CONFERENCES

1. Two-day Interdisciplinary Conference
   “Consciousness-Raising of Pakistani Women: Negotiating Differences and Building Alliances”

   The Critical Thinking Forum (CTF) organized a two-day interdisciplinary conference titled “Consciousness Raising of Pakistani Women: Negotiating Differences and Building Alliances” on 17th and 18th December 2015, gathering 45 academics and 400 participants of all age groups, from all over Pakistan, different institutions and various disciplines, such as History, Literature, Gender Studies, Islamic Studies, Shariah and Law, Political Science and Medical Science.

   The conference included six panel discussions with scholarly presentations on topics as diverse as Pedagogical Models and Women’s Education, Constitution and Legislation in Pakistan to Safeguard Women’s Rights, Women’s Right to Health: Problems and Solutions, Pakistani Women’s Consciousness-Raising: Role of Media and Literature. The conference was exclusive and distinctive for having arranged two Networking and Sharing discussion sessions in which the scholars and participants had engaging discussions during tea breaks. Moreover, an Arts Exhibition titled “Pakistani Women in Focus”, book stalls and Screening of two internationally acclaimed documentaries, Saving Face by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Stories of Women’s Liberation by Jennifer Hall Lee got special attention of the participants and guests alike.

2. “International Conference on Women, Environment and Environmental Justice (ICWEEJ 2016)”
   (Fifth Quarter)

   International Conference on Women, Environment and Environmental Justice (ICWEEJ) was the first ever conference organized by the Critical Thinking Forum (CTF) in Pakistan which highlighted the importance of sustainable world and welfare of ecosphere and encouraged women to participate in environmental preservation. It was held at the International Islamic University, Islamabad from 7-9 Dec 2016.
   The keynote speakers at the conference included Dr. Cara Cilano, Ms. Jennifer H. Lee and Dr. Scott Solvic from the USA.
   The conference also included two networking, sharing and discussion sessions that were aimed to gather young researchers from different backgrounds to discuss various aspects of environmental preservation and well-being, in an informal and friendly environment over a cup of tea.

3. Two-day International Conference on Critical Social Sciences and Humanities was held on 14th and 15th September, 2017. Two prolific American professors, Prof. Dr. Scott Slovic and Prof. Dr. Waqas Khwaja and a renowned Pakistani author and critic, Ms. Muneeza Shamsie were invited as the keynote speakers at the conference. Besides, there were over twenty other invited speakers who presented their scholarly papers in the conference. The highlights of conference included the pertinent ideas shared by Uxi Mufti, Prof. Dr Waqas Khwaja, Prof. Dr Scott Slovic and many other significant speakers who shared their views on the declining scholarship in South Asia, the future of humanities and the continued struggle against the colonial structures prevailing in our language, culture and system of education. Another significant highlight was the launch of ASLE (Association for the Study of Literature and Environment) which will be a milestone in the journey of CTF to increase critical awareness towards integration of environment and literature for a better society. The conference was attended by a large number of students, teachers, and members of civil society.
4. Dr. Munazza Yaqoob represented the Critical Thinking Forum at PUAN IWEC 2015 and conducted a workshop on "Socio-cultural trends in Pakistan and Question of Women Empowerment."
5. A two-day workshop on creative and script writing was conducted by CTF in collaboration with The Department of English (Female Campus), IIUI on 24th and 26th August 2015. Ms. QaisraShahraz, a renowned Pakistani fiction and script writer was the resource person for the workshop.
6. The Critical Thinking Forum (CTF) organized a two-day interdisciplinary conference titled “Consciousness Raising of Pakistani Women: Negotiating Differences and Building Alliances” on 17th and 18th December 2015. The conference was a mega event ever in the history of Female Campus, IIUI and also in terms of gathering women from all over Pakistan from different institutions and varied disciplines such as history, literature, gender studies, Islamic studies, Shariah and law, Political science and medical science. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Dr. Bashir Khan, Vice President, IIUI, Dr. Mumtaz Ahmad, Executive Director, IRD, Dr. Munawar Iqbal Gondal, Dean FLL, Dr. Najeeba Arif, Students’ Advisor (F.C) and Dr. Samina Malik, Director Female Campus. Dr. Samina Amin Qadir, VC, FJWU was the keynote speaker on this occasion.
   This two-day conference gathered over 45 academics and scholars and over 400 participants from across Pakistan.The conference included overall six panel discussions with scholarly presentations on topics as diverse as Pedagogical Models and Women’s Education, Constitution and Legislation in Pakistan to Safeguard Women’s Rights, Women’s Right to Health: Problems and Solutions, Pakistani Women’s Consciousness Raising: Role of Media and Literature. The conference was exclusive and distinctive for having arranged two Networking and Sharing discussion sessions in which the scholars and participants had engaging discussions during tea breaks. Moreover, an Arts Exhibition titled “Pakistani Women in Focus”, book stalls and Screening of two internationally acclaimed documentaries “Saving Face” by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoi and “Stories of Women’s Liberation” by Jennifer Hall Leegot special attention of the participants and guests alike.
   The closing ceremony of the conference was attended by a large number of students, faculty and guests on Friday 18th December. Dr. Professor Qasim Bhugio, Chairman Academy of Letters, was the Chief Guest in the closing ceremony. Dr. Munazza Yaqoob, In Charge CTF, shared findings and recommendations of the conference saying that young women in academia should be engaged in such scholarly activities to get academic exposure of contemporary debates and also to develop a spirit of meaningful interaction, communication and peaceful, mutual co-existence in them.Ms. Shagufta Omar, Incharge, Da’wahCentre for Women, appreciated Dr. Munazza and CTF for organizing this successful conference. Dr. Bhugio praised CTF for its efforts in bringing people of different disciplines together and ensured his full support to CTF and Female Campus, IIUI, on behalf of Academy of Letters, for any joint venture in the future for the promotion of arts and Literature. Dr. Samina Malik, Director Female Campus thanked Dr. Bhugio for gracing the occasion and ensured CTF and Dr. Munazza of her full support for the organization of such events in the female campus in future. The ceremony concluded with the distribution of shields, souvenirs and certificates for the organizers of the Conference.

7. A Two- Day International Conference titled “Representation of Women in Media and Literature” in May 2012 was organized in collaboration with Fatima Jinnah Women University Rawalpindi. The speakers brought to limelight woman’s vital role in the contemporary world. They highlighted how woman’s image had changed from that of a house wife to a useful person in almost all spheres and has proved herself as a potential political leader, a radical social reformer, an efficient office manger and so on.

8. An international conference on the theme of Globalization and its Impact on Indigenous Cultures, organized by the Iqbal International Institute for Research & Dialogue (IRD), the Critical Thinking Forum of the International Islamic University Islamabad, and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (USA), was held at the IIUI Old Campus (Faisal Mosque) on the 17th and 18th of November, 2011.

Members of CTF from Department of English, Female Campus, IIUI presented their papers in the First International Conference of Literature and Language on Modern and Contemporary Language, Literature and Culture (FICLL) organized by Government College University, Lahore from 14th to 16th April, 2014.