Introduction:

With nearly 60%
of Pakistanis under the age of 25, the youth comprises a majority of the total
population of Pakistan. The power and drive to steer the country towards a
brighter and more fruitful future thus lies with not only the youth, but also
the local leadership and media of Pakistan to impact positive and sustainable
social change through constructive dialogue.

Recognizing the immense potential of this
emerging generation and influential sectors of Pakistan, Search for Common
Ground Pakistan (SFCG) and its implementing partners Sustainable Development
Policy Institute (SDPI), Intermedia Pakistan, Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF),
Uks Resource Centre (Uks), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) have
been implementing a two-year project entitled “Pakistan Peace Initiative: Promotion of Dialogue for Peacebuilding
through Media & Youth Mobilization in Pakistan”, with generous support
from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). Implemented in 25
districts across all four provinces of Pakistan as well as Gilgit-Baltistan,
FATA and Azad Jammu Kashmir, the Project focuses on engaging and building the
capacity of youth leaders, journalists, and local leaders to play an active
role in building peace in their own communities at the district level. Thus, it
seeks to promote a participatory environment that stimulates information flow,
nurtures youth involvement, and strengthens state and civilian relationships
and community reconciliation initiatives.

The overall objective of the project is to
shift attitudes and behaviors of the Pakistani population towards a tolerant
and solutions-oriented mindset. The specific objectives are:

• To enhance the capacity and sustainability of Pakistani media,
  both electronic and print, to play a more active role in creating peace and
  promoting tolerance, co-existence and non-extremist approaches;
• To enhance the capacity of Pakistani youth and local leaders to
  explore issues affecting them through a constructive, solutions-oriented
  approach that is geared towards reconciliation and conflict transformation;
• To establish platforms/mechanisms for
  Pakistani youth, civil society and local government officials to foster greater
  collaboration towards constructive dialogue, increased understanding of local
  conflict dynamics, and issues of key importance to youth, thereby fostering
  increased moderation and tolerance across the country.

Activity
and Strategic Objectives:

As part of Pakistan Peace Initiative’s ongoing
national peace campaign, SFCG Pakistan and SDPI are jointly organizing a “National Peace Summit” on Saturday,
November 23, 2013 at Awaan-e-Quaid, Islamabad (see Agenda attached). The summit will bring together
youth activists, local leaders and journalists to reflect upon and acknowledge
local-level efforts for peacebuilding. The Summit will also be participated in
by key political figures, representatives of the civil society, academia and
international development community along with leading educational institutes. Some
of the questions that will be addressed during the Summit are:

• How does the youth define peacebuilding?
• How have political parties addressed
  youth development in their 2013 election manifestos? To what extent have they
  implemented their pledges since elections?
• How can the media and local leadership
  support and amplify voices of the youth in creating a space for dialogue and
  constructive problem-solving?
• Based on experiences from the field, how
  can beneficiaries of this project progress on action plans to promote peace and
  tolerance?

Participants:

The National Peace Summit will host a total of 150
project beneficiaries. Additionally, esteemed representatives of civil society,
politics, media, sector specialists, academia, opinion leaders, and other
stakeholders from across Pakistan will also participate in this activity.

About the Organizers:

Search
For Common Ground Pakistan works to transform the way
communities and societies deal with disagreement – away from adversarial
approaches and towards collaborative problem solving. We work with local
partners to find culturally appropriate means to strengthen societies’ capacity
to deal with disputes and disagreements constructively: to understand the
differences and act on the commonalities. For more information, visit www.sfcg.org.

Sustainable Development Policy
Institute provides the global sustainable
development community with representation from Pakistan as well as South Asia
as a whole. Its mission is to catalyse the transition towards sustainable
development, defined as the enhancement of peace, social justice and well-being,
within and across generations. For more information, visit www.sdpi.org.