Danish Iqbal Raina, Abrar-ul-Mustafa
The world is going through a terrible phase. Most of the nations have been suffering from violence, age-long civil wars, cold wars and all kinds of uncomely things. Today, each nation of the world is in a race to gain destructive advantage over the other. People spread hatred, racism and intolerance. Man has become a belligerent beast. Peace, progress and prosperity seem to be fading away. Amid such a chaotic global scenario, Edventure group USA, in collaboration with some Universities and sponsored by Facebook, have thought of a different way to walk the journey of peace, progress and development and spread the message to different corners of the world. Their unique initiative has been named ‘Peace Progress Prosperity’. In our state, this group has collaborated with Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah Univerity in this endeavour of making a difference.
‘Peace Progress Prosperity’ is an academic campaign under the Facebook Digital Global Initiative P2P (peer to peer) challenge. Under this campaign, students from various universities across the globe work in coordination with the Edventure partners on various aspects regarding global concerns.
Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Rajouri is among the 175 global universities participating in the program. The campaign aspires to cover students within the campus and across the sister universities in Jammu and Kashmir. Besides students, business leaders, budding entrepreneurs and other organizations and individuals, who have been at the forefront of global peace and harmony and have been creating opportunities for others inspite of challenges and uncertainties, are a part of this one of a kind journey. The whole idea of the program is to reaffirm our faith in the idea of co-existence and mutual respect, life of peace and development.
The project was officially kicked off on March 25, 2017 by Prof. Javaid Mussarat, Vice Chancellor, BGSBU, in the campus of the University.
As a beginning of this programme, a group of students and faculty visited a number of places in Valley alongwith the message of peace. To begin with, an interactive session was held at the Central University of Kashmir which was focused on the importance of peace for a sustainable socio-economic development. Participants discussed the global challenges faced by mankind and the importance of mutual respect and understanding in building a global community to counter the rise of hate speech and intolerance. During the discussion it was observed that social justice and equality are fundamental to suitable peace and development. At the end of the discussion it was concluded that every individual has a significant role in socio-economic development of the society.
On 3rd April, 2017, the team interacted with the Chairman & CEO of The Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd, Parvaiz Ahmed. Appreciating the unique way adopted by the University, Parvez says, “In order to establish prosperous economic activities, youth must look beyond the traditional ways of livelihood.” He highlighted the importance of Entrepreneurship and the Govt initiatives that are being taken to encourage entrepreneurship. “New age Entrepreneurship” Parvez says “by young men and women of our state must be encouraged. This will surely lead to self-reliant youth and a peaceful environment.”
Moving ahead in the journey to peace, the team also interacted with the students of the Islamic university of Science and Technology. The team got a chance to meet the Vice Chancellor of IUST, Prof. Mushtaq Siddiqqi. Sidiqqi presented his views on the role of youth in the progress and prosperity of the State and country. On this new way of spreading the message of peace, he says, “This is worth appreciating that, in the world of hatred and violence, somebody has even given it a thought that the message of peace be spread.” Highlighting the importance of skillful youth who could contribute towards sustainable economic endeavours, Prof. Siddiqi says, “The curriculum of our Universities, especially in the field of business, needs to be revisited and revised so that the required skills be imparted.” Prof Siddiqi also holds the view that Entrepreneurship is the need of the hour. “We have tremendous business opportunities in new sectors like Food Processing, Aromatics and Construction industry in the State of Jammu and Kashmir” Siddiqi adds, “that have opened new avenues to establish units, create jobs and pave ways towards a stable economy.”
The next destination of the Peace Caravan was Gulmarg, the crown of Tourism in Kashmir. Here, the team visited the premiere resort ‘The Khyber Himalayan Resort’. On being asked about what can be done to bring peace, Vineet Chabra, General Manager of the resort, says, “Kashmir is characterised by being exemplary in being hospitable which has spread a word-of-mouth in the whole world.” He goes on to speak, “Kashmir has got a vast potential pertaining to the Tourism and Hospitality sector. A positive outward message and a stable economic environment is a prerequisite for peace to prevail.”
During the research the team of students interacted with New Age entrepreneurs who have created a niche in the socio-economic circles of the society.
Apart from these there are many stories to explore. However, uncertain circumstances and fragile business environment pose many challenges for theses upcoming business opportunities for “the new age entrepreneurs”. This initative is a small step towards understanding the importance of peace for progress and prosperity. For sustainable growth and development, peace must prevail.
(The authors are alumnii of School of Mgmt Studies, BGSBU. The views are personal and do not represent the organisations they work for)
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