The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) will organise a youth and social media summit in collaboration with a leading youth development organisation Bargad in August 2018. This was announced during a signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between PITB and Bargad. PITB Chairman Dr Umar Saif and Bargad Executive Director Sabiha Shaheen signed the MoU. The summit will promote youth employability, social aims and youth engagement through effective use of social media platforms and to broaden the scope and impact of youth development work in the digital space. It will involve 300 participants, mainly university students and education institutions with high-level elected and non-elected leaders, policy makers, corporate and social sector leaders, youth organisations and experts from various relevant fields, ie IT, economy and finance, peace-building, mainstream and social media and others. It was briefed that under the MoU, both PITB and Bargad will also jointly organise projects of youth entrepreneurship, capacity building and youth campaigning for effective implementation of the Punjab Youth Policy 2012. An incubation centre for rural youth in district Layyah will be set-up and non-technical and job-skill courses will be developed. Youth capacity will be built through increasing opportunities of trainings, activities, events, workshops and seminars. Youth will be engaged in youth-led activism and social media campaigning on education, peace, health and other related themes. PITB and Bargad have also planned to provide technical assistance to other provinces for youth development initiatives. Published in Daily Times, June 26th 2018.