Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The Institute for Art and Culture (IAC) conducted the one day training workshop at Gurdwara Sucha Sauda Sahib, Farooqabad, Shiekhupura for UNESCO’s project “Protection and Promotion of Cultural Heritage of Punjab through Sustainable Tourism and Economic Growth”.
The aim of the workshop (third in the series) was to develop an Integrated Site Management Plan and Capacity Building for Sustainable Tourism Management of Selected Sikh Sites in Punjab such as Gurdwara Sucha Sauda Sahib, Farooqabad, Shiekhupura District and Gurdwara Rohri Sahib, Eminabad, Gujranwala district. In continuation of the previous two capacity building workshops aimed at the same theme, the closing workshop was based on site visit and community outreach.
The participants arrived at Gurdwara Sucha Sauda Sahib, Farooqabad. Followed by the recitation of the Quran, Prof Sajida Haider Vandal (Vice Chancellor, IAC) gave a welcome note to the participants and the community members who joined the event. Later, remarks about the workshop and the importance of promoting sustainable cultural heritage were shared by Mr Liaquat Ali Rizvi (Community Representative) as well as Prof. Pervaiz Vandal (National Team Coordinator and Pro Vice Chancellor, IAC).
Mr Iqbal Qaiser (Professor, IAC) introduced the community with the current intervention. Mr Asghar Joiya (Deputy Commisioner, Shiekhupura), the chief guest of the ceremony shared his views on the program and commented “ I am very happy that this project has been carried out and commended by IAC for which clearly shows their dedication towards preserving and protecting the local culture and heritage of Farooqabad.”
Ms Amina Ali (Project Officer, UNESCO) shared her enthusiasm with the crowd by acknowledging the importance of sustainable cultural heritage and tourism. This was followed by presentations about the Community in Eminabad. Furthermore, presentations on the heritage impact assessment of the proposed Baghs around the Gurdwara sites were shared by Mr Naveed Ahmed and Mr Azhar Abbas.
Closing remarks on the preservation of Sikh Heritage were given by Ms Prn Kaur and Prof Kalyan Singh.
