The second Orientation Session under the “Youth Empowerment for Engaged Citizenship” project was conducted at the Department of Public Administration, University of Karachi on January 11, 2025. The session aimed to deepen civic understanding among students while highlighting the importance of youth involvement in governance and public decision-making processes.
Facilitators from Shehri – Citizens for a Better Environment provided a comprehensive introduction to the project’s purpose, emphasizing the need to bridge academic learning with civic engagement. The session explored the governance framework of Pakistan, including the roles and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Special attention was given to the implications of centralized, top-down planning, and how inclusive, participatory approaches can reshape policy outcomes for the better.
The proposed project hopes to establish a model framework for a process of creating a politically informed and activated youth citizenry – A model that can find replication and expansion within the pedagogical and academic spaces nationwide. The progressive documentation of project related knowledge products, training and capacity building sessions, learnings and findings would provide the architecture of this model of youth empowered socio-political activism.
Students actively participated in discussions around their identities as citizens and their level of interaction with political and administrative systems at the national, provincial, and city levels. The session encouraged them to think critically about barriers to youth participation and ways to foster more inclusive policy dialogues. By the end of the workshop, students expressed a deeper understanding of their civic responsibilities and the potential they hold in influencing public discourse and decision-making.
