Islamabad, 16 July 2020 (GNP): The President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan sent felicitation message to the Vice Chancellor of the National Skills University Islamabad on celebrating the World Youth Skills Day 2020. The message reads “I congratulate the Vice Chancellor NSU and his team for organizing WYSD2020 in Pakistan and hope for holding such events on regular basis.” Importantly, the President’s message who is Chancellor of the University highlights the importance of the celebrating this day. A part of this message available at the National Skills University reads “We are living in a highly dynamic world where technological advancements need continued learning of new skills by every human being. The recent agony of the COVID-19 pandemic altered the entire global canvas in terms of lifestyle and work practices. This scenario also resulted in far-reaching consequences in creating opportunities as well as the emergence of challenges at all levels. To respond to the challenges and remain competitive, there is a need for creative thinking, innovative technologies, and relevant new skills across the world. This requirement can be fulfilled by the cooperation of academia and entrepreneurs by creating and instilling skills in talented youth.”
The World Youth Skills Day 2020 celebrations started in the morning of 15th July with a conference on the topic of “Skills for a Resilient Youth”. Academic leaders of international repute and top-notch scholars of the country including Vice Chancellors, students, media personnel participated in this conference via Zoom and university Facebook. The first lecture of the inaugural ceremony was by Prof. Dr. Atta -ur- Rehman, Chairman of Prime Minister’s Task Force on Science and Technology, Vice Chairman on Prime Minister’s Task Force on Technology Driven Knowledge Economy, and Co- Chair, Task Force on Information Technology. Prof. Atta discussed about the “Importance of Creative Skills in Developing a Knowledge Economy”. Professor Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Rector, University of Central Asia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan discussed about the “Educational Pathways to Success” during the current challenging times. Ms. Farida Ansari, Managing Consultant of Talent & Engagement from the IBM Canada gave an extensive overview on “Embracing the Future: Skills Development Strategies for the Next Generation Workforce.” Students from Indonesia and all parts of the country participated during questions answer sessions. Afternoon sessions mainly focused on skills competitions among youth and public.
Dignitaries and institutions across the country sent felicitation messages to the National Skills University administration for holding this timely event aligning with vision of the current government “Hunarmand Pakistan” Skills for all initiative. The recorded message from Muhammad Usman Dar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs, Chairman All Pakistan Vice Chancellor Committee, Vice Chancellors across the country, Chairpersons, TEVTA, National Technology Council, NAVTTC, TEVTA are available at the university conference web site at https://wysd2020.nsu.edu.pk/index.html#messages
Important to mention here is that international organizations like UNESCO and UNEVOC have highlighted this conference on their website besides a recognition by the Swiss Academic Leader and Vice President International at E.H.E. Europa Hochschule EurAka CH
The Vice Chancellor, National Skills University sent his gratitude to all the participants of this event and specifically thanked Chairperson of the National Technology Council and National Vocational and Technical Training Commission and universities across the country for their collaboration and support in holding this event.