Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1
I. Introduction
The 5th Faiz Festival titled Bol Zuban Ab Tak Teri Hai, organized in Lahore from November 15-
17, 2019, was dedicated to Baba Guru Nanak on his 550th birth anniversary. The festival was
designed to promote appreciation of cultural pluralism and diversity and an increased
understanding of Pakistan’s history and politics in audiences
of all age groups and socio-economic classes, through
exposure to local, regional and international cultural events,
publications, exhibitions and discussion forums. This
Narrative Final Report describes the festival activities, the
media strategy, partnerships, results achieved, and lessons
learnt for future festivals.
2
novelist Ruth Padel. It was followed by a recitation of Guru Nanak's Aarti by Harsakhian, a
group of female eastern classical / folk singers. The exhibitions were curated by Professor
Nazish Ataullah, Salima Hashmi, Dr. Samina Iqbal and others. In the words of Dr. Arvinder
Chamak: “It’s a unique exhibition and a unique festival”.
Some 11 books were launched during the festival, including 3 fiction and 8 non-fiction, on
topics related to literature, biography, history, politics, psychology, poetry, and film.
Tributes were also paid to some progressive literary figures like Fehmida Riaz, Altaf Fatima
and Khalida Hussain, the great music composer Khayyam, and the human rights icon Asma
Jahangir.
3
There were dance performances by over
150 students of Lahore Grammar School
based on Faiz’s poetry, a kathak
performance by American dancer Farah
Yasmeen, and a performance by
accomplished dancers Adnan Jahangir
and Samia Mumtaz.
4
children having fun doing painting and drawing under supervision, and their older family
members getting the opportunity to attend sessions undisturbed. In addition a number of
youth groups were seen singing songs to the accompaniment of a guitar and drum. Some
youth and student groups also used the opportunity to express their political views using
revolutionary poetry and slogans. The
leadership of the labour movement in
Faisalabad also brought a large group of men,
women and children who expressed their
support for Faiz and his ideals. Visitors also
We used the same media strategy that we adopted in the previous festivals, with excellent
results in terms of audience turnout, including:
5
ii. Putting up video clips on our Facebook page of celebrities announcing their plans
to attend the festival and inviting viewers to join them
iii. Announcing events through Faiz Ghar calendar, sending to email lists
iv. Partnering with Geo TV network for dissemination of festival promos near and
during festival dates through print and electronic media
v. Designing, printing and disseminating invitation cards of special events to FFT
members, patrons, supporters, partners and government authorities
vi. Putting up hoardings, banners, streamers, posters, standees, on key locations
near and during festival dates, including main roads, crossings, educational
institutions, major hotels, etc.
All media materials carried logos of partners and sponsors, including FOSIP. The same can
be seen in a selection of festival flyers in Annexure A.
There was extensive coverage of the festival by print, electronic and social media, including
pre-festival information, live coverage, livestreaming on social media, event reports
published on the same or subsequent day, and reviews. Most TV channels and a large
number of web-based TV channels and vbloggers ran reports of the festival, while reviews
of the festival, including specific sessions, were published in print and social media (details
in Annexure B). The Daily Dawn Lahore edition carried more than one report on each day of
the festival, including the events in GCU. Many reports included interviews of a wide range
of audience members, including men and women from different parts of the country and
abroad (USA, UK, Canada, India, Germany, etc.), who had come primarily to attend the
festival. The audience response was overwhelmingly positive.
A number of sessions were livestreamed by channels. Events held in the two large halls
were livestreamed by FFT and viewed on its Facebook page by more than a hundred
thousand people across the world. Some sessions which got high views included (full details
given in Annexure C):
IV. Achievements
6
iv. Number of persons attending the festival, and its diversity in terms of
gender, age, ethnicity, culture, religion/sect, location of home town /
country, etc.
Deliverables Achievement
Financing for hosting The financing target of PKR 8,235,000 ($51,854) was fully
festival arranged achieved
Festival program, The festival program, including panelists, moderators,
panelists and performers performers and curators, was finalized in the beginning of
finalized October, 2019
Logistical arrangements All logistical arrangements, including venue booking, selection
completed and orientation of vendors, preparation of media products
and launch of campaign, printing and sale of tickets for
ticketed events, recruitment, training and placement of
volunteers, setting up of venue (indoor and outdoor), board
and lodge and travel for delegates, security arrangements,
Festival conducted and The three day festival was conducted as per the plan
disseminated submitted in the project proposal, and included recording and
live streaming of all events, and full coverage by mainstream
print and electronic media
Video documentation of Every single festival event was video recorded, and the videos
all festival events are available on the Faiz Ghar Facebook page
Almost all the festival targets were achieved, while targets related to panel discussions were
over-achieved. More than 500,000 have seen festival events through livestreaming and web
posts. Since many people did not fill the registration forms at the reception desk, and many
people attended on more than one day, it is not possible to calculate the exact number of
people who attended the festival. While the halls were not full in a few sessions, there were
people sitting on floors and stairs in most sessions. We arrived at an estimated figure of
27,000 using the following calculations:
7
Table 3: Audience Estimates
V. Partners
We were fortunate to be able to collaborate with a large number of partners without whose
support it would have been far more difficult to organize such a large event according to the
quality standards which have become a hallmark of FFT events. Our partners included:
i. Lahore Arts Council – providing all the facilities available at the Alhamra Arts
Centre, including auditorium, halls, galleries, open spaces, wash rooms, cafeteria,
parking, etc.
ii. Our major sponsor, i.e. FOSIP, and corporate sponsors, including Coca Cola,
Jubilee Insurance, Kinetic, Naturelle, Luxus Grand Hotel; and SPO
iii. Alhamra Academy of Performing Arts – music and theatre performances
iv. Government College University, Lahore – co-hosting session/exhibition
v. Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) – providing conference bags and lunches
to delegates, and hosting a tour of the walled city
vi. British Council – sponsoring British author
vii. UNESCO – sponsoring the Baba Guru Nanak exhibition
viii. Habib University, Karachi – sponsoring music performance of Tarz group
8
ix. Geo Television Network – electronic and print media promotion
x. Lahore Grammar School – children’s dance performances
xi. The Little Art – art activities for children
xii. German Jazz Group
xiii. Parks and Horticulture Authority / DHA – for free spaces to put up banners and
streamers
As we reflected on the reasons for the growing audience and its increasing diversity, we
realized that in its fifth year the festival has become an event where friends and family
members from across Pakistan get an opportunity to meet, hang out, and meet hundreds of
acquaintances from other parts of the country. In addition Lahorites also get an opportunity
to meet so many people from Lahore and outside. The quality and content of the sessions
and performances, the opportunity to meet celebrities from various fields, the sessions
starting and closing on time, the excellent ambience of the AlHamra Art Centre, including
the sprawling lawns, food court and book stalls, and recordings of Faiz’s poetry sung by
diverse singers, all have contributed to building a reputation of a high quality and culturally
rich festival.
We would also like to improve the registration of visitors in the next edition of the festival,
so that we have a better sense of the number and type of people participating in the
festival, and being able to analyse the data in terms of gender and geographical location.
This would give us a better sense of the size as well as the diversity of the festival. We are
also exploring the idea of advance online registration for various festival sessions / events.
9
Annexure A: Flyers
10
Annexure B: Electronic and social media festival reports
https://dnd.com.pk/5th-faiz-festival-2019-to-feature-exhibition-of-history-contemporary-sikh-art/
175499
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvJBkeu-4IE
Faiz Ahmad Faiz poetry by a boy from Gilgit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S17wgZkjI5M
11
Faiz Festival 2019 | Vlog | Asad Qureshi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTEewtK2XEU
Faiz Festival 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn02VBjDJRY
Reviews (selected):
https://schimmel.com.pk/german-jazz-concert-by-cyminology-at-faiz-festival-2019/
German Jazz Concert by Cyminology at Faiz Festival 2019
by Shehnaz 17 Nov 2019
https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/569776-town-talk
At a Glance
https://nayadaur.tv/2019/11/thousands-throng-faiz-festival-students-mobilise-for-solidarity-march/
https://www.thefridaytimes.com/faiz-and-the-world/
https://pakobserver.net/faiz-intl-festival-begins/
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2101771/4-faiz-international-festival-2019-comes-close/
https://www.youlinmagazine.com/article/faiz-festival-2019-celebrating-the-life-and-work-of-faiz/
MTYxMg==
12
Annexure C: Livestreamed sessions
HA Classics 16th November: Ali Sethi Live Performance of Faiz Ahmed Faiz poetry at Faiz Festival
Dasht-e-Tanhai: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AorqLWHi4Rc
Hum Dekhenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsqSfYDn4Cs
Gulon Mein Rang Bharey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rHUTMJDX9c
Mujh Se Pehli si Muhabbat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35rKLxYC2_o
City 42 16th November: Faiz Festival with Hamid Mir and Nasim Zehra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArWG32cx_7s
16th November Faiz Festival German Jazz Concert by Cyminology: Persian poetry of Rumi and Hafiz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stydKLgCXpw
Mein tenu fair milangi: Nimra Bucha & Sarmad Khoosat theatre performance (6.1k views)
https://www.facebook.com/Faiz.Ghar.Official/videos/426015751406882/
13
Siasi Pabandion ke Daur Mein Azad Sahafat (8.5k views)
https://www.facebook.com/Adeel.Hashmi.Official/videos/504031253524519/
UzpfSTIzNjgyOTk5OTc2MTk0MjoyMzM2MzAxMzY5ODE0Nzg0/
German Jazz Concert by Cyminology: Persian poetry of Rumi and Hafiz (1.7k views)
https://www.facebook.com/Adeel.Hashmi.Official/videos/472878266670288/
UzpfSTIzNjgyOTk5OTc2MTk0MjoyMzM2NzUyNTE5NzY5NjY5/
Kathak Performance Farah Yasmeen Shaikh & Tarz Group (3.9k views)
https://www.facebook.com/Faiz.Ghar.Official/videos/783600885421218/
Chaal Dance Performance Adnan Jahangir and Samia Mumtaz (1.8k views)
https://www.facebook.com/Faiz.Ghar.Official/videos/1224757514389422/
14