LAHORE - The four-day 12th Youth Performing Arts Festival (YPAF) will start from October 24 under the aegis of Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) at Rafi Peer Cultural Complex.   
Addressing a press conference at Lahore Press Club on Monday, RPTW Chief Executive Officer Usman Peerzada flanked by Saadaan Peerzada, Aleena Peerzada and Tasneem Peerzada told the media men that the RPTW added a new dimension to network of festivals by staging an amateur performing arts activity drawing on talent from in and around Lahore.  He said that the YPAF was started in 1999 as a small theatre camp dedicated to youth performances, has now emerged as a full-blown festival.
“Similar in style and format to the World Performing Arts Festival, the Youth Performing Arts Festival has emerged as an important platform of learning and artistic growth,” he said, added that it had become the major festival for the youth of Pakistan.
“The YPAF remains one of the first and only platforms for young artists to perform and compete at such a large and international level, the Youth Awards afforded by this festival have become a mark of quality, excellence and integrity, giving amateur performers the respect and recognition they deserve, while fostering the spirit of quality and competition. Through these prestigious awards we continue to challenge the young people of our nation to set the bar ever higher”, he said.
Usman said YPAF, since its inception aimed at supporting the energy and confidence of artistic expression to the youth, enabling them to foster their traditional arts and preserving a rich cultural heritage.
He said: “We firmly believe that cultivating and continuing to foster a love, recognition and respect for our artistic heritage amongst the youth, is the only hope for the future cultural identity of Pakistan.”
About the programme of the festival, he told that live theatre would be held each night, performed by various schools, colleges and individual theatre groups and live dance performance would be held each night by various schools, colleges and independent dance companies.
The RPTW CEO said puppet performances from various schools and colleges as well as independent practitioners will share the stage with the theatre shows.