Azme Alishan Campaign
Azme Alishan Campaign (The Glorious Resolve Campaign) was a nationwide social awareness campaign launched in Lahore, Pakistan on 23 March 2010 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the signing of the original Lahore Resolution (also called Pakistan Resolution) in 1940 that later became the basis for creating Pakistan.[1]
The campaign aimed to celebrate Pakistani identity and culture, while encouraging all Pakistanis – both at home and abroad – to make a new resolve to stand up for their country at a time when the Pakistani way of life is coming under threat. Azme Alishan Campaign was backed by some of Pakistan's leading media groups. Through a series of public events and activities planned throughout 2010 to 2013, the campaign aimed to:
- Celebrate the real Pakistani identity and culture; shared values of peace, diversity, tolerance and unity; and rejection of the image that had been assigned to Pakistanis everywhere.
- Challenge all Pakistanis to speak up for these values and to act on them, and
- Invite Pakistanis and the world's media to see a different Pakistan, the one behind the images and stereotypes of division provoked by a few.
Background[edit]
In 1940, the very idea of Pakistan was born in Lahore through the signing of the Lahore Resolution (sometimes called the Pakistan Resolution). In 2010, it appeared that the country had reached a crossroads. Suffering from problems at home and an increasingly poor image abroad, the country's very way of life was coming under threat.
Azme Alishan Campaign was established to help patriotic Pakistanis find their voice. The people behind the campaign stressed that it had nothing to do with the government or any big business. It was about Pakistanis as a people, taking part in something together, renewing their faith in each other, and rekindling the communal spirit that laid the foundations for the creation of Pakistan 70 years ago.
The name[edit]
First two words (Azme Alishan) (The Glorious Resolve) were taken from Pakistan's national anthem, something that every young Pakistani is brought up to learn and love.
The Azme Alishan campaign centred on asking Pakistanis to make a new resolve to stand up for their country; calling on them to register their support and declare themselves a Nishane-Azm (A symbol of Resolve).[1]
Launch Event[edit]
The Azme-Alishan Campaign was launched with a TV event filmed at the Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex in Lahore on 23 March 2010, the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Lahore Resolution.
The event featured performances by local students and star acts by Pakistani musicians such as Waris Baig, Sajjad Ali and Arieb Azhar. In February 2011, in an interview, Arieb Azhar recalled his performance at Azme Alishan Campaign music event in 2010. Then he went on to talk about dedicating his new song to the '2011 Azme Alishan Campaign' in Karachi.[2]
In 2010, Pakistan's leading film actress, Reema Khan, used the occasion to endorse the Azme-Alishan Campaign and to urge Pakistanis to offer their support. The evening culminated with a symbolic passing of a Diya to the younger generation, as young achievers in areas such as sports and education were recognised with special awards from the Azme Alishan Campaign.
Digital Media[edit]
The official website was launched at the event on 23 March 2010 and had become a one-stop-shop for all things related to the campaign. It was regularly updated with videos and images of Azme Alishan Campaign events, and included a 'Live Blog' where visitors could comment on relevant issues and articles and had their say on the future of Pakistan.
Prior to the official website launch, azmealishan.com featured a special digital image of the famous Minar-e-Pakistan monument made up of hundreds of separate pixels, each one representing an Azm (resolve) made by a supporter.
Azme-Alishan events[edit]
In the first year of Azme Alishan Campaign in 2010, several public events had been launched to encourage support for the Azme-Alishan Campaign.
‘Sanwaro Pakistan' – literally meaning 'Make Pakistan Better' – was an initiative encompassing one of the largest clean-up campaigns ever seen in Lahore and a series of tree planting ceremonies across 40 of the city's schools.
Two mass motorbike rallies were held in Lahore and Karachi to drive awareness and participation. More than 150 riders wearing branded Azme Alishan T-shirts and helmets, on green bikes with Azme Alishan flags attached, took part in the events.
Public participation events such as the symbolic lighting of Diyas (oil lamps) in and around Lahore became commonplace and attracted widespread support and media coverage. The National Song Competition Season 2 was aired on 9th July 2011 in Karachi with 30 amateur singers competing to become Pakistan's next 'Voice of the Nation'.[1]
During National Song Competition Season 1 in 2010, from 5 June 2010 onwards, Strings (band) along with Arshad Mehmood, Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia started appearing on TV1, NEWS1 and Waseeb TV as judges for the Azme Alishan National Song Competition. The Azme Alishan Campaign's manifesto was to revive the same spirit of nationhood and community that lies at the heart of their vision of Pakistan.[1][3][2]
Azme Alishan Campaign aimed to highlight the Pakistani youth musical talent within Pakistan with this televised competition. The TV shows continued throughout the summer, concluding with the grand finale announcing the winner on 14 August 2010. The competition opened in mid-March with a request for all Pakistanis from within and across borders to send in their original national song entries. For the television show, a jury panel had been established which featured the likes of Pakistani model Vinnie, the multifaceted Arshad Mehmood and music producer and previous member of the band Vital Signs, Shahzad Hassan (Shahi), Khalid Anwar from Aaroh, Najam Sheraz and many others as guest judges along with Strings, who acted as the judges.
In December 2011, 10,000 people signed a pledge (Azm) to say what they personally would do to shape a better future for Pakistan.[4]
In August 2013, Azme Alishan Campaign team arranged a football match in Lyari Town, Karachi. Karachi Electric Supply Company had collaborated with them to arrange this match.[5]
Advertising Campaign[edit]
Azme Alishan Campaign events were supported by the mass media advertising campaign featuring TV, press, radio and digital ads.[6]
The advertising campaign used to support the launch-events featuring Pakistani people burning words such as 'intolerance' and 'division' in the flames of Diyas (oil lamps), which were increasingly becoming associated with – and symbolic of – the Azme-Alishan Campaign itself.
The 2011 National Song Competition Season 2 was a platform for the youth of Pakistan to express themselves through their music for the welfare of Pakistan.[1]
Significant Supporters[edit]
Support for the Azme Alishan Campaign had grown every year since its launch in 2010. The campaign lasted from 2010 to 2013. After 2013, public enthusiasm for Azme Alishan Campaign started fading away.[5]
The online Nisham-e-Azm campaign featured contributions from thousands of Pakistanis, and in April 2010, the initiative announced that more than 100 people had submitted songs for the National Song Competition Season 1.
The campaign had also been endorsed by a range of famous Pakistanis including actors, musicians, journalists and sportsmen in 2010. For example, an 'Azme Alishan T20 Cup Cricket Tournament' was played here at Gymkhana Cricket Club Ground in October 2010 in Lahore, Pakistan.[7]
Significant names associated with the campaign included the noted TV anchor Faisal Qureshi, the singer and actor Sajjad Ali, and Taher Khan, the founder and chairman of Interflow Group, one of Pakistan's marketing and media companies.
Azme Alishan awards[edit]
In May 2012 at Karachi, the 2nd Azme Alishan Awards were given to the nation's unsung heroes – ordinary Pakistanis who do extraordinary things to help others.[8]
See also[edit]
- Lahore Resolution or Pakistan Resolution (1940)
- Pakistan
- Minar-e-Pakistan
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Azme Alishan's song competition The Nation (newspaper), Published 8 July 2011, Retrieved 10 July 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Arieb Azhar joins the Azme Alishan campaign The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 2 February 2011, Retrieved 11 July 2018
- ↑ Contest (Azme Alishan National Song Competition) The Nation (newspaper), Published 2 June 2010, Retrieved 10 July 2018
- ↑ People sign up as ambassadors for 'real Pakistan' The Nation (newspaper), Published 9 December 2011, Retrieved 10 July 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Saher Baloch (22 September 2013). "Bringing about change: To Lyari with love". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- ↑ Hey Junoon: Fuzon returns with new song and spirit The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 19 July 2011, Retrieved 11 July 2018
- ↑ Azme Alishan T20 Cup Cricket Tournament rolls into action The Nation (newspaper), Published 27 October 2010, Retrieved 10 July 2018
- ↑ Azme Alishan awards given The Nation (newspaper), Published 1 May 2012, Retrieved 10 July 2018
External links[edit]
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