The SEPLAA Foundation CEO, Mrs. Ammara Farooq Malik, and member Ms. Katarzyna Szutkowski presented their research paper on the Case study analysis of the Impact Change Xcelerator Incubator as a model to promote Social Entrepreneurship for Peacebuilding in Pakistan, at the International Symposium on Peacebuilding & Education at the University of Duhok. The Symposium was organized by the UoD in partnership with the Center of Global Affairs, New York University, UNICEF and the American Embassy in Iraq.
The conference was a great opportunity to exchange ideas about how Peacebuilding can be incorporated in international programs and had researchers present from Iraq, Lebanon, US, Italy, Poland, UK, USA and Malaysia with only SEPLAA Foundation from Pakistan.
The symposium was organized with the efforts of Professor Thomas Hill, Mr. Alex Munoz and several professors from the UoD.
The SEPLAA Foundation presented it’s paper ‘Creating Innovative Solutions to Promoting Peacebuilding – A Case Study Analysis of the Social Entrepreneurship for Peacebuilding Model in Pakistan and its Applicability in Iraqi Kurdistan’ wherein the SEPLAA Foundation and Umeed Jawan Southern Punjab project was discussed as a case study to be replicated in Iraq.
The paper received several encouraging reviews including one written by Dr. Eric Davis, a former Director of the the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA and author of several books in his post ‘An Intellectual Journey Through Iraqi Kurdistan‘ in the following words:
‘Another excellent paper, was presented by Dr. Ammara Farooq Malik and Katarzyna Szutkowski of the Seeds of Education, Policy & Legal Awareness Association (SEPLAA) Foundation in Lahore, Pakistan. The presenters discussed the foundation’s successful efforts to reorient poor, unemployed youth away from terrorist organizations and bomb building to jobs that promote community development.
What was especially significant about this presentation was the foundation’s eschewing of a Western development discourse in favor of situating its efforts and communications in terminology that draws upon local cultural expressions and terminology. This focus on what the anthropologist Clifford Geertz called “local knowledge” indicated SEPLAA’s sensitivity to the cultural dimension of peace building.’
SEPLAA CEO had mentioned that many Pakistanis want to project a ‘positive image’ of Pakistan as a form of peacebuilding and want to overcome stereotypes as for many peace apart from ‘resolution of conflict’ also means ‘positive Pakistan’ or a ‘productive Pakistan’.
The SEPLAA Foundation is keen to forge international relations for dialogue and exchange of ideas with the hope that this can help our various programs to benefit children, youth and women in Pakistan in empowering them to think creatively for local and regional solutions.
Events pictures can be viewed in the link.
Mrs. Ammara Farooq Malik with Iraqi Professors at the University of Duhok in Iraq.
