suggestion- please comment

Here is an idea, tell me you love it, hate it, are indifferent.

by and large we have active people here, people who care, people who want to do something.

would it make sense for us to pick up a couple of topics, and not just on some short term basis, but look at them from more of an actionable perspective, in a non partisan way. forget musharraf, forget benazir, forget nawaz. Lets look beyond personalities, lets look at the bigger picture, on some specific challenges where we think we can make a difference somehow.

and we dont have to go out like cowboys, we can reach out to other groups, thinktanks etc that have done some work on the topic we have picked up. maybe we dont need to do much to develop a perspective but can support the socializing of the findings among ourselves and among Pakistanis at large

would it not be nice to have atleast some sort of joint proposal that we then send to our political partes, newspapers etc, and again constructive, fact based, practical ideas and not just empty rhetoric.

just an idea that has been in my head for somtime and wanted for the usual clouds on this section to clear a little before I shared it.

Lets not bite off more than we can chew, lets identify one area where we think there is not enough thought being put into, or that it can use some additional perspective and assessment.

A cyber think-tank of sorts tackling specific issues, and then at minimum promoting and socializing them, or even rolling up sleeves and doing something.

I know this is all vague and abstract right now, but I just wanted to test the concept. I dont even want to tae ownership of it, but just wanted to bounce off the whole group.

Re: suggestion- please comment

A terrific idea.
we have so many issues so just pick any and i'll be there.

Re: suggestion- please comment

i dont even want to pick one, if ppl are interested, we can look at what we can do, what we can address, pick one and then go for it.

but we need to have committed ppl in it for the long-ish haul. and probably a mix of people here and in Pak.

and dont worry about our diferences of opinion, that would only serve as checks and balances and to keep it objective and real.

Re: suggestion- please comment

Good idea

Re: suggestion- please comment

A great idea.

I would like to start by discussing the ever increasing number of cooking programmes on Pakistani TV.

I fully appreciate that unemployment may be very high in Pakistan and people may not have much to do with their time apart from trying out the different methods of making 'Hyderabad style Rabdi', but surely, plumbing and carpentry skills in what is a building site (aka Pakistan) would be more useful.

Could we we please suggest this to the appropriate Nazims (unless they are living abroad, and can only provide limited support over telephone bayaan to the public).

Thank you.

Jiye Sindh, Jiye Hind.

Re: suggestion- please comment

Mr Frauds I think its a very constructive concept...Count me in...

I dont quite understand what ^ Mr/Miss Asli mean by the his thread...^ are u talking in terms of vocational skills to be learnt in schools as they will put food on the stove rather then all the degrees people have been collecting with no job in site?

Re: suggestion- please comment

folks, pleae just for now focus on whether you think this could work, and how you would like to go about making this work. Just because I have started this post does not mean I own this concept or am some kind of incharge, as a matter of fact I would rather not have that role.

First step is to have a critical mass of people, either guppies, or guppies and thir pals who would like to come together

secnd step is to figure out an approach/ approaches

third is to figure out what would be the first thing we can focus on

fourth is...just do it

my advise would be to start small, and to pick something where we can leverage our combined skills in business, social sciences and technology..maybe something education related, I dunno.

But guys please keep this serious, and I would be very very very happy if someone would volunteer to lead this effort.

Re: suggestion- please comment

Once started, peepalaan would come along so number of poeple won't be a problem.

Lets comeup with 2-3 topics. (in a new forum or something)
select 1
find the main reasons of that particular issue
Comeup with a list of suggestions
Keep minimizing the list and then finally comeup with 1 solution.

The main problem is to send the voice to some already formed social (media)group where it can be further discussed and then implemented. This is the most important part because we all know that implementation would be very hard.
The media or NGO maybe selected depending on the suggestion.

Re: suggestion- please comment

Great idea, something similar that actually worked, wanted to share it with you...

Back in the early and mid nineties, my dad got me hooked to 'The News', and I noticed it had a letters to the editors section, which at that time Dawn did not have, besides Dawn was more of a Karachi based paper. Participation wasnt much, but there were some excellent writers who would write every week, including some big names like Brstr. Baacha. Their thoughts carried so much power that they actually started getting replies from concerned officials, and I personally saw alot of vauge ideas and suggestions change into practical realities through those means, maybe we can do the same here too!

Re: suggestion- please comment

hmmmmmmmmmmmm but this is only idea:)

Re: suggestion- please comment

Indeed it's a great idea Pir Ji, and infact I've very often thought of this, but obviously the concept has been mixed up and a clear vision as to how and what exactly has been lacking.

If dedicated and focused, groups like this can make a huge difference. And I've very often thought of addressing various leading issues faced by the nation and systems in Pakistan through a group like this by reaching out to various organiztions or departments concerned, making suggestions, and also getting some constructive work done for those people needing assistance in any areas that we come across. Even after the Oct 2005 Quake I had propsed something like this.

But one of the major points that I think about while pondering over similar ideas is, that for any group to be able to create a wave or be heard, or even get something small done, we defintely need, among other things, the following without which it couldn't really work;

Serious and dedicated participation.
A group identity & ideology.
Group members' identity; real and physical.
Group members' input in forms other than just ideas.
Group meetings & planning for formal approach to organizations.

Re: suggestion- please comment

I am not a big fan of collective movements or associations, as we've seen statements signed by groups of citizens inevitably lead to accusations of wanting a place in government or criticisms of past affiliations.

I'd prefer a single issue group as a think tank I'd say:

-Ask some person in or out of power to come on the site and answer questions about their role as a legislator as a person of their constiuency and if a minister what initiaves they have done

  • Secondly pick one story which hits the papers of a person in distress and see what we can do for that person. Whether it is money for emdical care or for education or legal assistance. SOmething as simple as writing a proper letter to the ombudsman.

Re: suggestion- please comment

Haris

I cant go into details as you know, but very soon InshaAllah we will have abilities for groups to have their own workspaces.

as far as group members identity goes, as long as core members are set, you can have anonymous contributors.

input could be research, input could be going out talking to peoiple and coming back with findings,

for a geographically dispersed group, it would have to be something like a moderated webex.

I would actually like to see someone in Pakistan lead this because they can make calls t local entities easily, wal into nespaper offices to chat with editors, etc, somethign that is a little tough for people here.

we can start a separate thread on topics that one can address.

I have gone ahead and acquired a dmoan name as well, which could be the front page for the group's projects, contact info, etc etc. It can be used for this intiative. between azkar and myself we would provide the tech resources to help. We can not do it ourselves.

the idea is not to build our on derh eent ki masjid at all, but just do something that will tuen all the passion and knowledge that we see into something more. If that means we are limited to be just a conduit of connecting prospective volunteers with existing service organizations, then so be it. if we serve as a core group of volunteers on the call to help established organizations in their initiatives, then so be it. Lets just do something.

I look back at when earthquake took place, how many of us jumped up and said we could do something, many did something, many wanted to but did not know what they could do.

Re: suggestion- please comment

Sounds like a really good idea to me. Pir Sahib you seem very knowledgeable about Pakistan infact most things and I am not lagaaing maska :D

Re: suggestion- please comment

No bro, I may have general info on a number of matters in Pakistan but not in depth. I have learnt much of it over the years from people on this very forum. but thank you for your kind remarks.

Re: suggestion- please comment

Zabardast Idea-

chai shai tau pila hi daun ga kam walo ko- :)

Re: suggestion- please comment

Salaam (newbie here) :)

I pretty much joined this forum to bump into people who clearly have a passion to 'do something' about our potentially glorious Pakistan. SubhanAllah, this is the first thread I opened to read! I'm just going to spew now:

There are so many desparately frustrating issues out here. I've been stuck in this industrial city not far from Lahore for the past 4 months and making notes on everything that's been driving me crazy. Of course, this may not be applicable to Pakistan as a whole but seeing as this specific city is relatively resistant to any kind of change (with random and rare exceptions) it can be seen as a sort of vacuum. Everything here is concentrated. And everything points in one direction --> Education is unstimulating, uninspiring and does not encourage the student to use his/her own brain. There is a fear of asking 'why?'. There is a fear of questioning and this, as far as I know, comes from the way that children are taught in schools.

Education here seems to be a matter of memorising facts (Well, so-called facts. The books they study from have mistakes in them but the teacher teaches it the way the book says, even if it contradicts a previous page which was correct. Is this because he/she actually doesn't have a clue?) whereas memorising facts is a medium of education, almost a by-product, not necessarily its end.
I understand that people need to learn skills to make them potentially employable, and in this case the learning of facts IS the end. However, I still feel the education system leaves much to be desired.

Please correct me if I am mistaken.

Unfortunately, I don't yet have enough knowledge/experience to know where to start on how to go about combating certain things. However, one idea that Dude Spock mentioned was actually, to me sittting here, a really potentially great way to start. Writing to newspapers like The News and The Nation. Not only do they have a readers' opinions page, but also a Sunday 'magazine' where one could declare their views and highlight specific issues. Perhaps someone good enough could also translate them into Urdu and try reaching the Urdu (and I THINK more widely read) newspapers?

I've probably gone off on a tangent in this one.

Re: suggestion- please comment

salam abeer

thank you for your points. and thank you for your passion. In a diff thread people are sharing ideas, and then depending on how many people we have who are willing to walk the walk and not just talk the talk, we can ick up one or two tpics and really do justice to those. The goal would be to do pretty deep assessment while not getting stuck in analysis paralysis, and then sharing our findings with the right folks and outlets.

right now i am waiting to see how mny ppl can we count on to want to do something. No one has volunteered to lead the effort as of yet, so thats another little issue, but nothing that can not be overcome.

Re: suggestion- please comment

Welcome to the forum abeer,
And nice to see you bring a passion to do something. Keep sharing your views.

Re: suggestion- please comment

its a very noble idea and IMO the next logical step for a mature, motivated community.

at the same time its extremely difficult to keep together, and even if there is a nexus of people working on something, its really difficult to get something achievable done. people, including myself, tend to feel and express lofty aims and get their feel-good fix from just imagining it coming together. when there is no face-to-face consequence of your words its really tough to get people to stick to what they say.

I used to be a part of a similar endeavor called virtual think tank pakistan, (www.vttp.org) and the lead guy there was extremely motivated about using the web to introduce policy change. They had some friends in high places and journalists on board so they managed to get some involvement from the govt of Pakistan too.

But when your not getting visible results out of it, it basically becomes another place to share you political opinions, basically another mailing list. the guy in the end became quite disillusioned about the potential of getting results from random people on the web, and gradually the activities died down.

What I would suggest though is instead of starting from scratch and discovering the same pitfalls and limitations of virtual groups people could network with other groups that share the same vision and identify useful areas of work or perhaps collaborate with them on projects.

for example i know vttp had a policy paper virtual seminar/competition a couple of years ago and we submitted the best papers to the govt of pakistan or something like that. depending on what you want you could either pick up on that (if hes not motivated in continuing that endeavour) or if hes still doing it we could motivate people to send policy recommendations to that avenue.

edit: i just read your second post up there and noticed your on somewhat the same track as what i suggested. sorry!