Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The present government has declared 2023 as the “Year of the Youth” to celebrate the ten years’ achievements of the Prime Minister’s Youth Program (PMYP) through its vibrant schemes for their empowerment.
The current week is being celebrated as “Week of Youth”, featuring a number of programs including sports competitions, marathons and cheque distribution among successful applicants of the PM Youth and Agriculture Scheme.
According to the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs, Shaza Fatima Khawaja that various programs are being organized to celebrate the decade-long achievements of PMYP during the current “Week of Youth”.
The week-long celebrations started on February 21 (Wednesday) with a competition for young start-ups, titled “Future Builder’s Contest”, arranged in collaboration with the UAE embassy while on February 22, Football and volleyball trials under the Prime Minister’s Talent Hunt program and cheques distribution to the successful applicants under the Prime Minister’s Youth Loan and Agriculture Loan were also part of the week’s activities.
A discussion at the SDGs Secretariat, to formulate future strategies related to youth, a 10-kilometer marathon race and a photography competition on the issue of climate change were also organized during the week.
The closing ceremony of the youth week will be held on next Monday, February 27.
Shaza Fatima told that PMYP was a flagship program of PML-N with the objective to empower youth and before this, there was no specific program for the welfare of the youth in the country.
In 2008, Shehbaz Sharif as the Chief Minister started this program in Punjab province while on the national level the Program was started by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2013 and Maryam Nawaz was appointed as its first chairperson, she added.
