On February 27th, 2023, The NGO World Foundation (TNWF) organized a Nonprofit Executives Summit 2023 at Avari Towers Karachi to celebrate World NGO Day, this day is internationally observed on 27 February every year and is officially recognized by the 12 member countries of the IX Baltic Sea NGO Forum of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in 2010 and first time marked by the UN, EU leaders and international organizations in 2014.

The Nonprofit Executives Summit brought together Government officials, nonprofit leaders, executives, volunteers, and social workers together on one platform. The purpose of the summit was to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and future strategies for the nonprofit sector in Pakistan and the roles of NGOs, academia, social enterprise, and corporate in the countries betterment.

Mr. Prem Sagar – Provincial Coordinator Sindh JICA-AQAL Program and Ms. Huma Jabeen – Consultant, Educationist and Corporate Trainer were master of the ceremony who began the summit by inviting a volunteer from TNWF for recitation of verses of the Holy Quran and to perform national anthem of Pakistan. Mr. Zafar Iqbal – Founder of The NGO World Foundation and Goodwill ambassador of World NGO Day began the session by a welcome note and introduction of The NGO World Foundation, following to an online guest speaker session of Mr. Marcis Skadmanis – Founder of World NGO Day and Social Entrepreneur who shared his insights on the nonprofit sector and history behind this day, and appreciated everyone for their valuable contributions to the community and for celebrating this international day in Pakistan. Moving forward, Mr. Najaf Khan Malik – Chief Operating Officer, Sindh Peoples Housing for Floods Affectees was welcomed on stage who shared the ongoing work and contributions his department is doing in the flood affected areas of Pakistan. An online session by our guest Mr. Ghulam Mustafa – Chief Executive Officer, Farmers Development Organization was also conducted where he shared the organizations contributions and steps it is taking for the betterment of local farmers of our country.

The next session was a panel discussion on ‘Nonprofit Sector of Pakistan – Challenges, Opportunities & Future Strategies’ which was moderated by Mr. Rizwan Jaffar – Founder Chairman Youth Parliament Pakistan. The panel had four experts from different nonprofit backgrounds, Dr. Mumtaz Ali – Professor and Social Entrepreneur, Mr. Abid Gill – Deputy Advisor JICA-AQAL, Ms. Fiza Pitafi – Provincial Coordinator, Local Councils Association and Mr. Amir Khan – Founder Dua Foundation, who shared their thoughts and knowledge on the topic and had a question/answer session with the participants. The discussions provided a platform for participants to share their experiences and insights on the challenges facing the nonprofit sector in Pakistan, including funding, resource constraints, and regulatory issues. The panelists also discussed the potential opportunities for growth and development in the sector, as well as the future strategies that could be adopted to address these challenges.

An international speaker Dr. Gerhard Ermischer – President Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe was welcomed at the summit to conducted an online session reflecting the contributions by the nonprofit organizations globally. Mr. Rehan Allahwala – Founder Rehan Foundation then took over the stage where he contributed his ideas and thoughts on how to improve and increase earnings online, he also introduced ChatGPT to the participants and gave a live demo on how one can use the best of the app.

Ms. Hina Ali Shaikh – Head of Institutional Development and Sustainability Program TNWF then conducted a second panel discussion of the event which was focused on ‘Insight on Role of NGOs, Academia, Social Enterprise and Corporate’ with three panelists; Mr. Raheel Abbas – Director Operations at Transparent Hands, Dr. Tariq Rahim Soomro – Acting Rector at Institute of Business Management, and Mr. Abdul Rahim Moosvi, the panelist shared their experiences, insights, and successes in their work, inspiring the participants to continue their efforts towards social development and community welfare.

The summit then welcomed Ms. Humaira Bachal – Founder & Chairperson Roshan Pakistan Academy on the stage to share her success story with the audience, and was presented by an award for her achievements by Mr. Zafar Abbas – General Secretary JDC Foundation who later shared the contributions of JDC Foundation to the community and highlighted the challenges his workers face while working in the field. He further shared his thoughts on how we all can change our behaviors and support the local workers who work day and night to make sure everyone in need gets their rights. Moving forward to the next session where Ms. Sabina Khatri – Founder & Chairperson Kiran Foundation was welcomed on the stage to have a live session with Ms. Huma Jabeen reflecting her foundations work done in the local community of Liyari and the success stories of her school in the area. She highlighted the success stories from her foundation’s school and displayed a video reflecting her foundations contributions and work done in the community.

At the end of the summit, an award ceremony was held, where ‘Social Work Encouragement, Recognition & Appreciation’ (SWERA) awards were presented by The NGO World Foundation to participants for their contributions to the community. The SWERA award is a recognition of the hard work and dedication of individuals and organizations working towards social development and community welfare introduced by The NGO World Foundation. Overall, the Nonprofit Executives Summit organized by The NGO World Foundation was a great success, providing a valuable platform for participants to discuss and explore the challenges, opportunities, and future strategies for the nonprofit sector in Pakistan. The summit was also an excellent opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of individuals and organizations towards social development and community welfare.

Pictorial View Click Here