light for the World to honour women with disabilities who achieved greatness in their life or field of work. Categories Her Abilities will award the achievements of women with disabilities globally from the following three categories: Health & Education: Women with disabilities from the health or education sector, including but not limited to: teachers, teaching assistants, headmasters, university professors, doctors, surgeons, nurses, community health workers, etc. Rights: Women with disabilities from the advocacy and rights […]

Concerns expressed over rising incidents of violence and discrimination against religious minorities

It is unfortunate that despite the current Covid 19 pandemic, that is posing its share of challenges in Pakistan, religious intolerance and discrimination sadly in the past few months is on the rise. This concern has been expressed by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP). Recently, Nadeem Joseph a Christian from TV colony Peshawar died as a result of gunshot wounds he received on June 4th 2020. He and his mother-in-law Elizabeth Masih were brutally attacked by a Muslim man Salman Khan and his sons a few days after Nadeem Joseph bought a house in TV Colony in Peshawar. He was sprayed […]

AgriSurge – Innovation Challenge

Deadline – July 14, 2020 Agriculture sector is the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy as it contributes around 20 percent in the overall gross domestic product (GDP) and is also a big source of employment. It helps meet the food requirement of ever-increasing population, providing raw materials to all the major industrial sectors including textiles, leather, sugar, flour milling etc., and has a significant role in in poverty alleviation and rural development. Low growth, water shortage, environmental concerns, volatile energy prices, rising expectations from consumers – these are some of the complex challenges the agriculture sector is facing today, along with […]

Digital Victim Support Services Directory

The Victim Support Services Directory is a joint initiative of Group Development Pakistan (GDP) and the Federal Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) to provide easy access to information about services for victims of violence, harassment, and abuse, particularly children. This nationwide service provider database is searchable by organization, service type and geographic location, allowing victims and/or family members to quickly identify and access support and referral services. The service providers in the database offer the following diverse services to survivors and their family members: Shelter Referral Counseling Helplines Reporting Missing Children Reporting Online Abuse Legal Support Psychological Support People can […]

EVAWG Alliance demands public apology from Tariq Jameel for his misogynistic remarks on television

EVAWG (Ending Violence Against Women and Girls) Alliance, a civil society network dedicated to promoting and protecting women and girls‘ rights in Pakistan, would like to express its shock and disgust, following the televised statement from Tariq Jameel who blatantly attacked, objectified and vilified 47% of the Pakistani population by claiming that women’s lack of modestly was the cause of the Pandemic Covid-19.Such ill-informed and misogynistic narratives directly violate women’s fundamental rights to equality and dignity that are enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan. EVAWG alliance is therefore extremely disappointed at the fact that our government could endorse such anindividual […]

Portal established to report online child sexual abuse material

March 19: Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) in collaboration with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the Global Fund to End Violence Against Children launched a portal to improve children’s online safety in Pakistan. The new portal allows internet users in Pakistan to anonymously report child sexual abuse material in three different languages – English, Urdu, and Pashto. The reports will then be assessed by trained IWF analysts in the UK. It is the 33rd portal set up around the world to fight the spread of online child sexual abuse material. The launch was due to take place in Pakistan and […]

Apply for Consultative Status with Economic and Social Council of the UNO

The United Nations Organization (UNO) has requested applications from NGOs if they want to join Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as consultative member. Their request has been pasted here for your convenience. Dear NGO Representative, The NGO Branch of the United Nations would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank you for the contributions your organization has made to the work of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). As you might be aware, May is the last month for Non-Governmental Organizations to apply for consultative status with ECOSOC if they wish to be considered by the NGO Committee […]

Covid 19 – Handbook for Non-health Professionals

Ms Sidra Bashir, along with many other professionals, have developed a wonderful handbook for people with no medical background on dealing with Corona patients at home. We are sharing this book here for wider access. Handbook for Non-health Professionals You can send them feedback at this email address: info@p2impact.com

Corona Epidemic in Pakistan – Actions Needed, and Actions Taken

Team Pak-NGOs has started a new initiative to collect data about: Actions being taken by organizations (NGOs and charity organizations) and individuals, Actions needed – support needed by any particular community, or anything else you think must be done to deal with the corona crisis We have created four forms – Two forms are meant for actions taken (one for organizations, and one for individuals). Two forms are meant for sharing needs (one to be filled by organizations, the other to be filled by individuals). We will share this data widely with NGOs, INGOs, and general public. You are requested […]

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 […]