ISLAMABAD: The British Council held a ceremony in Islamabad to mark the closing of its Child Protection Awareness Campaign with a focus on safeguarding and empowering children.
During the month of November 2018, the British Council initiated a project aimed at educating school teachers/coordinators on child neglect and abuse to reduce the impact of abuse on present and future generations. With a series of six training sessions across Pakistan, this campaign reached out to 100+ schools from 14 cities and trained 210+ principals/teachers from the British Council’s Partner Schools Global Network who are now ready to cascade the training to their wider networks.
The closing ceremony was held to acknowledge the role of principals and teachers in supporting the campaign and to promote a school based child protection mechanism to prevent and respond to child abuse. The event was attended by a mix of school principals, teachers, students and media.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rosemary Hilhorst, Director Pakistan, British Council said: “We are very proud to work with partners on this important global issue. We would like to thank everyone especially the schools for raising awareness on child protection.”
Administering exams for almost 400,000 candidates per year, as well as working with schools and civil society organisations, the British Council recognises that it has a fundamental duty of care towards all children they engage with including a duty to protect them from abuse. It is committed to valuing, respecting and listening to children, and maintaining strong child protection systems and procedures for staff and for partners.
Meanwhile, the British High Commission held the first semi-final event of its fourth annual Great Debate competition at the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) in Karachi. Chief Guest of the event was the British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi and Trade Director for Pakistan, Ms Elin Burns. The competition featured students from sixteen universities in Karachi and Abdul Rafey from Tabani’s School of Accountancy emerged as winner while Muhammad Ammar Abbasi of Karachi University was declared runner-up.
The British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi and Trade Director for Pakistan Ms Elin Burns said, “In the last three years, through the GREAT Debate we have engaged thousands of students in universities and colleges across Pakistan. The ability to debate and discuss ideas and challenges is important, and I’ve been privileged to see the quality and enthusiasm of this year’s competitors who represent the talent and potential of Pakistan’s young people.”
The winners will participate in the Grand Final of the great debate, which is scheduled to be held at Windsor Castle in March 2019. The final is funded by the Waterloo200 educational legacy plan on the Age of Revolution.
Dr. Talat Altaf, Dean Faculty of Engineering welcomed the chief guest Ms Elin Burns, British Deputy High Commissioner and the event was attended by senior members of academia and the media. He congratulated Muhammad Arsalan Saeed and his entire team for organizing this event.