Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani youth is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the United Nations by sharing messages of peace and tolerance on the walls of their schools.

The UN wall campaign was officially launched on Friday in Islamabad at the RCI Millennium Campus I-9/3, Islamabad, where students painted on a prominent wall of the school powerful messages such as “Boys and girls are equal”, “We want a corruption-free society” and “Children should be in school, not at work”. The campaign makes reference to the Pakistani tradition of “wall chalking” and aims at engaging young people from all over the country to disseminate the key values of the United Nations focused on education, gender equality, peace and tolerance, health among others. The UN wall campaign is an initiative of the United Nations funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation and UNFPA.

“I want to tell the world that we are a peace-loving country. I am glad that I am part of this amazing effort to spread messages of tolerance and peace through art. We all are uniting for a common cause, a peaceful world, a peaceful Pakistan” said Harris Malik, a student from Roots Millennium Schools.

Roots Millennium Schools Chief Executive Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq TI and UN Information Centre Director Vittorio Cammarota welcomed the guests, including some of the most prominent dignitaries from the government and private sector, who participated in the ceremony.

“Youth empowerment is a key priority of the United Nations, and in a country like Pakistan, with a very large young population, their involvement is instrumental. Today is only the first step and we aim at bringing on board a very large number of educational institutions all over Pakistan. Development and progress are in the hands of youth and we want to ensure that every day, when they go to school, they remember of peace, tolerance and other key values,” said Vittorio Cammarota.

Faisal Mushtaq TI said, “The idea of UN wall helps raise awareness about some of the key issues faced by us and our society. It also gives the students an opportunity to contribute to the work of the United Nations. I feel great that the students are highlighting messages related to gender equality, climate change and education to express solidarity and support for this cause.”