'I am Pakistan' pictorial contest

In order to mark International women’s day this year, Tashadud Namanzur has launched a pictorial contest. Tashadud Namanzur is a social media campaign initiated to voice concerns and raise awareness regarding different forms of violence against women, prevalent in our society. The contest was launched as a follow-up to the youth dialogue organized by United Nations Pakistan in collaboration with Oxfam GB, EVAWG Alliance and Men Engage Alliance to commemorate the International Women’s day at Quaid-i-Azam University. The dialogue focused on demanding effective steps to put an end to violence against women.

To raise awareness,Tashadud Namanzur has employed different mediums in past, ranging from blogs to podcasts etc. However, this time it has taken the support of the emotional element, a picture has to offer, to take its cause to the next level.

Under the name of ‘I am Pakistan’, this pictorial contest would depict the brighter side of being a woman in Pakistan to the entire world.  It aims to highlight the contributions of  women to our society in different walks and aspects of life alongside men and how today’s woman has redefined her clichéd vulnerable existence.

To take part in the contest, just upload a picture which satisfies the above-mentioned criterion, preferably one which shows a woman working in her particular field of life. The subject, however should have acceded to be photographed.

·         Submission of entries is open till a month from March 8^th.

·         Each submitted picture will be pinned to the map of Pakistan on our website, based on its location. The map is available at: http://www.tnmpakistan.com/

·         Renowned and reputable fashion and art photographer, Tapu Javeri is serving as the judge for this contest.

·         Best photo shall receive an iPad mini and Sony Cybershot camera will be awarded to the following two runner-ups.

The pictures can be uploaded here: http://www.tnmpakistan.com/upload.php. To have a look at the set of rules for the contest, follow the link: http://www.tnm.pakistan.com/roc.php. If you have any other queries, check out our website  (http://www.tnmpakistan.com/) for further details, or drop a message at info@tnmpakistan.com 

Don’t hold back to show what you’ve got to win this contest and show support for our noble cause. Your participation is just a picture away.

Dig-it 12: Digging the digital industry

When a country has the highest internet growth rate in its surrounding region, the need of taking the marketing and advertising to a whole new level and syncing the traditional ways with digital ones arises. Yes, you got it right; Pakistan is the country in spotlight here, overshadowing the South East Asian region with the highest internet growth rate.  Such a need was addressed when digital marketing tycoons from Pakistan and abroad came together to share their expertise with Pakistani business enthusiasts at Digit12; a conference about digital marketing and advertising held on 18^th of this month at Sheraton, Karachi.

The conference revolved around the ways of bringing  digital innovation to the local industry to keep it at par with the modern  ways of marketing and advertising. The evolution of advertising along with the tactics for successful campaigning were also discussed. Moonis Rehman, CEO Naseeb Networks left the audience’s jaw  dropped when he revealed that the largest advertising agencies have transformed into largest online branding companies. While measuring the footsteps of Coca Cola’s digital journey, Shakir Moin shared how Coca Cola used polar bears to make their campaign for Super Bowl go viral.

 The sessions made it crystal clear to the audience that in this era where the world has been digitalized enough to be accessed merely at the touch of a fingertip, restricting marketing and advertising to the conventional ways would mean retracing its steps back to the scratch for a brand. Successful reaching out to consumers would involve increasing their digital access to the product and digitalizing their experience.

Almost all the sessions laid stress upon the need of understanding and connecting to your customers through the art of creating stories which tug at their emotional strings. Speakers also shed light upon the significance of generating relevant content to grasp their audience’s attention. Michael Leander, Master trainer in marketing and advertising from Denmark, praised those brands which empower their employees to generate content at free will by calling them the most successful ones.

Mobile marketing was also regarded as one of the substantial  tools in reaching out a large number of audience.  The facts presented at the session, by PTA’s courtesy showed that  out of 120 million mobile subscribers in Pakistan, 20 million are estimated to be mobile internet users.  The concern of majority of people not having mobile internet access in Pakistan was also raised which was met by Naeem Zamindar, CEO Wateen expressing his company's goal of setting up wi-fi hotspots throughout Pakistan. Wateen also served as the official wi-fi partner for the event.

Digit12 was indeed, a great initiative to give the required boost to the digital industry of Pakistan. The statistics shared at the conference,  supported the speakers in their view that although, digital medium is the new girl in town, it has a long way to go until it outdates traditional methods of marketing as a primary medium for companies to publicise their brand given the small number of people who enjoy the privilege of internet access in Pakistan. 

The Inevitable. The Death.

DEATH. This word has been etched on my mind since yesterday. As an upshot, my mood remained gloomy the whole day with me, trying desperately to figure out the reason and ending up rather unsuccessful. In the last 24 hours, I heard about the saddening demise of a handful of people, the beloved ones of those I hold dear and also of those, who I don't know but came to know by virtue of news.

When I was a child, I used to be afraid of going near dead bodies. My immature brain was unable to process how could someone, I saw just a few days ago, could lie so still, not even moving a finger, wrapped in all white, 'like a candy' -that's how I used to refer to it in front of my mom. Listening to others cry and weep used to stir a feeling of uneasiness and I could sometimes feel darkness engulfing me. When I grew up a little, and became sensible enough to know what it means to be dead, I realised how hard it was for me to shed some tears at a funeral, even if it was a close relative. Every time, I went to a funeral, I used to satisfy myself by putting on a sad facade and faking to wipe tears off my eyes. 

The time, tears came rushing on their own without having me to try, was when I heard about the death of a distant relative. The person who filled the abyss that was created by the death of my paternal grandparents, even before my parents tied the knot. Deep down I knew I had lost someone who has showered me with immense love without hoping for me to return the favor and so, those tears were shed however, in discretion.

Surprisingly enough, when my maternal grandmother set off on the eternal journey, I expected it to be extremely painful. The pain never came. A few hours after making my way to the funeral, I found myself playing in the garden with other children. 

It took kinda long for the true meaning of losing someone to hit me. It was painful beyond imagination when my childhood bestfriend  B's father died. I didn't know how to confront her, let alone console her. My mother kept telling me how much in need of a shoulder she is to cry on. My senses were completely blocked out to accept the reality and I came up with my final decision. To not go to the funeral. Turned out, my mother's taunts directed at my in-sensitiveness left me with no choice but to take my decision back. Dejected, I made my way towards B's place. I saw her sitting in a room surrounded by a flood of people, and sat next to her. She kept weeping and choking as a relative of hers tried to force spoonfuls of Biryani down her throat. I looked at my mom, who kept nudging me to offer a few consoling words to B. As soon as I opened my mouth, no words came out but the crying. Watching me cry, she started crying louder. I was embarrassed at the thought of how I couldn't fight back my tears, it all came shattering down in a matter of seconds. Next moment, I gathered myself and made a run for my house. I never looked back, knowing that I'd made it all worse for my friend.

To this date, I'm still a coward. I still am oblivious of how to confront those, who have lost a beloved one? For this very reason, I avoid attending funerals for which I might have been taken as an unkind person. 

I would I'm filled up-to-the-brim with pure hatred for the cruel aliens (as calling them humans would be a disgrace to the entire human race), who take lives of others for material and political reasons without stopping to think how many other souls will be lost along with one. However, they all should be totally aware of the fact that one day they'll meet their dreadful fate. As Day of Judgement is as inevitable as death.