My Event Activities

The collective term "event activities" is commonly used for conferences, seminars, symposia, workshops, talks, presentations etc. which bring people from academia, government, industry, politics, the media and all walks of professional life together to discuss themes of contemporary economic, social, political and cultural significance.    

As Programme Cordinator of the Hanns-Seidel Foundation in Pakistan, and subsequently as Research Fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, I had the pleasure (and the hassle) of coorganizing numerous international event activities on contemporary political, social and economic themes of interest. Those unfamiliar with these activities should note that the required preparatory work for holding successful events is immense and requires a high degree of professionalism, constant alertness and personal committment. Sometimes, it may mean working through weekends, and simultaneously tackling countless tasks from the more complex ones, such as designing a great event programme and identifying and inviting distinguished foreign and local speakers from academia and other professional walks of life, to simpler ones such as organizing a correctly spelt event banner, receiving delegates at the airport and ensuring that microphones are functional. Many things can go wrong when organizing events, particular international events, and even seemingly "small issues" may under unfavourable circumstances cause a big headache. It is with a sense of great satisfaction that I can look back in time and state that all my events went well and achieved their intended objective.     

All the event activities I was involved in over the five-year period 1994-98 were done in cooperation with the Hanns-Seidel Foundation's project partners in Pakistan, primarily with the Foundation for Research on International Environment, National Development and Security (FRIENDS), which is a Pakistani non-governmental organization based in Rawalpindi, and which undertakes research work on national and international policy issues of relevance to Pakistan. Other event coorganizers were the University of Karachi (Area Study Centre for Europe, Department of International Relations), the administration of the Pakistan National Assembly, and the Islamabad Council on World Affairs, which is another non-governmental organozation based in Islamabad. Most of the event activities were held in Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi, the rest in Karachi.

DATE

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS THAT I COORGANIZED

Role of Women in National Development

Contemporary Central Asia

Fundamental Economic Rights

The Clash of Civilizations

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Issues in South Asia

Post Cold War European Order and South Asia

Peace Process in Afghanistan

Conference of South Asian Parliamentary Library Directors

New States of Central Asia: Challenges and Responses

Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC): Contemporary Issues of the Muslim World

The Politics of Ethnicity and Nationalism in Europe and South Asia

Nuclear Disarmament and Conventional Arms Control Including Light Weapons

Indian Ocean Cooperation

Conflicts and Conflicts Resolution in the Post Cold War Era: Lessons for South Asia

Besides coorganizing event activities, I have presented a number of scientific papers or given talks at events spanning twelve years. All my papers were subsequently published in reputed research journals in Pakistan, Germany and the United States of America, and are available for downloading in my research section. Some of my talks and presentations (excluding those I gave in my capacity as a graduate and doctoral student in public administration at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer) is given below:

MY PRESENTATIONS AT NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

Trade, Investment and Infrastructure in South Asia: A Review of Challenges and Strategies for Regional Cooperation to the Area Study Center for Central Asia, University of Peshawar, in Bara Gali, Pakistan

The European Union: A Model for Integration in South Asia? at the two-day international seminar on 24th-25th October at the Karachi Marriott Hotel on the theme "European Union - Asia Relations in the 21st Century: Problems, Prospects and Strategies", which was organized by the University of Karachi's Area Study Centre for Europe in cooperation with the European Union and the Hanns-Seidel Foundation, Germany

In the photo on the left you see me addressing the participants of a seminar organized by the University of Peshawar's Area Study Centre for Central Asia on the topic Trade, Investment and Infrastructure in South Asia: A Review of Challenges and Strategies for Regional Cooperation at the scenic place of Bari Gali on July 23rd, 1995.

The group photo from left to right: Person unknown (probably a seminar participant), Mr. Farooq Naveed (former Federal Additional Secretary for Finance), Myself, Colonel (retd.) Yahya Effendi (scholar and expert on the Pakistani intelligence service, Afghanistan and Central Asia), Dr. Adnan Khan (Chairman of the Department of International Relations at the University of Peshawar), person unknown, Dr. Azmat Hayat Khan, Director of the University of Peshawar's Area Study Centre for Central Asia   

Since May 20th, 2006, you are visitor number

If you have any critical or favourable comments and constructive suggestions about this page, please eMail me or sign my guestbook.