Merely cherishing the technological advancements may not suffice to our progress as a nation. Let me begin with an anecdote about a company which used to acquire latest and sophisticated technology as and when those appeared in the market. The CEO of that company once had these remarks: “We have lots of information technology but we just don't have any information!”.
We live in knowledge society where revolutions in information and communication technologies are making wonders. The world is paradoxically shrinking and expanding at the same time. We are now part of the information world which has almost removed the concept of borders. At the same time, there are strong concerns that it has created new walls and new divisions i.e. digital divide. It is obvious that because of certain technologies we stay connected to the rest of the world but somehow loose connection with families and near ones. Same is the situation with information related to career and education. There are groups who are loaded with such information and resources but at the same time there are people who just don't have the wherewithal to access such information.
To this end, we need active minds to connect and look for a visible direction towards the future. How to harness local potentials while using all channels and media to make information available to all segments of society especially the youth, is our challenge. I was impressed with the idea of ‘Organization for Educational Center (OEC)’ an initiative of the talented youth from GB. This group has begun with a magazine entitled EDUCURE. The most important aspect of this initiative is that it is driven by youth and more importantly for the youth of GB living in far flung areas where access to information and specially career related guidance is very rare.
Being cognizant of emerging situations and needs of young students, our youth has taken a revolutionary step in the right direction. Educure is not simply a magazine but it is a vision for long term development- a pathway to success for those who live in far flung regions where they do not have access to any other means of information that is correct and timely. Educure is a blend of career information and success stories from those who have excelled in their lives and have become role models. A well thought and coherent direction by the youth for future generations i.e. youth--- what a wonderful combination. I am glad that our youth has taken this great responsibility of nation building as reflected in poetry below:
Whenever I find myself in trouble, I recall an English proverb ‘Smooth Sea never made skilled sailors’. Similarly, this wonderful group of youth may be faced with numerous challenges they should never give up rather as a strong team they should try hard to turn those challenges into opportunities. I wish the Educure team best of luck in their endeavors as they are playing their due role as reflected in yet another poetry which fits this great cause:
Sultan Ahmed
Assistant Professor
Department of Media and Communication
KIU, Gilgit
