IPS LEAD launches ‘Let’s Talk Studio’

‘Let’s Talk Studio’ – an initiative by IPS LEAD – the Learning, Excellence and Development Program of IPS – was launched on August 9, 2020 with an aim to contemplate over various issues concerning the country’s youth, especially those topics which generally remain unaddressed by parents, teachers, elders and media, and yet having a direct or indirect impact on our society as well as the country.

The idea was to directly connect senior level
mentors with the concerned youth and engage them in open discussions and
debates on contentious topics, facilitating them with consolidated inputs which
are backed by reasoning, logic and empirical evidence. The program, in
turn, seeks to prepare a team of young thought leaders who would carry and
convey the mission forward, not only creating a voice for the youth in the
process but also effectively creating a chain taking the learned messages
further ahead.

‘Let’s Talk Studio’ is set to be a very homey
place and an open platform for informal discussions where youth belonging to
diverse backgrounds could come over and discuss any topic, no matter how
controversial or tabooed, in an open-minded analytical debate, in turn playing
a part in creating an environment that will nurture a knowledge-based society
in the country.

Conceived by IPS’ during the launch of IPS LEAD in 2013, primarily aimed at engaging the country’s youth, the idea found wheels with the induction of Dr. Aisha Waheed, a senior writer, blogger and trainer already working on a similar idea, as a program manager of ‘Let’s Talk Studio’.

The first meeting of the steering committee of Let’s Talk Studio was held on 11 July and was attended by IPS’ honourary associates Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, Sardar Khalid Mehmood, Ahsan Shafique, Syed Noaman Asar, and Saima Sher Fazal alongside the Institute’s team comprising Khalid Rahman, executive president, Naufil Shahrukh, GM operations, Dr. Aisha Waheed, Let’s Talk program manager, and Shafaq Sarfraz, manager outreach.

Four highly interactive sessions were held in Let’s Talk Studio during July 2020. Titled ‘Our Identity Crisis’, the first session of the program was addressed by Dr. Aisha Waheed on August 9, 2020. The second session on August 12, 2020 on the topic ‘Social Media for the Win’ was addressed by Talha Aslam, a social media activist. The third session titled ‘Evolution of Electronic Media’ was addressed by Ali Ahmed Nawaz on August 17, 2020, whereas the fourth session on ‘A World Without God: Philosophical and Moral Implications of Atheism’ by Ruhma Ahmed was held on August 24, 2020.

The month of September saw three interactive sessions taking
place. The session titled ‘History of Feminism’, which was addressed by Hamza
Qureshi, was held on 9th September 2020, the session ‘The problem of Evil and
Existence of God’ addressed by Ibrahim Babakhel was held on 16th September, whereas
the last session ‘History of Liberalism’ was addressed by Hassan Haroon on 23rd
September 2020.