CM calls for accepting, respecting differences as World Culture Festival kicks off at ACP

The 35-day World Culture Festival Karachi 2024 organised by the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, (ACP) was officially inaugurated with great fanfare on Thursday.

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori, ACP President Muhammad Ahmed Shah and others graced the inaugural ceremony along with diplomats from various countries.

The festival, which has been organised under the media partnership with Geo and the Jang group, will feature over 100 cultural performances with more than 450 artistes.

In addition to performances by Pakistani and international theatre, music and dance groups, the festival would also showcase fine arts.

Artistes from Palestine, Türkiye, India, the United Arab Emirates, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Australia, Russia, Egypt, Iraq, South Africa, Italy, Japan, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Norway, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, Ukraine, Oman, Qatar, Malta, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, Hungary, France, Uganda, Belarus, Ireland, Kosovo, Burundi, Congo, Rwanda, Algeria and Switzerland will be performing at the festival.

Speaking at the ceremony, Tessori said there was no precedent for such a festival in Pakistan’s history. "I warmly welcome the artistes who have come from 40 different countries. Cultures and traditions are the heritage of every nation. We take pride in our culture and language," he remarked.

Acknowledging the country's challenges, He said resilient nations overcame their crises. He praised the ACP president for his efforts in arranging the international festival.

The governor said Karachi deserved credit for hosting this remarkable cultural festival that would continue for 35 days.

The governor invited all the artistes to the Governor’s House for dinner. He said that for the next 35 days, the positive face of the country would be showcased before the world.

Tessori also recognised the Sindh government's contributions saying it played a vital role in organising the festival.

The ACP president said the purpose of the international festival was to connect people from all countries with Pakistan’s artistes.

"We are bringing you 5,000 years of ancient culture," he said. “We are the inheritors of three great civilisations: Taxila, Harappa, and Mohenjo-Daro."

Ahmed Shah said he wanted to show the world that the Pakistanis were people filled with love. He said the festival was happening as a result of efforts of every member of the ACP’s governing body, executive director and all the staff, including those managing cleanliness.

He said he strongly believed that culture could be a powerful tool against terrorism. He added that countries including Ukraine, Palestine and India were participating in the festival. "There is no politics in this—it is all about art and culture,” he explained.

Shah also pointed out the involvement of youth in the festival. He proudly mentioned that Pakistan, South Africa and Nepal had collaborated to create an international song for the event.

"Next year, we will include 20 more countries in the festival in November," he announced.

Sindh’s Minister for Culture and Tourism Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah praised Ahmed Shah's vision for holding an international festival. He added that the perception of terrorism in Pakistan was wrong and the World Culture Festival would project a positive image of the country. "Music and art are understood as the language of love," he said as he encouraged other provinces to host similar cultural events.

The inaugural ceremony also featured performance by sitarist Farhan Rais Khan and others as well as artistes from South Africa and Azerbaijan.

CM’s message

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah issued a message on the occasion of the inauguration of the culture festival, in which he called for building a society where art thrived, voices were heard, and all were embraced regardless of their background or belief.

He said that in an era where divisions and intolerance threatened the fabric of our societies, we must draw strength from our cultural roots that taught us to accept, respect and celebrate differences.

The CM said culture could be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that were passed down from generation to generation. “Culture has been called the way of life for an entire society including music, poetry, codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, and art,” he said.

Talking about music, Murad said it was considered the heartbeat of culture. “Music is a universal language that transcends borders and speaks directly to the soul,” he said and added that throughout history, music has been a binding force, capable of expressing emotions that words often failed to capture. He said that from the haunting melodies of the Sindhi sur to the mesmerising tunes of classical raag, music had always been a bridge between hearts and minds.

He added that, poetry, the rhythmic expression of thought, allowed us to glimpse the profound.

“We can challenge stereotypes and misconceptions, and we can remind ourselves that, at our core, we are more alike than we are different,” the CM said.