First session of the symposium featured three notable speakers Javed Jabbar (Pakistan), Zahra Taraneh Yalda (Iran) and Gonca Pasolar (Turkey) Jabbar who have authored 15 books remarked on how today it has become reality that for the first time in human history technology supplementing the creative process, helps create a better, sharper pigment in creativity, which was not previously possible.
Iranian architect and urban and regional planner Zahra Taraneh Yalda compared Karachi with Tehran. She highlighted how her social activism is focused on encouraging citizens to take more responsibility for the city.
"We are trying to say no to constructions in the city. We are getting people to try to come to the mountains and the valleys and enjoy the spaces that belong to them and exist for them to enjoy," she said.
Gonca Pasolar spoke on the creation of new spaces for people which needs to be done by building a relationship between the built and the natural environment, understanding the legacy of local cultures.
The second session witnessed presentations by Dr Davide Tomasso Ferrando (Italy), Dr Hervé Matine (France) and Sajida Vandal (Pakistan) with Saima Zaidi as the moderator of the panel discussion.
Dr Ferrando spoke on how one of the main powers of architecture is the ability to make people see common spaces from another eye. "You don't need to be a great designer to make a poster. You have to have a great idea and the motivation," he said.
Sajida Vandal, Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Culture and Art (Lahore) underscored importance of local languages and education in Pakistan. She said that in the post-colonial period, language is and should be a central concern of a country where multiple regional and mother languages exist.