Shared Interest Groups

British Council - Connecting Futures

Conflict Resolution in a Geo-political Scenario

March 2007

The Connecting Futures Programme is a five-year FCO/British Council initiative aiming at building deeper mutual understanding, learning and respect between young people from different cultural backgrounds within the age bracket of 18 to 25 years. Activities funded by the Connecting Futures Programme reflect the cultural, religious and ethnic make-up of the countries participating, as well as the rich multi-ethnic diversity of the UK. The Conflict Resolution Initiative is part of this programme.

The eight University students from the Universites of  Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Keele in front of the Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Conflict Resolution in a Geo-political Scenario

University of Glasgow students have recently taken part in this British Council / FCO project as part of the Connecting Futures Programme. The programme aims to promote better understanding between the youth of Muslim countries and the United Kingdom. Four UK universities - Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Keele took part in the project, which was entitled 'Conflict Resolution in a Geo-political Scenario'. Two video conferences were held between students of the University of Glasgow, and Universities in Pakistan (Quaid-e-Azam University, International Islamic University, Fatima Jinnah Women University and Iqra University), on 'Cultural Conflicts' and the 'Role of Governments in Conflict Resolution: Case Studies from Developing and Developed Nations'. Eight UK students visited Pakistan in March 2007, including three University of Glasgow students, Laura Christine (Politics), Daniel McDonell (Sustainable Development) and Sarah Tomlinson (Political Science).

The following account reflects Laura Christine's impressions of the visit to Pakistan:
“The University of Glasgow is currently working very hard at developing sustainable relations with many universities all across Pakistan and so as a student of this institution it was an excellent time to travel there. The British Council project on 'Conflict Resolution in a Geo-political Scenario' is important in Pakistan at this time but also one, which has plagued Northern Ireland and Britain for centuries. The final conference on 'The Role of the Media in Conflict Resolution' was held in Islamabad.

I was weary of the false perceptions one can gain from the media and on arriving in Pakistan along with seven other students from across Britain, it was immediately clear that the Pakistanis were keen to correct any media created misconceptions.  For myself, and I think for many of the students, both British and Pakistani, the project provided us with an opportunity to dispel some myths from the Western dominated media and to confirm some ideas we developed from our studies at university.  While we were making as much of an effort to challenge the perceptions of the British and of Westerners in this part of the world, our history in Pakistan and the dominance of BBC news added an element to the relationship between Britain and Pakistan that preceded us. 

I was aware that I didn't have access to many sources outside the western media and in Pakistan there was a feeling of misrepresentation. While the video conferences were amazing in that we could talk and view students half way across the world, there was a sense of difference and distance that could not be resolved in the conditions of the conferences. I and the other students had no real chance to interact outside the formal structure of debate and discussion and so preconceived ideas and opinions prevailed, shaping the discussion. Although the discourse during the video conferences were both fascinating and informative the formal structure didn't lend itself to the forming of relationships and it wasn’t until we had the chance to meet the Pakistani students that our attitudes altered.  We changed from defending our cultures and principals to expressing curiosity toward one another and it was at this point that I experienced the true benefits of the project.

During our trip I and the other British students were based in Islamabad, Pakistan's modern capital, lying in the Margala foothills. In Islamabad we visited various learning institutions, think tanks and universities and saw the best that Pakistan had to offer in education. Pakistan itself is stunning and Islamabad is a quiet, beautiful city with impressive architecture, quite different to the near by city of Lahore to which we travelled.  Lahore was much more what I expected Pakistan to be like; busy, dusty and humid, where animals mingled with the traffic and skyline revealed the variety of influences contributing to Pakistan's culture; from the huge bulb shaped mosque in a sun bleached red to the grey church steeple. The people of Lahore even dressed more traditionally as here the focus appears not to be on business, as it is in the capital, but on culture and eating. 

The students in Pakistan are the privileged few and comprise a minute 2-3 percent of the population.  I found the students to be serious young people who are aware that they are the group of their generation upon whom the burden of Pakistan's future lies. The impression I received from the students I met was that they are a generation struggling with which identity comes first; Muslim or Pakistani.  On the one hand they are the young professionals dedicated to the economic and political success of Pakistan but on the other their history and culture is tied to their religious values and the international and universal concepts of Islam.  Pakistan was established only 60 years ago and it is still developing its interpretation of Islamic democracy and national identity.  While the state was created to promote Islam and allow for its citizens to lead a life in accordance with the teachings of Islam, modern business is challenging this way of life.  As the students explained to me, the demands of a professional career are causing increasing numbers of young professionals to leave home and move to the cities for work, destroying the family centred social structure of Islamic communities.  These students are watching democracy develop in their nation and are experiencing the challenges presented to a state that has placed the traditional values of religion in its centre".   Laura Christine.
 
The support of Ms Erum Ayub, Projects Manager, the British Council, Islamabad, Mr Shah Jamal, Consul General Pakistan to Scotland, and Ms Sharne Procter, International and Postgraduate Service, Mr Ronald Gibb, Computing Service, and Mrs Bronwen Gourlie, Health Service, at Glasgow University is gratefully acknowledged.