LAHORE - A two-day international IT conference and festival organised by entrepreneurship wing of the Pakistan Information Technology Board (PITB) concluded at the Alhamra Cultural Complex, Qaddafi Stadium, on Sunday.

On day-2, Dr Yaqoob Bangesh, Dr Muhsin Ali, Sadaf Chuhan and Nadhra Khan spoke at the session tilted “Museums Today”. "Museums need to shift from passive to active audience; they need to narrate a story, which will capture the interest of their audience so that they can become more relevant,” Nadhra Khan said.

Dr Muhsin Ali said, "Google's Art and Culture app is now making art approachable and people have been responding to it because it actively involves them."

Another session on gaming was held where Khurrum Samad said, “Games are important. In future, they will teach people how to build interfaith harmony; such is the impact of gaming.” Zaair Hussain was of the view that gaming was a workable career choice five years ago and it has grown even more since then.

Salima Hashmi spoke at the session on “Lahore, The Beloved City”. The session was attended by people from all walks of life.

A session titled “Digital Dialogue” was also held. Aqsa Tariq, Ali Ahsan, Fasi Zaka, Humayun Haroon and Anis Sheikh were panelists of the dialogue.

Fasi Zaka said, “Technology can change media and journalism technically, but it can't change the fundamentals. Our people might like the digital media, they might be active on it, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are digitally literate."

"This generation doesn't have the time to go and sit in front of the TV at 8pm or 9pm, so we see they are choosing the more colourful digital platforms instead," Humayun Haroon said while talking about the changing trends in the media.

Speaking at a session titled “Design Disruption”, owner of startup Nina Ho said design thinking was a process of solving problems and they were just human ways of coming up with a solution. Panelist Abdullah Haris was of the view that “emotional response is a core component for design experience”.

Mango Films screened 60 second films on this occasion. A session on venturing into tech was moderated by Nabeel Qadir where foreign speakers also expressed their views. Chris Sheetz, Jonas Exchhorst, Mons Rahman, Dr Umar Saif, Abdul Rahman Talat and Khurram Zafar spoke on the occasion.

Addressing the concluding session, PITB Chairman Dr Umar Saif said that a tech and digital revolution will be possible only if the government takes initiatives and then implements them successfully. “We got full support from the American Consul General in Lahore. We are assured that American companies coming to Pakistan will start tech initiatives too,” he said.

"The concept of startups was something hardly anyone was familiar with. But finally the idea has sunk in. The belief that you can turn your idea into reality has finally gained acceptance and momentum," Dr Saif said.

"In Pakistan, the appetite is huge, the raw data is brilliant but what lacks is the funding - the right amount of dollars matching the ideas," said Jonas Eichhorst while shedding light on the ecosystem differences between Vietnam and Pakistan.

As part of Plan9’s ATX-PAK programme, a delegation from Austin, Texas, also joined the event.

‘The Mix’ concluded with performances by Bakhsi Brothers, Obsolete band and Wild Mangoes music band.