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Waleed Tariq / youthjournalism.org
The conference audience included journalists, activists and others.
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By Waleed
Tariq
Tariq
Correspondent
KARACHI,
Pakistan – Thinkers, speakers, and academics met recently to discuss social
sciences at the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology
(SZABIST).
Pakistan – Thinkers, speakers, and academics met recently to discuss social
sciences at the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology
(SZABIST).
The
one-day international conference, “Social Sciences in
Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities,” brought
together addressed issues faced by academics, government and society, and
proposed solutions with respect to social science.
one-day international conference, “Social Sciences in
Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities,” brought
together addressed issues faced by academics, government and society, and
proposed solutions with respect to social science.
Dr. Saleh Yucel, a Turkish academic from the Monash University in Australia, explained how social sciences research can be used to explain intolerance. He said that though extremists claim to use earlier and “pure” versions of Islam, if one was to steal a look into history, it would be possible to find peaceful coexistence among faiths.
“Racism comes from ego. ‘I am right and everyone else is wrong’ sets boundaries,” Yucel said. “Greed, too, has a part in causing internal conflicts.”
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Waleed Tariq / youthjournalism.org
Dr. Saleh Yucel, a Turkish academic from the Monash University in Australia, spoke at the conference.
Dr. Tilo Klinner, Germany’s consul-general in Karachi, highlighted how the German consulate uses research from the social sciences to frame policies relevant to Pakistan.
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The middle class is the backbone of any country, Klinner said, and determines whether a nation will become prosperous or not.
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Waleed Tariq / youthjournalism.org
Dr. Tilo Klinner, Germany’s consul-general
in Karachi
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Historian Mubarak Ali regretted that today’s educational institutions are not forming historians or social scientists.
“We are surrounded with issues dealing with before and partition. We are still pondering whether we want Jinnah’s Pakistan or Zia’s Pakistan. We need to move beyond Jinnah and Iqbal, and make our own country and form our own ideology,” Ali said.
The
conference, organized by the SZABIST Social Sciences Department on its Karachi
campus, served as the gathering place for academicians and professionals
from social sciences to come together and learn from each other.
conference, organized by the SZABIST Social Sciences Department on its Karachi
campus, served as the gathering place for academicians and professionals
from social sciences to come together and learn from each other.
