PNC Facilitates International Event on EdTech and Gender Equity in Education

Promoting National Cohesion (PNC) successfully facilitated a high-impact international event in Pakistan, bringing together key stakeholders including ICESCO (Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), and Avantis Education UK.

This three-day event in Islamabad focused on training 200 school heads on Emerging Educational Technologies (EdTech) to enhance teaching effectiveness and education quality. Special emphasis was placed on girls’ education and the role of EdTech in eliminating gender-based violence by promoting safe, inclusive, and technology-driven learning environments.

The collaboration between PNC, ICESCO, FDE, and Avantis Education UK highlights a global commitment to leveraging digital innovations for educational transformation, ensuring equitable access to quality education for all.

PNC remains committed to fostering international partnerships that advance progressive education policies and promote technological empowerment in learning.

ICESCO, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and Federal Directorate of Education arranged a two days Masterclass Training on Edtech for teachers in various schools of Islamabad Capital Territory. The training titled, “Use of Emerging Educational Technologies (EdTech) for Effective Teaching & Quality Education” was facilitated by Promoting National Cohesion – PNC. The training was arranged for 100 school teachers at the ICB Auditorium in Islamabad on 21 and 22 January 2025. The training workshop included multiple sessions on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, EdTech initiatives taken by the government, AI advancements and Future of Classrooms.

Dr. Haddy Jatou Sey, Head of Education Sector, ICESCO was the guest of honor at the closing ceremony. She said the ICESCO emphasizes strongly on its partnerships with Pakistan for promotion of education, scientific and cultural cooperation. She stated that this initiative is the first ever direct engagement in the education sector in Islamabad. However, she hoped to strengthen the cooperation for more strategic frameworks in the future. She added that ICESCO will Launch Largest Girls Education Program in Pakistan.

Prior to the training, a launch ceremony for Deployment of ICESCO Virtual Reality (VR) School Pilot Project in Pakistan took place on 20 January 2025. Initially, VR equipment deployment was carried out by Aventis UK and hands-on training of teachers on VR equipment was conducted. A session titled, “Discover the Future of education with VR Classrooms” was arranged for the participants. It was followed by a Special Session on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence in Education. Later, the Participants visited and experienced VR technology by teachers and students in classroom.

Syed Junaid Ikhlaq, Director General FDE thanked the ISESCO team for their support towards introducing the VR technology in the schools as a pilot initiative. He hoped that the initiative will create ICESCO’s long term partnership towards enhancing partnership in the education sector across Pakistan.

The training session included specialized training for the participants. A lecture by Dr. Adeel Anjum, Dean of IT Department at QAU shared several uses of new apps and technology options for the teachers. For instance, he shared how the teachers can utilize multiple apps and tools to create questionnaires, review answers, and conduct testing and analysis through these tools. Additionally, Director Academics FDE briefed the participants on EdTech initiatives taken by FDE. She informed the participants on government’s engagement with several global apps to provide free access to the teachers. A Lecture on Teachers of Future & EdTech by Dean Faculty of Education, AIOU included how the technology is transforming for teachers and how they may see it in the future.

A special workshop on EdTech was also conducted by the facilitators of Promoting National Cohesion. Ms. Mala Zar, Chief of Digital Initiatives at PNC informed the participants on multiple prompts and search techniques to utilize a number of apps and tools. She briefed the participants on several new apps for teachers including Magic School, Writer Sonic, Dall-E, Copy AI and Talk to Books.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) is a specialized organization that operates under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The organizations works in 53 member countries in the fields of education, science, culture and communication in Islamic countries in order to support and strengthen relations among Member States.