Various schools and colleges participated in the ‘CM Talent Hunt’ Youth program, which was held at Al-Hamra Arts Council. Event officially began with the arrival of Provincial Minister for Information, Culture and Youth affairs as the Chief Guest.
The event’s main organisers were the Lahore Arts Council Chairman, Atta-ur-Rehman, and Asif Chaudhry Director of ‘Pukaar’ organization. This collaboration seeks to patronise and promote art, culture and literary activities. The event speakers emphasised on the message of Iqbal along with spiritual and literary figures, and how it deserves credit for preserving the rich Sufistic traditions of the subcontinent, which depicts the local and National culture.
'We will play music instruments and raise paint brushes, not guns and weapons,' said Sofia Beydar who represented the 'Bano Pakistan ki Pehchan' team. She stated that the spirit of Sehwan Sharif is inculcated in the ‘soft-culture’ epitome which will hold its place of significant resistance against terrorism. A mesmerising performance by Sara Raza Khan on national and Sufi songs followed. She is considered a youth icon as she can sing in 10 different languages and has represented Pakistan in more than 50 countries.
Following this, there was amazing performance through the perfect fusion of 'Man Kunto Maula' and 'Ankhan Kithay Ja Laryan', which was sung by Hamid Ali Khan's sons; which was followed by ever-green ‘Laal Meri Path.' In enthralling national spirit, 'Ay-Watan, Piyaray Watan' was sung by Wali Hamid Khan, who represents his family tradition alive since nine generations. The message delivered through both performers was that Pakistan has a rich culture and there is space for enormous talent which needs to be inspired and promoted. The Information department of the Provincial Government has been assigned the job of coordinating and facilitating activities of the Youth Organisations.
Shahid Iqbal (Secretary and Project Director) is the person who had responsibility for organising the CM talent Hunt Youth program team and he endeavours for it to serve as a platform for Music, Drama and Artisanship. The message of Sufi preachers like Bhittai, Data Ganj, Lal Shahbaz, Bulleh Shah and other Sufi personalities is symbolic answer to the events of terrorism that do shake and grieve the nation, but it is in these moments that we forget our differences and unite to serve and help each other.
The Provincial Minister for Information, Culture and Youth affairs said that Pakistan’s path to growth, prosperity and success is through the youth’s involvement on district, provincial and national level. The Provincial Government will provide youth development facilities where the youth can train and develop their skills. The CM Talent Hunt is a platform to showcase painting and music talent. Similarly, the minister said that Youth Development Initiatives were launched previously on an extensive basis in which talents from different fields and various organisations could prove themselves and serve the country. He further said that Provincial Government attaches importance to education and youth which is evident through schemes like ‘Apna-Rozgar’, loans, scholarships for position holders as well sports events.
The minister appreciated the contribution of teachers and lauded the efforts of LEAs for security. Participants were from Government Islamia College (Cooper Road), Wahdat College, Queen Mary, M.A.O. College, Samanabad College, H.E.C., College for Women (Baghbanpura), Ayesha Degree College, GCU and various other educational institutions. Senior journalists and government officials were present at the event.
The registration is open from 17-28 February. On district level, the competition for music will held from 3-13 April while for painting, the dates are 11-21 March. The auditions for Music are 3-9 March while dates for Painting are 11-30 March. The winners will be presented awards by the Chief Minister Punjab.