Sara Waqar & Safa Iftikhar Shine at Telenor Youth Forum

Telenor Pakistan has selected two delegates, Sara Waqar and Safa Iftikhar, to participate in Telenor Youth Forum (TYF) 2017. TYF is run in cooperation with the Nobel Peace Center that brings together young, talented leaders from 12 countries where Telenor operates, and challenges these youth to find ways to use digital technology for the social good.

What happens at TYF?

While in Oslo, the TYF delegates will participate in a service design program to create a digital service that tackles a global, social challenge. They will also explore the connection between digital technology and peace, by participating in the Nobel Peace Prize festivities while in Oslo. The TYF delegates will continue with the TYF program throughout 2018, developing their digital service and building an exhibition on their social cause, in collaboration with the Nobel Peace Center.

Pakistani delegates have always showcased excellent performance at the forum and raised the bar for global delegates. Telenor Youth Forum (TYF) conducted its first ever digital exhibition recently. The exhibition showcased digital interventions in five different fields including, Gender equality, Education for young refugees, Climate Change, Unemployment and Social instability, and Mental health.

Results are in after the exhibition and the winner of Telenor Youth Forum 2016 is team GreenCred, where Sajawal Waseem, Pakistani delegate is part of the team. This team received the challenges of “climate change” in December 2016, and has been working ever since to develop a new take on sustainable shopping. Their solution is an ecosystem in which users are rewarded for shopping more sustainably and incentivized to be ‘green’ through a shared shopping model. Sajawal will visit Oslo again this year as featured speaker in the program.

“I congratulate both our delegates Sara and Safa and wish them all the best in their journey through TYF. I also congratulate Sajawal Waseem and his team on winning the TYF exhibition. These youth leaders hold a lot of promise and are entirely capable of using their talent and passion for making a difference for their country and the world. I am positive that they will use this global platform to create spaces for mutual engagement with delegates from all over the world. We are excited to invite the new recruits to Oslo and get started on another year of improving lives and reducing inequalities through innovative digital solutions.”

Said Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan.

Meet our delegates

Sara Waqar, 20, is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Economics & Finance from University of London. Her startup idea contirbutes towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal of ‘Affordable & Clean Energy.’ She is passionate about building a Rural Energy Network which is Smartly Distributed, Viable & Sustainable through Local Entrepreneurs to contribute to the country’s efforts to overcome the prevalent chronic power shortage.

Sharing her thougts, Sara Waqar said:

‘‘Renewable energy resources are imperative to solve the energy crisis in Pakistan and the global climate change. I want to bring green technology to the rural population of Pakistan as this is a casue I believe in and I hope to attract the investment to realize this ambition. I want to develop a network and skills that will allow me to achieve this and Telenor’s commitment to sustainability aligns well with my goals.’’

Safa Iftikhar, 22, has a BBA from NUST Business School. Her startup idea furthers UN SDG ‘Quality Education’. She is an avid proponent of awareness about mental health and fights the societal norm of considering discussion of mental conditions as taboo. She runs a social platform ‘TabooTalk’ to provide awareness about mental health and encourage seeking medical counsel in such case.

‘‘I am a mental health advocate. I along with friends started the first of its kind awareness initiative dubbed TabooTalk for mental awareness in Pakistan, as a class project. I re-launched the project this year which is currently in its pilot stage. I believe TYF is the right platform for me to grow as a technologically adept social entrepreneur.’’

Says Safa Iftikhar.

To learn more about the TYF program, visit the website. http://www.telenor.com/youthforum.