Daily Times

Ambassador to the United States (US) Masood Khan on Friday said that cross-cultural learning through a people-centric approach can prove helpful in promoting bilateral relations between Pakistan and the US. In a meeting with a 25-member group of Grade 5 students from Janney Elementary School in Washington, the envoy desired to explore possibilities of having exchanges with counterpart schools in Pakistan, according to a press release received here from Washington.

The students met the ambassador at the Pakistan embassy under the Embassy Adoption Programme (EAP), a joint collaboration between DC Public Schools and Washington Performing Arts. The visit was aimed at imparting skills of students necessary to succeed in an increasingly interconnected and culturally diverse world. Masood Khan said the Embassy Adoption Programme was an excellent initiative to promote multicultural relations that could have a far-reaching impact. He appreciated the students for their heartwarming presentation on Pakistan covering areas of art, geography, and sports. Some students opted to learn Urdu, while others concentrated on Pakistani arts and culture, presenting an incredible range of talent.

They developed a ‘Jeopardy game’ series on Pakistan where quiz questions were based on Pakistani arts, national flowers, animals, and landscapes which was followed by a flawless Pakistani anthem performance that enthralled the audience. The chorus was led by grade 5 student Margaret Melia.

As part of their capstone project, students prepared a collective artwork depicting Pakistan’s diverse landscape, a football with students’ names on it as well as a truck art miniature and presented them to the Ambassador.

Masood Khan congratulated Sarah Buscher, Programme Coordinator from Janney Elementary School for her efforts in preparing the students so well. He also thanked Penelope Musto, Director of Education Partnerships Washington Performing Arts, and Atara Muhammad, in charge of Global Education DC Public Schools for providing the valuable opportunity for a very successful cross-cultural exchange. The program allows fifth and sixth graders to learn about the language, culture, history geography, arts & culture of their partner country. Teachers host their diplomat partners for classroom visits during the course of a school year.