021Disrupt, Pakistan’s premier entrepreneurship conference spanning two days wraps up after a massive success of discussions and dialogue on improving the entrepreneurship scenario and developing the startup ecosystem of the country. The event attracted audience from diverse backgrounds, ranging from business experts and successful start-up owners to budding entrepreneurs. Just as the organizers predicted, the conference was better and bigger than the previous years, with more than 1000 guests belonging to all age groups, attending interactive panel discussions and highly informative talks by experts. It is imperative to channel the potential that Pakistanis have and utilize it in materializing unique ideas into successful businesses and projects that would benefit not just their owners and consumers but also add to the country’s economic development. An interesting panel discussion, titled “Soft Power: Promoting Pakistan on the Global Stage”, moderated by veteran businessman and CEO Media Times Limited, Shehryar Taseer, was held on the closing day of the conference, where Amina Sheikh, Hina Bayat, Waseem Akram, Shaniera Waseem and Shehzad Roy shared their perspectives on streamlining Pakistan with global trends of development. The discussion opened with the moderator raising an immensely important but often overlooked question of exploring ways and increasing opportunities to transform the much celebrated potential in Pakistani youth. He emphasized the need of moving forward from seeing Pakistan as a ‘country that has a lot of potential’ and make it ‘a country that has realized a lot of potential’. Shehryar Taseer also appreciated the government’s efforts in this regard, particularly with reference to the development in tourism and technology sector and reiterated that it is important to create opportunities to engage Pakistan’s youth, which is the country’s largest resource, in the development process of the country and utilize their potential to yield beneficial outcomes. Panelist Amina Sheikh, actor and social advocate, stressed upon the significance of changing the narratives and heritage that is being transferred to the younger generation through stories, books, media etc. Shehzad Roy, renowned singer and education activist, pointed towards the need of life skill based education to steer the youth in the right direction for making an efficient use of their potential and contribute towards the country’s development. The two day conference winded up on Sunday after an exciting day filled with enlightening talks, numerous success stories, exchange of information and inspiration.