Capacity-building of rural areas through science stressed: PSF, SPO sign MoU

Pakistan Science Foundation's (PSF) science promotional programmes should focus on rural areas to educate masses how to meet climate change, environment degradation, natural calamities and disasters.
This was stated by Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Social Sector, while addressing a signing ceremony of MoU on "Capacity Building of the Rural Masses through Promotion of Science" between PSF and Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) here on Tuesday.
The PSF Chairman Dr Manzoor H Soomro and SPO Chief Executive Naseer Memon signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations. SPO chairperson Tufail Muhammad and Unesco-Pakistan Director Dr K K Nagata were also present on the occasion. Shahnaz termed the MoU as an outstanding move of public-private partnership that would help benefit the masses. The Special Assistant to PM said local unit of community was a key to any development process, adding that PSF S&T popularisation programmes were very crucial for socio-economic development.
Shahnaz Wazir Ali said the role of media in science popularisation was very important. She called upon PSF and SPO to keep media on board for science promotion as it could help achieve three times more results. "The government is fully supporting, strengthening individuals, institutions and partnerships for R&D," she maintained.
Dr Nagata said the MoU was a trend-setting partnership for making science education available for everybody, men, women and children, which is a very meaningful objective. In the modern era, S&T is a key to individual and national success, she said.
"I believe that without sharing S&T with masses no country could achieve development, said Dr Nagata. She extended Unesco's full support to PSF mass education programmes. Earlier, PSF Chairman Dr Manzoor H Soomro highlighted the aims and objectives of the PSF-SPO MoU. He said PSF and SPO along with other organisations would work for community development through promotion of science.
He said PSF had also signed MoUs with other R&D organisations, especially chambers of commerce and industry for developing Pakistani industry on scientific lines. He said that PSF had also signed a MoU with a media organisation for free broadcast of S&T documentaries. Briefing about PSF other activities, he said they had signed a MoU with French Academy of Sciences for inquiry-based science education.
Joining hands with SPO would lead us to work with community organisations for popularisation of science and Unesco is with us in all these activities, said chairman, adding that MoUs signed with different partners were not on papers only and work on different things was going on effectively.