LAHORE: The international conference on Social Sciences and Humanities concluded with glowing tribute to children who lost their lives in the terrorist attack at Peshawar’s Army Public School (APS) in 2014. The three-day conference was organised by the Virtual University of Pakistan in collaboration with Lahore College for Women University Lahore. Speakers and delegates at the event were from academia and corporate sector. The conference provided a platform for debates that could inform relevant public policies. A total of 12 keynote speeches and 220 research papers split over five sessions were presented over the course of three days. At the closing ceremony, the participants offered prayers for the martyred children and also observed silence for a minute to pay tribute to them. Dr Nizamuddin, the chairperson of the Punjab Higher Education Commission, was the chief guest, and Malik Ahmed Khan, the spokesperson for the Government of Punjab, was the guest of honour at the closing ceremony. Keynote speakers included Dr Marcia Odell, the senior director of Gender Equality for Plan International USA; Dr Chok Hiew from the University of New Burnswick, Canada; Dr Adil Najam; Dr Rasool Baksh Rais; Dr Mugheesud Din Sheikh; Dr Najma Najam; and Dr Mohsina Munir. Giving an overview of the three-day conference, Dr Najma Najam said she hoped that in years to come this platform will explore new horizons in social sciences and humanities and use knowledge generated in these disciplines to meet challenges the country faced in the new millennium. Dr Naveed A Malik, the VU rector, thanked conference organisers and participants and expressed his appreciation for the support provided by partner institutions and sponsors. He said that the conference was an attempt to bring together social sciences and humanities scholars and experts from different disciplinary backgrounds and universities on a platform. “Their insights on dynamic socio-economic, political and global issues will really help to find a better solution of existing problems faced by the people all over the world,” he said. Addressing the closing ceremony, Dr Uzma Quraishi, LCWU vice chancellor, announced to name university’s Institute of Education after the APS principal Tahira Qazi who died trying to save the lives of her students. The LCWU VC said that the syndicate would be requested to endorse this decision. She further said that the conference took place at an opportune time to renew contacts and discuss problems of mutual interest with delegates from different parts of country and abroad. “Indeed, there is a need to deepen our understanding of the existing challenges to look for pertinent solutions using research tools to deal with emerging social sciences and humanities paradigm shifts.” Published in Daily Times, December 17th 2017.