2nd National Conference on Iqbal 2022 Bahria University
26, 27 & 28 DECEMBER 2022
اپنی ملت پر قياس اقوام مغرب سے نہ کر خاص ہے ترکيب ميں قوم رسول ہاشمی
Iqbal Chair Bahria University organized the 2nd national Conference on Iqbal 2022 to commemorate the 144th birthday of the poet of the East, Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal by inviting the academia to delve and research into the relevance of Iqbal’s wisdom in improving Pakistan’s educational objectivity. This was the fourth conference on Iqbal by Iqbal Chair Bahria University, preceded by one national and two international conferences since 2019. This conference was an endeavor to investigate and explore the ways to effectively use Iqbal’s teachings and guidance in developing conducive environment and methodologies in educational institutions for the positive development of our youth into high-performing human beings. The conference focused on how Iqbal’s teachings can be integrated in institutional systems, curriculum and environment in order to make it conducive to a healthy personality growth of our youth. The main theme of the conference was
فکراقبال اور ہمارا تعلیمی نظام:عصر حاضر اور آئندہ لائحہ عمل
Iqbal’s teachings and our educational system: contemporary outlook and the way forward
The conference was initially scheduled for 9, 10 and 11 November 2022, yet due to political situation in the country, it was postponed and held on 26, 27 and 28 December 2022. The events were organized a day each at Bahria University Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore campuses. The conference ran in two tracks at each campus: School Education Track and of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) track. All the seminar sessions were live broadcasted and shown in BU campuses through BUTV YouTube and Facebook page. There were 15 partner and sponsor institutions of the conference mostly from Academia namely, Iqbal Academy Pakistan, Riphah International University, GIFT University, University of Sialkot, Association for Academic Quality (AFAQ), Generations School, Dar e Arqam School System, Golden Harvest, Educational Resource Development Centre, Akhuwat, Balance Learning Facilitation Center, Character Education Foundation, Pak Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology (PAF IAST), Bahria Foundation and Pakistan Strategic Forum (PSF).
Pre-conference Program
Shaheen-e-Iqbal, a student body under the auspices of the Iqbal Chair Bahria University organized a pre-conference event “Young Philosophers” at Bahria University on December 19, 2022. The chief guest of the event was Director General Islamabad Campus, Rear Admiral (R) Naveed Ahmed Rizvi HI(M). Islamabad ALMA School and College, Bahria College Islamabad, Special Children Bahria College Islamabad, Modern Languages School and College, International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), and National University of Science and Technology (NUST) also participated through their performances of kalam, play, tableau, and other activities, with special regard to the philosophical thought of Allama Muhammad Iqbal. The Young philosophers from these educational institutions presented their thoughts on Iqbal’s philosophical and its implications in contemporary era. The event was well received and enthusiastically attended by students of Bahria university and partner educational institutions.
Conference Summary
The conference began with an inaugural session on 26th December 2022 at Islamabad Campus, followed by two track seminar sessions at Islamabad. The conference seminar sessions at Karachi and Lahore campuses were held on 27 and 28th December 2022 respectively. Alongside eight parallel online scientific sessions of the conference were held on the three days with around seventy research paper presentations out of which 3 were international papers from Kashmir, India and Bangladesh. The conference ended with the concluding session at Islamabad campus on 28th December 2022. Academicians, professionals and students from Bahria University as well as other universities enthusiastically participated in the conference. Iqbal Conference 2022 witnessed an amalgamation of peerless speakers who enlightened the crowd with their knowledge and confabulated on various new-fangled topics related to the topics of Iqbal, education and Pakistan.
Participation
Young and brilliant researchers, eminent scholars and talented students from Bahria as well as other universities and outside enthusiastically participated in the conference. A number of national and international speakers enlightened the audience with their scholarly views and panel discussions on the topics related to Iqbal and Pakistan. The conference proceedings were carried out through various scientific-sessions and plenary lectures. The conference was embarked with an opening session a BUIC followed by four track sessions at the three campuses, parallel online scientific sessions, and lastly the concluding session at the Islamabad campus.
Bahria University Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi campuses participated fully in the conference and also through Live Facebook and VLC transmissions of all the sessions.
The conference was marked by the attendance of young and brilliant researchers, eminent scholars and talented students from Bahria as well as other universities, who have driven this event into the path of success. There were more than hundred research abstracts received from all over Pakistan and other countries, representing different universities, civil society, academia and the private sector. This was a gigantic event with on-campus seminal sessions during the three days and parallel running 8 online scientific sessions followed by concluding session. These invigorating seminar sessions were attended by people from all walks of life.
Outcomes and Takeaways
Iqbal’s work is manifold in terms of its themes, outlook and relevance. It is full of timeless wisdom. The conference was a reflection of all of the above and much more. Since the main thrust of these conferences is to integrate Iqbal’s teachings in our educational processes, this conference will focus on encouraging our educational institutions, both schools and higher education institutions to restructure the institutional environment and curricula in line with Iqbal’s sagacious guidance and Qur’anic wisdom. In this testing contemporary era, the need of the hour is to pay heed to the teachings of this great sage and create an environment in various centers of learning where the youth, ‘Shaheen’ as Iqbal called them, are groomed into highly spirited and accomplishing individuals. The conference served as a platform for sharing experiences of Iqbal’s study and his personal life at different levels, from panel discussions by senior academicians and pragmatic workers in the field of education who are in some way affiliated with Allama Iqbal’s philosophy. The main outcome of the conference was to influence youth by acquainting them with Iqbal’s ideology through various means like speeches, panel discussions, paper presentation and presentation of Iqbal’s poetry as Kalam and stage play.
The conference would hopefully serve as a beacon of guide for all. Its proceedings will be compiled at length and will be made available for all. The conference highlighted several pertinent issues that needed to be analyzed and dissected. This conference was an effort by Bahria University to initiate an enlightening discourse with many more to follow. We are overwhelmed by the response of all the esteemed guests, knowledgeable speakers and enthusiastic students.