Message from Australian High Commissioner Her Excellency Ms Margaret Adamson

My congratulations to the Youth Revolution Clan in hosting the second Lahore International
Conference on Culture.
 
The conference offers a great opportunity to reflect on the arts and cultural diversity of
Australia and Pakistan and the 70-year strong relationship between our two countries.
 
Australia’s official relationship with Pakistan might date back 70 years to Pakistan’s creation,
but our people-to-people links are much older. These links are continuing to grow, with
around 62,000 Pakistani-born living in Australia, and growing numbers in the thousands of
Pakistani students studying in Australia’s higher education institutions.
 
Australia and Pakistan are both tremendously rich in cultural diversity. Where Pakistani
culture is a beautiful blend of rich and vibrant history and customs, diversity is a central
feature of Australian life, and central to our national stability.
 
In Pakistan, the mighty Karakorams, the archaeological and heritage treasures of Taxila,
Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and Swat, and early Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Mughal heritage, are
an unparalleled wealth of world heritage under Pakistan’s custody and protection.
 
I am particularly pleased to see the youth delegation from Australia participating in this
year’s conference and I hope such initiatives will encourage our two countries, especially our
youth the future leaders, to learn from each other, and to cherish and preserve our incredible
heritage and culture for future generations.