LAHORE: The Managing Committee of ThinkFest Pakistan has announced the fourth edition of the Lahore ThinkFest from January 11-12, 2020. Unveiling the plans for ThinkFest. the chairman of ThinkFest Pakistan, Najam Sethi, noted that just within a few years ThinkFest had become the premier thought festival in Pakistan. ‘The country is in dire need of openness and dialogue, and by bringing the world’s intellectual leaders to the country, the ThinkFest is creating a lasting bridge for thought and action,’ Sethi stated.
Unveiling two of the keynotes at the upcoming event, Dr Yaqoob Khan Bangash, founder of ThinkFest, said: ‘As with earlier years, our keynotes are world leaders in their fields, and everyone in Pakistan should come to listen and engage with them.’
Keeping ThinkFest’s tradition of bringing Nobel laureates to Pakistan, the Lahore edition in January will feature the acclaimed Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Sir Venki Ramakrishnan. Sir Venki won the Nobel in 2009 for helping explain the genome and is also currently the president of the Royal Society, the premier science organisation, in the United Kingdom.
Another keynote is Sir Mark Lyall Grant, who was once the British High Commissioner to Pakistan. Later, Sir Mark became the UK’s Ambassador to the United Nations and then the National Security Advisor to the UK Government. ‘Sir Mark knows Pakistan like none other and has also been the world’s foremost diplomats. His insight and depth of knowledge about how the world works are incomparable,’ exclaimed Dr Bangash while announcing his participation in the event.
In 2020, ThinkFest Lahore will bring over a hundred speakers from across the world to Lahore for two days of creative thought and discussion. A dozen books will be launched during the festival, including a riveting biography of an Buddhist nun, Freda Bedi, written by Andrew Whitehead, the Camel Merchant of Philadelphia based on stories from the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh by Sarbpreet Singh, a book on Shrines and setting up of the Auqaf Department by Umber Ibad, a book on Shia Islam in Pakistan and Iran by Simon Fuchs, and many others. Special among the book launches will be the debut novel, 99 Days in Logar, by Jamil Jan Kochai, which has been shortlisted for the DSC Prize in Literature.
Other distinguished speakers include Professor Nicholas Dirks, lately Chancellor of the University of California Berkeley, Sir Mark Tully, former South Asia correspondent for the BBC, Dr Bruno Maceas, lately a minister in the Portuguese Government, Ziauddin Sardar of the Muslim Institute, and Sadanand Dhume of the Wall Street Journal.
As usual, the ThinkFest will again feature a ‘Speakers Corner’ where members of the public can come and speak their mind on any subject. The ThinkFest will also not have a ‘Speakers Lounge,’ meaning that all speakers will be able to mingle and interact with the attending audience. ‘Our aim is to increase interaction between different groups, foster dialogue, discussion, and reflection,’ noted Committee member Asma Chisthy, who is also the editor in chief of Destinations Magazine. Ms Chishty also highlighted that there will be several exhibitions and a strong focus on discussing the recent trend of religious tourism in the country.
ThinkFest will be held from 11am to 7pm on January 11 and 12, 2020, at the Alhamra Cultural Centre, the Mall, Lahore. The event is free and open to the public.
