Intolerance seems to be Pakistan's biggest challenge today. Pakistan is plagued with the menace of Intolerance which seems to be the root cause of most of its social issues ranging from terrorism, violence, gender exploitation, human rights violation, sectarian conflicts, negative stereotypes and hatred against different nationalities, castes, and religion. A country like Pakistan which is full of natural resources, populous youth, and socio cultural diversity, will progress and socially develop only if it gets rid of an intolerant mindset, rigid negative perceptions and bigotry. In order to fight against intolerance, it is necessary to channelize the energies of the youth in the right direction which will set forth personal intellectual development as well as eventually social development in a positive direction at a macro level. Although this would be a long term objective but a spark of volunteerism, awareness and education among the youth could motivate them to become active citizens of Pakistan. The youth makes up about 70 % of the total population of Pakistan, it is therefore necessary to educate them so that their collective efforts could impact the Pakistani society in more positive ways.
IREX and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs USA actively engages Fulbright and Global Ugrad scholarship alumni from Pakistan and across the globe in social work projects that are aimed at bringing positive social changes in the community or society. While co coordinating one such project in Lahore , Project Smile, an effort was made to counter intolerance in the region. Although the project originally started solely as a project smile activity but after reflecting upon the gravity of the issue of intolerance in Pakistan , the activity has been expanded to continue countering this menace through various educational programs and social awareness activities. The participants were first educated and counseled and were then engaged in policy making dialogue and debate which was followed by an activity that required them to express their feelings and opinions through various artistic means such as through story writing, photography, painting, documentary, singing, poetry or simply by writing a word or a sentence that expressed their concern. People from a diverse range of socio cultural backgrounds participated in this project; students, parents, teachers and professionals from various age groups and backgrounds participated actively. Here is a glance at some of the participant’s work
