KARACHI – Bilal Masood, the Youth Ambassador of Pakistan who has represented the country beyond borders and has actively been working for peace and projecting true image of Pakistan is selected as one of the few Facilitators and Resource Persons fully sponsored from Asia and only one from Pakistan for the Model Asia-Europe Meeting 2014 to be held from 8-12 October, 2014 in Milan, Italy.
The event is a simulation of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) which is going to be held later this month in Milan and will be attended by heads of state from Asia and Europe. The Model ASEM 2014 will offer students the opportunity to deliberate on pertinent issues in Asia-Europe cooperation, including climate change mitigation, economic growth, education and skills development, pandemic influenza and more. The topics to be discussed are based on the agenda of the actual ASEM Summit. Through role-play, participants will enhance their skills of compromise, negotiation and consensus-building.
Bilal Masood in the discussions and negotiations will support the Chair of the Political Pillar, who is represented by a student delegate. Bilal will also meet the Consul General of Australia in Milan and will be leading a group of Delegates from Asia and Europe during the visit to the Australian Consulate on 9 October 2014. Moreover, he will be one of the Resource Person’s to organise and implement the cultural evening during the event.
Notably, Bilal Masood has also been selected as only one from Asia and Europe to support the crucial and rapid compilation of the Model ASEM 2014 Declaration on Saturday, 11 October 2014. He has already been working as facilitator for the event’s online forum.
An announcement here Bilal Masood lamented that the perception of some countries including Pakistan due to one reason or the other which may be wrong comes in the way for the peace loving youth of Pakistan to cross the borders freely. Bilal said, “After submitting all the prerequisite documents and yet being refused for the visa I did not give up and fought peacefully for my right to represent my country, the cause is what matters the most and despite all hassles and stringent visa process, on an appeal and with the support of the organizers, I was finally issued the visa in few hours, a process which normally takes more than fifteen days”.
‘‘It is an honour not only for me, but my country and the Asian continent to be invited as a key Facilitator and Resource Person in a prestigious event of young people at the Asia-Europe level”, Bilal added.
Bilal Masood will be playing a pivotal role in strengthening Pakistan-Italy relations and promoting soft image of Pakistan as he has proudly done previously in more than fifteen countries at youth level including Model Asia-Europe Meeting, 2008 in Beijing, China where he was awarded as the Best Delegate Speaker from Asia and Europe in Political Pillar.
