A special ceremony was held in connection with International Day of Persons with Disabilities on the 35th day of the ongoing World Culture Festival 2025 at the Arts Council of Pakistan on Thursday.
The festival also offered a theatre workshop, open mic session with international artists, film screening, and theatrical performance by Italian artists. The 35th day of the event began with a ceremony titled ‘Celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities’. It was attended by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Secretary Tuaha Ahmed Faruqui, Arts Council President Mohammad Ahmed Shah, Additional Secretary Atibar Ali Buriro, SPDPA Deputy Director Dr Ratna Diwan and Regional Director Karachi Farman Ali Tanwari.
A large number of children with disabilities were present, including students with Down syndrome from Scinoca School, as well as participants from Karachi Vocational Training Centre, Binai Foundation, Dar-ul-Sukoon, Edario and School for the Blind and Deaf.
A vibrant musical performance filled the children with joy as they enthusiastically presented Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan, Lal Meri Pat and Shukriya Pakistan. Speaking at the event, Faruqui said the real credit for the festival went to ACP President Mohammad Ahmed Shah. He added that celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities at the festival was encouraging, as these children deserved constant attention.
The ACP president stated that any society that did not include persons with disabilities in its happiness could not be called civilized. “These children are like flowers,” he said, announcing that a dedicated desk for children with disabilities was being established at the Arts Council, enabling artists from around the world to meet them.
During the open mic session, artists from Algeria, Azerbaijan, Italy, Germany, Burkina Faso, Spain, South Africa, Cameroon, Palestine, Brazil, Mozambique, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Barbados shared their views. Speakers discussed the increasing reliance on AI tools such as ChatGPT, noting that while AI could complete tasks in minutes, it should not replace human creativity. They emphasised that art derived its value from human effort and emotion, and that AI could assist but could not replace artistic creation.
Encouraging each other, they expressed gratitude to Ahmed Shah for bringing everyone together under the World Culture Festival. A theatre workshop by Sri Lankan director Ruwanthie De Chickera was held, which was attended by international artists and students of the Arts Council Theatre Academy. The Sri Lankan instructor trained participants in modern acting techniques.
The film screening featured the movie Umro Ayyar directed by Azfar Jafri with Atif Siddiqui serving as writer. The 35th day of the festival concluded with Italy’s theatrical performance The Acting Class’, written by Marta Fumagalli and directed by Francesca Bizzarri and Goffredo Puccetti. The play revolves around an enthusiastic student who arrives to learn Italian acting, but the language barrier disrupts his plans. The humorous and engaging performance captivated the audience, who applauded warmly in appreciation.
