Daily Times

School Outreach Tours is an educational initiative launched by Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP)in 2009. Over the years, CAP’s educational programming has reached over 10,000 college and school students across Sindh and Punjab through our School Outreach Tours.

“We focus on maintaining cultural inclusivity and curating diverse educational oral history workshops. In July 2021, CAP adopted a digital model, connecting schools across Karachi virtually; SOT looks at Partition through personal narratives, bringing into focus our shared histories, cultures, and heritage sites. In this cycle, we have been able to connect with over 600 students from Dawood Public School, The Citizens Foundation, Kiran Foundation, and Education Trust Nasra School” said Amean J. President Citizens Archive of Pakistan.

Overall, the program comprises six workshops, and aims to explore new ways through which students can engage in conversations regarding Pakistan’s history, viewing it from a personal lens. CAP’s workshops are designed to transport students back in time, where they experience life in Pakistan during the 1940s and 1950s. Through these tours, CAP hopes to initiate a dialogue about Pakistan’s past and present, utilizing the material within the archive such as photographs, letters, newspapers or official correspondence and interviews in order to bring history to life for these schoolchildren.

The CAP is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural and historic preservation, operating in Sindh and Punjab. We seek to educate the community, foster an awareness of our nation’s history, and instil pride in Pakistani citizens about their heritage. CAP has focused its attention on the tradition of oral storytelling in Pakistan, emphasizing the importance of such narratives in a dialogue on national identity. Our organization has three main goals: to preserve and provide access to our archive, to build and support educational programs, and to develop educational products based on the testimonies collected.