NAWAB SHAH, PAKISTAN: With the support of the Higher Education Commission Pakistan, the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Pakistan and three public sector universities conducted three debating competition workshops as part of the HSF flagship project Model Council of Common Interests (CCI): Debating Democratic Devolution in Sindh province from 15 to 18 February 2021.
The first training workshop took place at Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) in Tando Jam on 15 February 2021. The Honorable Vice Chancellor of SAU, Prof. Dr. Fateh Muhammad Marri, was the chief guest of the workshop. Prof. Dr. Marri thanked HSF Pakistan for choosing SAU for Model CCI and highlighted:
Knowledge about Pakistan's political setup, Constitution and debate on topics of national and international interest is vital for students.
The second training workshop was held at Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU) in Khairpur on 16 February 2021 and was organized by SALU’s Department of Political Science. Prof. Dr. Khalil Ahmed Ibupoto, Vice Chancellor of SALU, presided over the workshop. Speaking on this occasion, Dr. Ibupoto stressed:
This exercise of Model CCI is a good initiative of HSF Pakistan and I hope that students will learn how to come together in forming a common consensus, have unity and discuss topics of national interest.
The third training workshop was conducted at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University (SBBU), Shaheed Benazir Abad in Nawab Shah on 18 February 2021. Dr. Liaquat Ali Zardari, Dean and Academic Coordinator of SBBU, highlighted in his speech:
Debate and discourse on such important topics for students are important as they are the future of Pakistan and will run this country. Matters relating to different regions of Pakistan can best be understood in terms of intra and inter provincial coordination.
HSF manager Mr. Lal Zaman explained the concept behind Model CCI and its importance. He said:
Model CCI is not a debate of dominance and conflict but an exercise in cooperation and coalition. These workshops aim at preparing students for the simulation and creating awareness about the importance of strengthening inter-provincial and center-provincial dialogue as well as democratic devolution.
HSF Pakistan Master Trainers Mr. Jami Chandio and Ms. Sonal Dhanani conducted extensive sessions on Pakistan’s Constitution, CCI, democratic devolution as well as the importance of communications skills in public debates.
For more information about Model CCI, please visit: www.modelcci.pk and https://twitter.com/ModelCCI. For more information on HSF’s work in Pakistan please visit: https://pakistan.hss.de. Press contact: islamabad(at)hss.de.