The 7th international THAAP conference titled “People and the City” started on Friday and will continue until Sunday. THAAP Photography Conference and an art exhibition in collaboration with Ejaz Art Gallery have also been organised on the same theme of the conference and will continue until Monday.

The conference has been organised in collaboration with Government College University and Information Technology University together with the support of Higher Education Commission and Society for Cultural Education (Forthcoming University of Culture and Art). The venue for the paper reading sessions was 43-G, Gulberg-III, Lahore, which will remain the same for another two days of the conference. 

THAAP forum provided a formal, in depth and well-focused paper reading sessions. First day of the conference was well-attended by writers, scholars, historians, economists, sociologists, artists, town planners, designers, architects and delegates from Australia, Austria, China, France, Germany, Iran, Nepal, USA, UK and various cities of Pakistan.

The inaugural session of the conference began with the welcome address by Prof Sajida Haider Vandal, an educationist, architect and CEO of THAAP. She explained that THAAP is a not for profit registered organisation founded in 2006 which organises talks, seminars and colloquiums that lead to the conference at the end of each year. She added that from conferences on Historiography of Architecture in 2010, Portrait of Lahore in 2011, Life in Small Towns in 2012, Cultural Roots of Art & Architecture of the Punjab in 2013, Culture, Art & Architecture of the Marginalised & the Poor in 2014, People’s History of Pakistan in 2015 to People and the City this year, THAAP has played a pivotal role in improving the state of education along with promoting socio-economic and cultural development in Pakistan. She thanked the guests for their active participation in the conference. 

She explained that THAAP is an open forum with a number of activities taking place under its umbrella. THAAP Talks are organised on monthly basis culminating into conference at the end of each year. THAAP publications with an editorial board that works on peer reviewed articles taken out in the form of THAAP journal at the end of each year and THAAP crafts that bring livelihood to rural population and the poor.

Prof Pervaiz Vandal, an architect, educationist and the conference convener was the keynote speaker of the event. He explained the conference theme in detail. He said, “Without people a city or town would be a soulless mass of debris. People make a city happen; they bring it forth, give it character, endow it with art and culture, fulfill aspirations and suffer frustrations. City changes with its people.” He added “Huge metropolises – mega cities – carry social turmoil in their wake. Nevertheless, agglomeration of humans, from small town to the large metropolis, is an opportunity, a necessary step towards the future – it is entirely up to us to think about and design a better future“. 

Government College University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah was the chief guest of the event. He congratulated THAAP on consistently organising successful conferences since 2010. This brought the inaugural session to its conclusion.

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