Daily Times

The Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) on Monday announced the appointment of internationally-known celebrated writer, speaker and cultural commentator Ally Adnan as its Goodwill Ambassador.

As a CLF Goodwill Ambassador, Ally Adnan will lend his name and dedicate his support to putting a spotlight on modernising Pakistan’s archaic education system, making quality education accessible to all Pakistani children and championing modern, cutting-edge techniques for effective learning and instruction.

“CLF is delighted to welcome Ally Adnan as a goodwill ambassador who will support the cause of education in Pakistan,” CLF Chief Executive Officer and Founder Baela Raza Jamil said. “Ally Adnan has worked with CLF for a few years and supported our cultural, educational and fundraising activities. He works hard to promote social and humanitarian causes, raise awareness of social issues and encourage charitable activities. A hardworking, conscientious and patriotic man, he is the ideal CLF Goodwill Ambassador and is uniquely qualified to communicate, promote and sponsor the cause of education in Pakistan.”

“I am honoured to become a member of the CLF family and look forward to working as a CLF Goodwill Ambassador in the future,” Ally Adnan said.

‘I am honoured to become a member of the CLF family and look forward to working as a CLF Goodwill Ambassador in the future,’ Ally Adnan said

“Pakistan is beset with many problems and, in my opinion, education is the one solution to all of the problems. A well-educated, well-informed and well read populace will never tolerate corruption, ineptitude, incompetence and dishonesty in any organisation, public or private and force all Pakistanis to do their best for the country. I believe in the power of education and want it to be affordable, accessible and effective for all Pakistanis. I have enjoyed working with CLF in the past and am glad to be a part of an organisation that supports a cause, which is very near and dear to my heart. As a CLF goodwill ambassador, I plan to do any and everything in my power to help spread modern education all over Pakistan,” he said.

CLF is a social movement founded by Baela Raza Jamil of Idara-e-Taleem-O-Aagahi and co-founded by Ameena Saiyid of the Adab Festival in collaboration with a number of private and public organisations. The goal of CLF is to promote a culture of learning, which focuses on creativity, imagination and multi-sensory stimulation and not just on school textbooks, tests and examinations. CLF is a not-for-profit, independent, Section 42 Company with six directors and a company secretary and represents the first ever national level systematic movement of its kind having a national outreach all over Pakistan.

An enthusiastic and indefatigable patron of the arts, Ally Adnan is a well known writer and speaker on topics of culture, history and the arts. His writings on classical music form a valuable treatise on the theory, culture and practice of music in India and Pakistan. Ally speaks on culture and the arts on radio, television, schools, conferences and research symposia, all over the world. Ally’s areas of expertise are qawwali and Sufism. He has conducted extensive research in the two areas and is considered a subject matter expert in the field of qawwali and Sufism. He has conducted seminars, workshops and symposia on qawwali and all over the world. He also writes and speaks about Hindustani Sangeet, Kathak, Urdu poetry and literature, art and painting, jewellery, South Asian musical instruments, tea and numerous other topics related. Adnan also writes for a large number of Pakistani and international publications, on a regular basis.