Opening Ceremony of HBS office in Islamabad

Opening Ceremony of HBS office in Islamabad

 In 2012 the head office Berlin decided to shift the Lahore office to Islamabad because of the shift in its worldwide policy to move the HBS offices to the capital cities in order to be close to the political arena. Therefore we had an official opening in Islamabad on the 6th of February 2013.

The opening ceremony  had three fold agenda

Firstly to formally introduce the Stiftung  in Islamabad to different stake holders and develop the linkages between the new and old partners,  Secondly to introduce the president of HBS and last but not least to mark the beginning of  the celebration of HBS 20 years work in Pakistan.   



The opening ceremony was a great success approximately 180 people from diverse back grounds which  not only included important dignitaries’ like  Embassadors of Germany Sweden and Finland,  but other  experts/specialists; journalists; political decision-makers; parliamentarians; National and International NGOs, women organizations think tanks, academics, students new and old partners participated. 

The President of HBS, Ms Barbara Unmussig in her own words said that the opening ceremony was “Fabulous”. So it was a very good and inspirational start for the  office team in Islamabad who all came from Lahore.

The opening ceremony started with the welcome speech by the country Director of Pakistan followed by the speech of German Embassador Dr Cyril Nunn. He welcomed HBS in Islamabad appreciated the large gathering and also appreciated the Gallery of 20 years HBS work.

Ms Barbara Unmussig’s speech was very powerful and she reflected upon the 20 years presence of HBS in Pakistan. She not only appreciated the old partners but also welcomed the new ones. She did not forget to appreciate the old staff who have been working in Pakistan for the last 20 years.

Opening ceremony included the announcement of opening a liaison office of HBS at Shirkat Gah’s premises in Lahore, therefore reflects upon the continuity of our presence in Lahore.

After Barbara's speech the famous poetess Ms kishwar Naheed recited the two most powerful poems of her which is very linked to the present state of peace and security situation and the militancy in Pakistan.

Important partners and associates were also called to say few words in the ceremony. Ms Farida Shaheed the executive director of Shirkat Gah appreciated the role of HBS in Pakistan and also shared the relationship of HBS with Shirkat Gah. She said that HBS after 20 years work in Lahore has reincarnated in Islamabad.

Mr. Abid Suleri Executive director of SDPI who has been an old partner reflected upon HBS and SDPI relationship and referred to a conference way back in 1994 when HBS and SDPI worked together on Green economy which in his words “when nobody had an idea of green economy SDPI and HBS did a big conference on that”. He also referred to other projects that were done in collaboration and mentioned about the present partnership too.

 Ms Sabhia Shaheen executive director of Bargad Foundation also talked about the 12 years of partnership with HBS and called it as a “Mother Organization”. They started with one table and a chair and now are giving youth policies to the provincial governments of Pakistan. She said all this could not have happened without the support of HBS.

Ms Tahira Abdullah who is a human rights activists and the face of Islamabad also appreciated the role of HBS in Pakistan and welcomed them in Islamabad and hoped that we make this place even greener. She recited a poem as well and reminded about three important women of Pakistan, Shaila Zia, Nigar Ahamed and Najma Saddique who have contributed immensely to the women cause.

HBS is lucky to have worked with all three of them since women political, legal and environmental issues have remained highly important for HBS work.

After the speeches and sharing of the partners Ms Madhia Gohar Director of Ajoka Theatre read a short story of Heinrich- Bol, which was followed by the Sufi kalam and classical music.   During the opening ceremony the 20 years Logo of HBS was inaugurated by our president Ms Barbara Unmussig and Sufi Bilal the artist and desiner of the logo.

 

The success of the opening ceremony could be measured by people’s appreciation of how we blended the speeches with poetry recitation, story reading and musical performance which certainly brought our cultural niche.

After the opening ceremony we are being invited by many organizations for various events this shows that we were well received in Islamabad. Many organizations have already shown interest in doing round tables at our office premises which is a good sign as we did advertise our open space.