Pakistan 2006

Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) organizes World Space Week (WSW) in Pakistan each year in pursuance of General Assembly resolution 54/68. This year, WSW was celebrated in November due to Ramadan. The theme for WSW for the year 2006, "Space for Saving Lives," aimed at creating awareness among the general public, the student community, and decision makers on the advantages of the applications of space technology for disaster mitigation. Organizations, students and general masses participated enthusiastically in all the events. The print and electronic media gave good coverage to the WSW celebrations.

The Organizations that either participated in or sponsored the activities of World Space Week 2006 included Institute of Space Technology (IST) Islamabad, PAKSAT International (Pvt) Ltd, Pakistan Science Foundation, Education Department Government of Sind, Telenor Pakistan (pvt) limited, Institute of Space and Astrophysics (ISPA) Karachi University, Pakistan International Airlines, Shaheen Air International, Air Blue, Pakistan State Oil, Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi, SuperNet Limited, Sanofi Aventis International, ER Mapper, and Positive Cultural Wing.

Inaugural Ceremony – An impressive Inauguration Ceremony, on 6th November 2006, at the Institute of Space Technology (IST) Islamabad marked the beginning of the week. Intellectuals, scientists, teachers and students were invited. Honourable Mr Parvez But (HI, SI), Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology was the chief guest at the occasion.
Panel Discussion – A panel discussion was held on the same day at IST Islamabad. The topic for discussion was "Space Technology and the Future of Pakistan". The panel of experts comprised: Mr Raza Hussain, Chairman SUPARCO; Mr Arshad Hussain Siraj, Director General, Space Applications and Research, SUPARCO; Azmat Hayat Khan, Director R&D, Pakistan Meteorological Department; Professor Dr Asif Zafar Malik, Telemedicine / E-Health Training Center, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi; Brig Imran Rahman, Vice Chancellor, Institute of Space Technology, and Mr Usman A Bajwa, CEO PAKSAT International (Pvt) Ltd. A large number of participants including students attended the panel discussion and participated in the question-answer-session.
Space Seminar – A seminar on the theme "Space for Saving Lives" was organized in the evening of 06 Nov 2006 at IST, Islamabad.
Science awareness programme in rural areas – A team of SUPARCO scientists gave animated lectures on space technology and its applications and showed video documentaries on space to students and teachers of schools located in the remote areas of Sindh. About 1000 students and teachers from 10 different Govt. schools benefited from the week-long programme.
Sky Simulation Shows – During 6-10 Nov 2006, Sky simulation shows, lectures, presentations and space-related movies were arranged for students and public at PIA Planetarium, Karachi, in collaboration with Pakistan International Airlines. About 350 students from various schools participated in the programme.
Quiz Competition – More than 100 students from 44 schools participated in a quiz competition at SUPARCO HQs on 08 Nov 2006. In order to better prepare students and to generally educate them about Space, 5000 information booklets were circulated amongst students. Final competition among Army Public School, Bahria Foundation College School and Happy Home School was held on 12 Nov 2006 at PAF Museum. The Chief Guest awarded prizes to the winners.
Declamation Contest – A declamation contest was organized at SUPARCO HQs on 09 Nov 06. Students from various schools of Karachi presented their views on the theme "Space for Saving Lives". They emphasize that concerted efforts should be made on the usage and application of space technology, particularly in disaster management and mitigation, for the benefit of mankind and socio-economic development of the country. Speeches delivered by students reflected their good knowledge of space technologies and their applications.
Poster Making Competitions – On the spot poster making competition was organized at PAF Museum on 11th Nov 06, on the theme "Space for Saving Lives". Almost 60 students participated. Students sketched the theme beautifully. Posters were evaluated by the nominated jury and winners were awarded prizes. A similar activity was organized at IST Islamabad in which students of various schools of Islamabad and Rawalpindi participated.
Model Making Competitions – On 11th Nov 06 at PAF Museum, almost 70 Students of various schools of Karachi presented their models on the theme "Space for Saving Lives".
Space Week Walk – A Walk was organized on 11th November 2006 at PAF Museum as part of World Space Week celebrations. Led by Chairman SUPARCO, about 1000 people including the general public, students and SUPARCO employees' families participated in the walk.
Space family Fair – A two-day space family fair was organized at PAF Museum on 11&12 November 2006 as part of World Space Week celebrations. The activities included model making competition, tableau competition, poster making competition, quiz and declamation final contests, magic show, puppet show, mobile planetarium, vehicle tracking system display, telemedicine display, space-related movies, and a musical show.
On 12th Nov 06, prize distribution ceremony was held. Mr Rauf Siddiqui, Provincial Minister of Culture and Tourism was the chief guest. He distributed prizes amongst the winners of different competitions. In his speech he emphasized upon the need of space education and application of space technology to promote the standard of living.

To mark the event of the World Space Week, the students and faculty of IST organized a Space Family Fair at the Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad on Saturday 11th November, 2006. The Family Fair included a series of events aimed at spreading knowledge amongst school and college going students about space related education and its applications:

Declamation contest – The first in the series of events was a declamation contest, the topic of which was "Is Space our Ultimate Saviour" The topic aroused a great deal of debate, both in favour of and against, but in the end, the general conclusion drawn was that if space may not be the ultimate saviour, it is extremely crucial to explore and take advantage of.
Essay Writing / poster Competition – Next in line was an essay writing competition, the topic of which was 'What are your views on Man's conquest of Space?' This again brought on some very interesting views of young participants. Alongside the essay competition, a poster competition was in progress. The theme for which was 'Space for Saving Lives'. The artists portrayed their ideas in the form of colourful pictures which depicted the peaceful uses of space.
Quiz / Aero-modeling Competition – A quiz competition followed these activities. The quiz consisted of three rounds; a multiple choice round, a rapid fire round and a visual round. The quiz was well received by the audience as it provided useful, and often overlooked information, on space. IST students had organized an aero-modeling competition. The students were divided into two categories, Matric/O Levels and FSc/A Levels and according to their age, were given either rubber propelled or motor operated airplanes to assemble. The teams were given two days for assembling the models. At the end of the second day, judges were called in and the models were given a test flight. The winners, obviously, were the ones whose plane made the longest and least turbulent flight.
Prize Distribution Ceremony – After all the events had come to an end, the judges were given time to compile the results which were announced at the Prize Distribution Ceremony. At the end of it all, a concert had been arranged for students' entertainment.