Pakistan has great potential to meet Development Challenges: Dr. Umar Saif

Lahore: Chairman Punjab IT Board/Vice Chancellor IT University Dr. Umar Saif has said that Pakistan has great potential to meet the contemporary development challenges by using information & communication technology (ICT). As chief guest, he was addressing the concluding ceremony of two weeks International Development Design Summit (IDDS) held at Arfa Software Technology Park last day.

The summit was hosted by the Information Technology University (ITU) and the Innovations for Poverty Alleviation Laboratory (IPAL) and organized by the International Development Innovation Network, which is led by D-Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and funded by the United States Agency for International Development’s Global Development Lab. Of the 30 participants, 12 were Pakistani, while others hailed from Central and South America, North America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Australia, and other Asian countries.

The summit focused on using technology and design principles to co-create solutions to community challenges for poverty in and around Lahore. The participants presented prototype solutions to the challenges related to health, agriculture, and disaster management. Dr. Umar Saif appreciated the commitment of the foreigner participants who travelled to Pakistan despite terroristic attempts. He lauded the work of the participants who got acquainted closely with communities in and around Lahore during the summit to identify challenges that could be addressed using ICT.

He assured that their expertise would be utilized to overcome the social problems in Pakistan. USAID Economic Growth Project Specialist Kamran Niazi said that USAIDS was galvanizing entrepreneurs and innovators from multiple disciplines and walks of life to become part of the solution to ending extreme poverty. He said “We have come to understand that the most sustainable solutions to development issues come from local communities themselves.

I hope the summit has been successful to fulfill these objectives.” The event was also addressed by Mr. Daniel Mokrauer-Madden from USA, Ms Koffi Dodji Honou from Togo, Ms. Catherine Rakam from Kenya, Ms. Julia Klammer from Austria and other speakers.