The project mainly aimed at promotion of liberal and democratic values among students of academic institutions in the Punjab through their capacity building and secondly, to mobilize and prepare a section of the young people of Pakistan to contribute to the intellectual progress of the nation.
Keeping in view the overall objectives of the project Bargad laid down the strategy of the project and chose to work at two different levels, i.e. a) university level, and b) community level. At university level, the Punjab university and, at community level Gujranwala district were selected as the target areas to launch the project’s goals.
It was decided that, during the due course of the project a group of 25 students (13 female and 12 male) would be trained in research and rights-based approaches through a series of connected workshops. This group would further strengthen a relationship between students and communities and engage them in action oriented activities to come with some valuable findings which may then be taken as rationales for other community interventions or policy suggestions. Moreover, the project activities were designed in such a way that could help young boys and girls to identify the issues regarding the Gujranwala district through research and analysis and, guide them to find the appropriate solution of all issues.
At the community level Bargad divided its work-plan into i) capacity building & ii) promotion of liberal and democratic values. For attainment of the first objective Bargad also worked in collaboration with PNNC (Punjab NGO Coordination Council) Gujranwala district.
To enhance the skills and capabilities of the representatives of Gujranwala NGOs Bargad participated actively and acted as a mediator between SAP-PK and other NGOs in the workshop organized by SAK-PK on ‘financial management’. This four day workshop took place at SAP-PK office Lahore from 29 Oct to 2 Nov, 2002. The participants were members from P.N.C.C Gujranwala, covering all the four Tehsils of Gujranwala. These were 13 participants from 11 different organizations.
Second training workshop was of one day held on 30 Nov, 2002 at Bargad office. After the fruitful results of the previous workshops, Bargad held three more workshops with PNNC on ‘communication and marketing’. However, here we regretfully state that throughout working with PNCC, the PNCC members demonstrated poor keenness to avail the opportunity to build up their capacity and improve their professional skills through Bargad activities. At the same time we appreciate JWS (Jinnah Welfare Society) Qila Mustafabad for their active participation in the project activities of Bargad.
For promotion of liberal and democratic values in the community Bargad engaged young people from the Gujranwala district in different activities like, dialogues, seminars, workshops and exposure trips to different sites. In seminars and dialogues Bargad trainers and resource persons provided extensive knowledge of concepts like democracy, violence and pluralism to the participants. All the activities organized by Bargad with the youth of the Gujranwala district proved highly productive. The active participation of the youth and their willingness to work further for the betterment of the society paved a new way for Bargad to continue its activities for the youth of the country.
Through all activities conducted at community level, Bargad got an opportunity not only to build up strong network with other organizations but also to train young people so that they can work more efficiently in different organizations for the development of the society.
