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Putting Peshawar at the Helm of Digital Change: Youth, Technology, and Innovation
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Pakistan has a large, increasing young population. The public sector cannot keep up with providing 'secure' jobs. Meanwhile, a youth-led movement is creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurship, freelance jobs, and technology.
- The Digital Youth Summit was Pakistan's largest youth tech conference, bringing together role models, mentors, and giving participants practical tools and a network to successfully join the digital economy.
- The DYS, along with other activities is helping establish Peshawar as a hub of innovation and technology, challenging perceptions of it dominated by insecurity.
"In Peshawar?" was a common reaction by confused members of the Pakistani and international technology community when told about the location of the country's first Digital Youth Summit (DYS). The city's reputation is often unfairly dominated by insecurity, yet over 300 young men and women from across Pakistan showed up to the two-day conference this week, making it the largest youth tech conference in the country and marking Peshawar's emergence as a hub of innovation and technology.
More than 60% of Pakistanis are under the age of 30 and while unemployment is rising, it is not possible for the government to provide jobs in the public sector to this huge mass of youth. On the other hand, a youth-led national and organic movement is growing, changing perceptions about "secure" public sector jobs and creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurship, freelance jobs, and technology. Peshawar is at the helm of this change.
Starting with a civic hackathon in January 2014, 150 young techies from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP) demonstrated their energy and creativity for solving prevalent civic issues through technology. Twelve winners of the hackathon became fellows at the government of KP’s Information Technology Board (KPITB) and began developing their own civic startups. Their prototypes from the hackathon are now turning into full-fledged apps. "Traditionally we wait for governments to solve citizens' problems. This helps citizens solve government’s problems, which hurt all of society," said Muhammad Ibraheem, one of the fellows. His team’s app, No Kunda, allows citizens to take pictures of electricity theft they see in their community and report them to authorities. Another, DocSeek, aims to be a “Yelp for government health facilities in KP”, enabling residents to easily find nearby government health facilities, complete with user reviews.
The fellows presented their apps and experiences at the Digital Youth Summit as one of the summit’s 28 sessions over two days. Over 66 speakers from across Pakistan and the world converged to engage with local youth on topics of fostering innovation, startups and freelancing jobs through the digital economy. The participants included innovators, entrepreneurs, and an exciting group from emerging startup communities. Youth interested in building digital livelihoods heard from investors on how to attract funding, practical tips on writing proposals, and the opportunities available to become part of a global digital economy, such as through micro-work. Along with the sessions, there was an expo of digital innovators showcasing their products. The attendees cherished the opportunity to meet successful entrepreneurs, with sessions consistently running out of time for questions, and speakers swamped after the sessions by aspiring young innovators.
Many of the attendees (as well as some speakers) were university students, and common questions touched on the practical tools and networks required to set up their own ventures, particularly in an environment where many people do not consider freelancing and digital work to be ‘real jobs’. One session, on enterprise planning proved so popular that it was repeated for those who could not attend the first time. In addition to youth meeting inspirational role models, they also met each other to share ideas. Madiha Hassan founder of Pakistan’s first ridesharing app, Savaree, and described as a local digital ‘rock star’, said, “I attend tech conferences around Pakistan where I see amazing people, but it’s always the same, established people.” The DYS she said, allowed her “to see entrepreneurs my age and connect with them.”
Hina Mehmud (c) and Madiha Hasan (r), two young innovators, presented their startups which tackle civic problems.
Muhammad Ibraheem
Team No Kunda, an anti-electricity theft app. KPITB Fellow
The Summit's presence was felt widely in the Pakistani digital community with its hashtag, #KPDYS14, trending as number one nationally on Twitter. Over 650,000 people were reached on, and more than 57,000 people listened to live streaming on online radio. Many young participants from outside Peshawar asked how they can organize DYS and similar events in their own cities, including many from Karachi and Lahore, traditionally seen as Pakistan’s technological hubs.
The Summit, driven by a partnership between KPIT, the World Bank and local digital innovation and entrepreneurship group, Peshawar 2.0, has helped to kick start efforts to build a new ecosystem to boost jobs and innovation focusing on young people. "Youth in Pakistan need jobs that are easily accessible, creative, and are not bound by geographical location," said Ahsan Mukhtar, Google Business Group Manager in Islamabad. The digital economy can provide quick results to engage youth, which is key to development and stability.
With the DYS, Peshawar took a step towards establishing a reputation for technological innovation. "All the speakers and attendees are well known and connected on social media. They are getting the word out to the public which can alter perceptions. I have a lot of friends who did not want to come to DYS but after seeing tweets and pictures, they have reconsidered," said Anusheh Ashraf, a presenter from Invest2Innovate.
Source: Putting Peshawar at the Helm of Digital Change: Youth, Technology, and Innovation
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K-P’s IT board announces fellowships and incubation centres. PHOTO: KPDYS FACEBOOK PAGE
PESHAWAR: Participants of the Digital Youth Summit left the city’s Shiraz Arena fully charged and motivated to make Khyber-Paktunkhwa (K-P) an information technology (IT) hub.
K-P’s Information Technology Board (KPITB) and Peshawar 2.0, in collaboration with the World Bank (WB), successfully concluded the two-day technology expo and conference on Thursday.
After 28 sessions, in which 66 speakers from across the country and abroad spoke to hundreds of young techies and potential digital media entrepreneurs, organisers are confident that participants left feeling inspired and motivated to start their own businesses.
“Sell your turban, pakol (Chitrali hat), khushq mewa (dried fruit), chappals (shoes) to the world. They love it, and are waiting for it,” said Umar Bangash of tossdown.com, an international online portal for restaurants. Bangash spoke at one of the popular panels promoting e-commerce.
“Do not compare Peshawar to the Silicon Valley. Just do things according to your environment and culture,” he added. Bangash, like many other panellists, believes in K-P’s huge potential for e-commerce. While speaking on Wednesday, Cecilia Guildfold of World Bank said it could be a $5 billion market by 2018.
Saad Rizwan, who engages in e-commerce in the region, said the market has huge potential, but young people were in need of mentorship to help them think innovatively.
‘Social media and democracy’ was also a popular session. Dr Awab Alvi, the man behind Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) social media campaign, said the party’s success in mobilising votes through social media proved it was a powerful tool in political campaigns.
At the event, chairman of KPITB said the board is going to organise a software competition, in which 12 students will be selected for IT fellowships.
He added the board is also collaborating with universities across the province to establish incubation centres to facilitate innovative projects by students. A summit will be arranged in October this year focusing on such centres.
Minister for Information Technology and Health Sharam Khan Tarakai said K-P is now ready for a technological revolution, adding the digitisation of the health department was under way which will improve the delivery of healthcare across the province.
“Our objectives are to train and equip the youth with modern technology for a better tomorrow,” said Tarakai.
Source: Digital Youth Summit 2014: After two days of seminars, techies go home buzzed – The Express Tribune
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