Rotary renews pledge to support books

 By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

While emphasizing on the importance of reading, the top officials of Rotary International renewed the pledge of the leading voluntary organization of the world to continue supporting the cause of books besides concentrating on other areas of community services. 

Rotary International’s District Governor for Pakistan, Dr Aftab Imam, and Jahangir Moghul, who is the Assistant Regional Public Image Coordinator of Rotary International’s Zone 1-B, addressed the during the seminar ‘Books are forever’ which was jointly organized by the Department of Library & Information Science (DLIS) of University of Karachi, Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan (RCKD) and National Library Association (NLA) at the University’s Faculty of Arts Auditorium on February 18.

“It has been established that the progress made in the East and the West has been mainly possible because of their education system and their reading habits. Look towards Japan and China in the East or Europe and North America in the West they have grown phenomenally on the basis of education and books,” Dr Aftab Imam reckoned.

“If we also desire to progress then we must also pay full attention to education. We have to encourage our youngsters to read more books to gain knowledge and expertise. There should be more such activities to motivate and groom them,” he advised.

“Rotary Clubs have a history of supporting books and library related projects and our club, Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan is among the front-runners in promoting such activities in Pakistan. We are alive to the situation that we need more books and more libraries in order to grow and progress,” Jahangir Moghul, the club’s Charter President, observed in his speech.

“As Rotarians our motto is Service Above Self and we pride ourselves in doing projects to serve the humanity. Many of you would have heard about Rotary. All you need is just to google the word Rotary and you will get to know a lot of interesting things. We play a proactive role in eliminating illiteracy from the society and books are the tools that help us achieve our goals,” he pointed out. 

“Let’s not forget that there are innumerable benefits of reading books. The younger generation needs to be more active in reading because this is the time where you can grow faster by acquiring more knowledge to beat the stiff competition which you encounter in different fields,” Jahangir Moghul reminded. 

“Let me urge you to enlist book reading among your top priorities. Trust me you never be disappointed or depressed by odd failures if you continue reading motivational books which given you courage and strength to continue working hard which is the key to success,” he concluded. 

The seminar was conducted by Syed Khalid Mahmood, President, Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan, while the vote of thanks was proposed by the club's Past President, Engr Asim Murtaza Khan.

Seminar highlights virtues of books

 By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The seminar ‘Books are forever’ which was jointly organized by the Department of Library & Information Science (DLIS) of University of Karachi, Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan (RCKD) and National Library Association (NLA) at the University’s Faculty of Arts Auditorium on February 18 highlighted virtues of book reading. 

Every speaker unanimously agreed that books held the key to success at all levels and in all spheres of life. They shared their experiences and motivated the students to devote more time to reading books in order to succeed and flourish. 

Prof Dr Faiyaz Vaid, Dean Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Karachi, was the keynote speaker while Prof Dr Nigar Sajjad, former chairperson, Department of Islamic History, University of Karachi, delivered the Presidential address 

The other speakers were Dr Aftab Imam, District Governor, Rotary International, Prof Dr Farhat Hussain Khan, Chairperson, DLIS, Jahangir Moghul, Charter President, RCKD, Asma Hassan, author of Mayar-e-Zindagi,  Muhammad Ibrahim, Member, Executive Committee, NLA, and Qazi Rasheed Bhatti, an entrepreneur and social worker. 

The NLA President, Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, made a few important announcements while Engr Asim Murtaza Khan, Past President, RCKD, proposed the vote of thanks. Syed Khalid Mahmood, President, RCKD, and Advisor, NLA, conducted the ceremony alongwith Hira Yaseen, Joint Secretary, NLA. 

Famous book ‘Mayar-e-Zindagi’ authored by Asma Hassan was presented to all the dignitaries, alongwith shields and bouquets. The registration had started at 9 am while the meeting got underway at around the designated time of 10 am and concluded at 12 30 pm. Strict discipline was maintained throughout the two and a half hours sessions and the auditorium was packed to capacity with the students of DLIS turning up in large numbers.