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COVID-19 and the invisible divide of digital outreach regarding government services for the vulnerable population

Written by Momina Sahar While one of the most promising and appealing steps taken by the government of Pakistan was the digitization of government services during the unprecedented times of a global pandemic, the uncritical embrace of technology for dissemination of information and services along with the lack of availability of digital services in certain areas of Pakistan creates a hierarchy in terms of access to information. Disparate access to the internet is a multilateral issue, the causes for which stem from various reasons such as infrastructure unavailability, gender disparity, and the economic and digital literacy divide.  As pointed out [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:21+00:0014th July 2021|

How the digital divide is affecting education for students away from urban settings

Written by Mehru Ahmed The advent of online schooling and E-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic In these times of the COVID-19 pandemic, many aspects of our lives have shifted from reality to virtual mediums. While most of these transitions were successful, one, in particular, lagged behind tremendously, that of the education sector, which faces great challenges, especially in Pakistan.  The initial suggestion for in-person schooling to be substituted with online school or e-Learning was proposed in 2020, during the first wave of the Coronavirus. Since the COVID-19 pandemic was an unexpected reality, people and governments were not ready to cope [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:21+00:0014th July 2021|

AL Pakistan is looking for a Project Manager

Terms of Reference: Project Manager Job Description: Manage project team and coordinate projects/programs activities, from substantive, administrative and financial points of view, applying strategic planning and foresight. Develop an evaluation method to assess program strengths and identify areas for improvement. Plan and prepare implementation plan of all project activities in consultation with Project Director and university administration. Proactively monitor the progress of projects, resolve issues and initiate appropriate corrective action. Manage day-to-day program implementation and overall coordination with respective universities trainers, speakers, and other stakeholders Manage the program's budgets, monitor expenditure and costs against delivered and realized activities and report [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:22+00:008th July 2021|

The Language of Accountability in Pakistan

By Fayyaz Yaseen Almost all the words referring to accountability in one way or another – such as responsiveness, transparency, participation, inclusion, accountability, rule of law – are used just as they are (as English words), despite the fact that there are stronger Urdu corresponding words that can spell out an even stronger meaning that also relates to the local context. For example, the Urdu word for ‘responsiveness’ is ‘jawabdahi’, which means that one is not only expected to respond in a timely manner but is also accountable for doing/not doing so. Similarly, the term ‘rule of law’ is understood [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:22+00:0030th June 2021|

COVID-19 and it’s impact on people living with disabilities in Pakistan

By Nida Qasim Khan The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the extent of exclusion that the most marginalized communities in Pakistan experience. Among the most adversely affected groups are Pakistan’s 28 million persons with disabilities (PWDs), who make up 10% to 15% of Pakistan’s population. according to the Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP). Even under normal circumstances, persons with disabilities are neglected and suffer from reduced access to education, poverty, unemployment, abuse and low rates of participation in the community. According to research done by the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), PWD’s can suffer [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:22+00:0011th April 2021|

Pakistani businesses at a crossroads during COVID-19 

By Nida Qasim Khan The outbreak of COVID-19 has severely affected the Pakistani economy and its micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Saboor Malik said in a statement that due to the lockdown, the businesses of cottage industry, small industry and furniture retailers have been adversely affected. The National Incubation Centre (NIC) also noted in its report “Impact of Covid-19 on Pakistani start-ups and the way forward”,  that start-ups were hard hit by the pandemic. The report stated that while before the pandemic, e-commerce, health-tech and ed-tech were the most popular [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:23+00:0010th April 2021|

An assessment of current policy advocacy tools used by chambers of commerce in Pakistan

By Nida Qasim Khan Context: Accountability Lab Pakistan has worked with chambers of commerce in its recent Business Accountability Bootcamps, and in the process has gathered some insights into how they operate. Some of the key findings made were that they lack the advocacy tools that are required of a chamber of commerce, such as proper websites, updated social media channels, or a platform where they share press releases, minutes of their internal meetings, and other such details of their work. We understand at Accountability Lab Pakistan that chambers of commerce are the bridge between business communities and the government and [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:24+00:0031st March 2021|

Making most out of a chamber membership – revisiting advocacy & policy work of chambers of commerce in Pakistan

By Qazi Kabir Ahmed Hashmi Context: Accountability Lab conducted Business Accountability Bootcamps across four cities in the month of October, and hosted 95 entrepreneurs from all over Pakistan, to encourage them in the direction of ethical and sustainable business practices. We covered several key points in these bootcamps including the benefits of ethical business via case studies, the benefits of OGP in Pakistan’s context, as well the importance of building trust between customers, businesses, and the government. However, we found that there was a general lack of understanding about the role of chambers of commerce and the usefulness of becoming a member [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:25+00:0031st March 2021|

Growing from failure at the workplace

By Bakhtawar Khalid Fail faire events are designed to celebrate the lessons we learn from the failures we face in different walks of life. For this edition of the series, Accountability Lab Pakistan (ALP) brought together a cross-section of professionals to reflect on the failures they have experienced at the workplace. We share the lessons we derive from these experiences in the hope that it will encourage others to reflect on their own failures and extract meaningful insight on how to grow and improve. All our speakers were mid-career level professionals who are themselves figuring out their journey to success. [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:26+00:0022nd September 2020|

Celebrating Student Life and Recognizing Failure as Part of Learning

Admitting failure is often seen as a sign of weakness or of accepting defeat, which is why there is so much social stigma around it. At Accountability Lab, we want to change norms and perceptions around the notion of failure. We do this by providing people with a platform to speak honestly and openly about their failures while also sharing the learnings from their stories and recounting how they were able to overcome these failures.  This enables other participants to recognize their own patterns of dealing with failure, counters the stigma around failure and helps relieve some of the anxiety [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:26+00:0011th August 2020|
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