ISLAMABAD TURNS F9 PARK INTO DRIVE-IN CINEMA

MAHTAB BASHIR

mahtabbashir@gmail.com
0333 53 63 248
ISLAMABAD

Amid the global pandemic Covid-19, the civic agency Capital Development Authority (CDA) in collaboration with Jazz launched first-ever Drive-in-Cinema at picturesque Fatima Jinnah Park (F9) on Friday (Dec, 18) to provide quality entertainment to the inflation ridden and covid19 feared residents of Federal Capital.     

The inaugural film- screened on the day was “Spiderman” just to give an impression that “revival of Urdu Film” and “Urdu or regional Languages” was not the brainwave of the organizers. Secondly, the entry ticket is at the fix rate of Rs. 1000. However, as the Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad stepped on the rostrum and suggested “It must be Rs.50 for everyone, I’ve requested to,”- seems not taken seriously.       

The glitzy event was attended by the elitists, fashionistas of Isloo where vintage cars were also brought in.     

The initiative was a collaboration of Jazz, Pakistan's number one 4G operator and the largest internet and broadband service provider, Activemedia and the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Following the inauguration, the audience enjoyed popular movies in a safe and comfortable environment following all COVID-19 SOPs.

Visitors were given space to park their vehicles in an orderly manner with the movie audio individually heard through each vehicle's stereo via radiofrequency. Food stalls were also arranged for snacking at the venue within the serenity of the park. People from different walks of life were present at the premiere to get the drive-in cinema experience.

JazzCash being the official digital payment partner for the Jazz Drive-In Cinema offered discounted payment solutions at the food stalls and ticket counters, and will continue to do so for a limited time. After the success of the first show, the Jazz Drive-In Cinema will be screening movies every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the evening, following a week-wise theme ranging from classics to action, science fiction, fantasy, and animations – a movie for each member of the family.

“I would like to congratulate Jazz, Activemedia and CDA on bringing back a retro favorite to provide the masses entertainment during the new normal,” said Sheikh Rasheed during the inauguration. He said “Today, I will not talk about political issues so no such questions please.”

Speaking at the movie screening, Jazz CCO, Asif Aziz, said, “As a digital lifestyle partner, we realized that the country-wide social distancing measures limited entertainment avenues for the public. By partnering with Activemedia and CDA, we aimed to introduce adaptive solutions for people to be able to receive the cinematic experience in a safe environment. Drive-in cinemas are ready to make a comeback in Pakistan and after the success of the pilot, we hope to extend this opportunity to other cities as well.”

On this occasion, spokesperson CDA said, “We applaud Jazz and Activemedia’s initiative to create the ultimate drive-in experience for audiences. For many families, today was the first proper outing in the last few months in a safe and comfortable environment with strict SOPs enforced.”

“I would like to thank Jazz and CDA for assisting us in bringing the drive-in cinema experience to the people of Islamabad. As the country’s top experiential marketing agency, we are managing the platform after fulfilling all concerned formalities with respect to the screening of the movies. After the month-long pilot in Islamabad, the next step is to take this project to Karachi and Lahore,” added Saad M. Khan, CEO – Activemedia.

The idea is indeed a unique one for us especially in the era of Covid-19 when everything is halted, says Waseem Abbas, a resident of G-7. “I don’t have a four-wheeler but, definitely, I will be here tomorrow with one of my colleague to watch the movie to let you know further,” he maintained.

The back to back movie shows will be screened on every Friday, Saturday, Sunday at 5:30pm and 8:30 pm.    

EMPOWERING YOUTH TO DEVELOPMENT

NASIMA KHAN

Just speak to youth around you and many of them will grumble tall claims by the governments, jobs are getting hard to find by every passing day. 

However, on contrary, the governments insist that they’re supposed to create employment opportunities and not offer jobs as limited resources are available at their disposal. They’re responsible for providing the people with basic facilities of life, which include education, healthcare, food, and shelter only.

Hence, it’s the private sector or public-private partnerships that create work for people. Without going into the question of who is to blame for the growing unemployment, especially in the underdeveloped province of Balochistan, I think some organizations in development sector are doing their best to ease the intense youth crisis through special initiatives. They may not be providing jobs to the poor, uneducated youth but they’re developing their employability skills for own and community development through training workshops considering it a must for reducing poverty. The ground realities bear testimony to it.

 

Just take the instance of the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF)’s initiative Revitalising Youth Enterprise (RYE) project which has improved the employability of the selected youth in Ziarat and Killa Saifullah districts through skills development.

Around 300 young men and women aged 18-24 years, including educated but without jobs and uneducated struggling to find some decent living. These youth were selected for the training-cum-internship programme. They’re trained in clothes designing and making, beauty care, mobile phone repair, and domestic cooking, which were identified as the sought-after trades in the region. Having attended the programme, most of these youth are now able to earn a livelihood in their own areas and helping other young people to follow their path to empowerment.

Setting big goals for own development beyond their small towns and villages and pushing themselves to achieve them, these enthusiastic young souls are an inspiration for other locals, who, too, want to alleviate family poverty through skills development.

REVITALISING YOUTH ENTERPRISE IN BALOCHISTAN

NASIMA KHAN 

 

Balochistan, the country’s largest province in terms of area, has been facing multiple issues and challenges that are hampering its development, but the multidimensional poverty has emerged as the biggest one.

 

The successive governments claimed to be striving for poverty reduction in the province but there’s little or no success in practical terms. The development sector organizations however seem striving to uplift the communities, especially in the remote areas, with initiatives to help people get out of poverty.

 

Considering youth to be the engine of development, it is investing in them, including women, for sustainable development. Noted among these organisations is the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), which facilitates public-private partnerships to create livelihood opportunities for youth, including women, by skills development. Recently, it carried out a training-cum-internship programme in the underdeveloped Killa Saifullah and Ziarat districts to equip the youth with demand-driven technical skills, which were identified in a comprehensive market assessment.

 

The Citi Foundation funded the Revitalising Youth Enterprise (RYE) project, which was implemented with the help of a local partner, Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP). The training in mobile repairing, general electrician work, UPS, submersible pump and transformer repair, livestock management, commercial cooking, fashion design, bedding and quilt making, and beauty care empowered and uplifted trainees both financially and socially as they either opened own businesses or got jobs or better jobs.

 

According to the PPAF, 90 per cent of the trainees developed links and expanded their professional network, while 50 per cent of them demonstrated enhanced competencies. Community mobilisation and adherence to local norms and traditions caused good participation of girls in the training programme. 

The initiative highlighted the need for the selection of trainees for skill training projects, enhancing of the training programme duration to at least six months, provision of grants or loans to trainees, introduction of a mechanism to follow up on the trainees’ progress, and development of more inclusive approaches and institutions. The project led to a gradual change in the socioeconomic conditions of trainees and their families and its influence on other residents and thus, ensuring that more and more people, especially girls, participate in the economy. 

PDM VS PTI, NAY POLITICS VS MILITARY

 

Mahtab Bashir

mahtabbashir@gmail.com

03335363248

ISLAMABAD

The Pak Army top slot is under tremendous pressure from both ways- PM Imran khan's mere rhetoric & flawed policies from one side & PMLN's "vote ko izzat do" & "mujhy kion nikala" narrative from the other. 

The inflation- ridden public- at- large is asking a single question, i-e .what is the outcome of Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) country-wide protest rallies. The answer from different political corners varies. The only solid answer - depends upon the role of international and local establishment. But further question is whether establishment wants change right now or later on or after two more years. Is it time ripe enough or not?     

No doubt, former PM Mian Nawaz Sharif has again in limelight of political discourse by hitting too hard against the role of military in politics- of which PTI cabinet remembers labeled “a narrative of India”.

PM Khan’s reliance on being on the same page with the military does not mean that he must not come to some modus vivendi with the opposition. In politics, no one is reliable.

People are indeed burdened very heavily by high prices, reduced wages and not much light at the end of the tunnel. The government has promised on numerous occasions that it will crack down on all mafias responsible for the artificial price hike in essential items, just like the prime minister vowed to do yet again just a few days ago, but these promises have not translated into any sort of action in more than two years and people seem to have had enough of it.

The rallies of PDM has not exposed the PTI’s “Tabdeeli” under “Naya Pakistan” but has motivated majority of 212.2 million citizens of this country to raise voice against the selectors for their ‘proven’ wrong selection. But again the query remains the same, “when the selector(s) want(s) change?