PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN: The Department of Political Science (PSUP) of the University of Peshawar and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Pakistan have jointly stressed the relevance of regional connectivity, dialogue and political education for democracy, peace and development at the opening of their 8th International Summer School in the evening of 21 September 2021.
The joint initiative on “The Importance of Regional Connectivity in the Pakistan-Afghan Border Region with a Focus on Bilateral Dialogue & Challenges” aims to bring together experts, students and young scholars from across the region to foster the political and academic exchange between them.
The Chief Guest of the event, Prof. Dr. Zahid Anwar, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Peshawar, stressed:
Regional connectivity and cooperation is essential for development and peace in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region; greater understanding and interaction between the peoples of the two countries will enhance economic opportunities, too.
PSUP Chairman Dr. Abdul Rauf highlighted:
Historically, dialogue among youth in Europe, particularly in Germany and France, were instrumental in changing the minds of the Europeans and helped in creating peace between former arch rivals after the Second World War. The Department of Political Science started its series of summer schools with HSF Pakistan in 2014 in this very same spirit.
Dr. Steffen Kudella, Resident Representative of HSF Pakistan, in his welcome address said:
Every democracy needs political education, so that the society is able to participate in the democratic development process with as much knowledge as possible. For this participation, political contexts always need to be made clear, especially to younger people. These younger people are among HSF’s key stakeholders in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region.
At the 10-day event with the University of Peshawar, experts from different fields discuss a range of relevant topics with the 13 Pakistani and 11 Afghan students. These topics include: conflict resolution, countering violent extremism, good communication, migration, regional trade, the role of religion and media. The student participants also visit Quaid-i-Azam University, the cities of Islamabad and Peshawar, and the HSF Pakistan Country Office.
You may find event photos at https://twitter.com/HSF_Pakistan. For more information on PSUP, please visit https://poliscihsf.pk/, and on HSF Pakistan pakistan.hss.de. Press contact: islamabad(at)hss.de.