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    Public Things to do This May in Islamabad (Including Travel)

    Written by: Nida Qasim
    Posted on: May 11, 2022 | | 中文

    Khumariyaan band

    Future Fest 2022 - Tech Conference & Expo (May 13, 14, 15)

    Coming up on the weekend of the 13th, 14th, and 15th of May, this is Pakistan’s largest tech entrepreneurship festival to be held in Islamabad. It’s an innovation exposition with a diverse lineup of tech startups, investors and entrepreneurs, techies, artists, and netizens. Future Fest is the result of the success of investments acquired by Pakistani startups in the past 18 months – almost half a billion dollars in total - putting Pakistan on the entrepreneurial map, and of interest to potential investors all over the globe.

    Future Fest Poster

    To harness this potential and recent success, Future Fest will bring together 30,000+ expected attendees, 250+ world-class speakers, 100+ stall installations by exhibitors, and a chance to enjoy well-curated networking, and multiple activities. Along with the celebration of technology in Pakistan, this 3-day event will feature multiple musicians and bands from Pakistan, holding concerts every night. Many notable artists are to perform including Hassan Raheem, Atif Aslam, Young Stunners, Khumariyaan, Bayaan, Aima Baig, and others. There will also be food stalls every day.

    To buy tickets, and learn more about the event, please follow this link.

    The Silk Route Guided Tour – Trip to Hunza (May 13-16)

    This is a 4-day and 3 nights trip led by Cube Edutour, where you can experience a side of history often not spoken about. This will be a provoking cultural & intellectual academic history experience in Hunza guided by the architect behind Cube Edutour, Zain Mustafa, and will include Cube Edutour’s signature guide books of the Silk Route, a meditative on-site pop-up charcoal sketching workshop, discussions on the topic with like-minded group members and Zain Mustafa’s history talks at every stop and heritage site. The tour package will include airfare (Islamabad- Gilgit -Islamabad), road transportation, hotels (double occupancy), all meals including one local home meal, a live local folk music night, guide books, sketchbooks & SOP set CE bag, a history guided tour by Zain Mustafa, charcoal sketching & meditation “Seeing” workshops, as well as logistics & coordination.

    The Silk Route Educational Tour

    For further details please contact the CE Logistics Manager, Owais at +92 344 2711503. For more details about Cube Edutour, please follow their Instagram page or Facebook, or visit their website.

    Open Mic Night – (May 14)

    iO - The Space is hosting an open mic night, extending out the invitation to sing, dance, rap, juggle, perform a trick, tell a story, or do standup comedy. This is a chance to meet new people, and to have some light fun. The entry ticket is Rs 350, and it will be at 7PM at iO- The Space, Bahria Town, Islamabad. You can find out more details by following them on Facebook, or Instagram.

    Open Mic Night

    Culinary Tales from Balochistan - Book Launch and Presentation (May 19)

    Culinary Tales from Balochistan is Nilofer Afridi Qazi's first book published by Beaconbooks in the United Kingdom. This is an unusual collection of tales combining cookery, adventure, travel, heritage, and exploration of Pakistan’s largest province. Nilofer has traveled solo across the vast landscape of Balochistan collecting traditional recipes of incredible people who are the reservoir of Pakistan’s diversity. Her personal perspective covers generations of her own family but also of the province’s history.

    Nilofer Afridi Qazi

    “Focusing on the culinary is a fascinating way to explore a culture or country, food is a central strand in people's cultural inheritance. One of Nilofar Qazi's aims is to document this valuable and vulnerable part of her own heritage through traditional recipes. The writing at times reaches the same vertiginous splendor as the landscapes captured by her camera...” - Claire Chambers

    Here is the link to purchase a copy. The book launch is to be held at Kehkashan 3- Serena Hotel, is free for ASG Members, and Rs 300 for guests at the door. For further information, you can contact the Asian Study Group at Nabeela Ajaz: 0300-8508392, / ASG Office 051-2802343 (Tuesday-Saturday: 11 am-2pm) / asianstudyg@gmail.com.

    Culinary Tales From Balochistan

    Why do prisoners produce art? – Presentation (May 28)

    Studio, canvas, paints, brushes, and sculptures like stuff come into our mind when we think of “Art”. To write, to paint, to make art of any kind may be a great and true adventure, but this is not the case with ‘Prison Art’ which has almost nothing to do with the conventional aesthetic value that is usually associated with Art.

    Believing that art must never stop at the level of pleasing eyes, Shakeel Ahmad, co-founder of Aman Chaupal and an Anthropologist from Kasur will share his ethnographic work on prison art in Punjab. Besides attempting to answer the question ‘Why do prisoners produce art?’, the discussion will include various samples of artifacts/artworks, process methods and approaches to art creation, and finally utility, and significance of prison Art within and outside the prison.

    The presentation will be bi-lingual followed by a Q&A session. The venue is Noor Mahal-Marriott Hotel and it is free for ASG members and Rs 300 for guests, at the door. For more information you can contact: Asian Study Group at ASG Office 051 2802343 (Tuesday-Saturday 11am-2pm)/ asianstudyg@gmail.com/, Aneela Khan at 0347 0005250, or Sana Khan at 0344 0518256.

    Khumariyaan Concert – Musical Event (May 29)

    The band is one of Peshawar's organic contributions to Pakistani music. Straddling the line between genres and cultures, shifting from Eastern to Western, and playing around with crescendos and stop-start staccatos, much of Khumariyaan's sound rests on fusing the local rabab with western instruments, such as the guitar, or the Middle Eastern djembe, and while the band constantly experiments, it still has a conscious desire to stay true to its roots.

    The venue will be disclosed on registration. Registration will be available from Thursday, May 12- Wednesday, May 25 @ London Book Company, Kohsar Market.

    The fee for ASG Members is Rs. 3000 and for guests is Rs.4000. For further information, please contact: Asian Study Group at ASG Office 051 2802343 (Tuesday-Saturday 11am-2pm)/ asianstudyg@gmail.com/ Aneela Khan 0347 0005250, Sana Khan 0344 0518256

    Learn an Instrument, Make Art, or Learn Acting this Summer – Classes

    Rung Instrument Classes

    Rung School of Music and Arts offers various music, art, and acting classes. They offer a range of different classes including painting & sketching, acting, trumpet, flute, rabab, violin, guitar, drums, piano, and more. To find out how to enroll, and for further details, please contact them at 051-2287266 or 0333-1947016/0312-5003072. You can follow them on Facebook or Instagram to learn more about their offerings.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021