LAHORE: A three-day 4th Unique Drama Festival arranged by Unique Group of Institutions in collaboration with Punjab School Education Department began on Wednesday at Alhamra Arts Council.
Sixteen schools performed on the first day of the festival while fourteen teams will show their talent tomorrow. Around forty six schools are participating in the festival. A large number of guests, parents and the students from Unique Group and other schools were present.
Provincial Minister for School Education Farhat Mashood Ahmed Khan along with the Chairman Unique Group of Institutions inaugurated the event.
Farhat Mashood Ahmed Khan said, “Tolerance and peace is the backbone of harmony and these activities will be helpful for creating awareness and spreading the message of peace and harmony among the people and students. New generation is living in a virtual world and they are unaware of the norms of society, as they spend time on social media and these activities will mould them in a positive way. Such kinds of activities are essential for personality grooming of the students and the performing arts play significant role in personality building,” she said.
Veteran actor Irfan Khoosat said, “Our drama industry is focusing on serious issues rather than giving opportunity to these youngsters. We don’t have plays to entertain the young generation. In such critical situation hats off to the script writers who made this event happen to showcase the talent of these youngsters on the stage,” he said.
Film Director Syed Noor said, “Unique Drama Festival is a positive step towards providing a platform for young artistes to share their creativity and express their feelings on the stage,” he said.
APP official Naeem Niazi said, “The whole festival is organized by the support of Punjab Government. Six private schools have also participated in this festival which includes City School, LACAS, Kips, American International and Garrison School. We approached six government schools but they didn’t give us any response. We gave them reminders but they were least interested in participating,” he said.
