A one month children summer camp in traditional skills organised by the National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage – Lok Virsa concluded at Shakarparian on Tuesday. The camp started on July 3 with major focus on three crafts ie truck art, pottery making and papier mache. The objective of the camp was to promote traditional skills, encourage master artisans and inculcate awareness among younger generation, especially children about the indigenous folk heritage of Pakistan. Thirty children participated in the summer camp and learnt craft making techniques under the guidance of master artisans. They were also given knowledge about storytelling, folk music and other aspects of traditional culture. The craftspeople, who provided hands on training to children during the summer camp, included Khalilur Rahman in truck art from Rawalpindi, Niaz Ahmad in pottery making from Saidpur Village and Asifa Arif in papier mache from Chakwal. The summer camps concluded with a prestigious ceremony graced by Information & Broadcasting Additional Secretary Shafqat Jalil as the chief guest. In his address, Shafqat Jalil appreciated the efforts of Lok Virsa in promoting and projecting the cultural heritage of Pakistan in such an effective manner. In her welcome remarks, Lok Virsa Executive Director Shahera Shahid informed that her institution was holding the summer camp for the last four years. “The response from parents is highly positive. In the first three years, we focused on mother tongue languages. This year, we decided to focus on traditional skills. This effort will also continue in future as well,” she said. Lok Virsa also thanked the parents who had shown trust in Lok Virsa while sending their children to the summer camp. The ceremony featured live folk musical performances rendered by participating children and young student folk artists and performers representing all provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Sindh Culture Department and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Culture also cooperated with Lok Virsa in contributing performances of their young folk artists. A large number of people including parents of summer camp children attended the event and commended performances of the artists. Published in Daily Times, August 1st 2018.