The KPK government has set out on a journey to promote cultural activities by paying Rs. 30,000 stipend to talented singers and artists from all over the province for one year. Another phase of stipends is set to start from the next month.
The Initiatives
Not just this, the Directorate of Culture is going to introduce endowment funds, art academies and divisional cultural complexes in all the divisions of KP in a bid to promote healthy and cultural activities in the province.
Other initiatives for showing the positive side of KP, at both national and international levels, include photograph competitions, painting competitions and other culture-related activities.
An award named ‘Aiteraf e Fan Award’ has been planned by the Directorate for the best singers, writers and drama artists of the year. Not just this, a total of 3 lac rupees will also be awarded to the winners.
The Motive
Ajmal Khan, the Director Culture KP said, “We are interested to restore the film industry and will try to play a positive role in this regard”. He also asserted that KP will arrange recreational trips for the residents of other provinces as well as the establishment of an art gallery at Nishtar Hall.
The reason behind the allocation of budget for paying stipends is due to the fact that the artists from KP have suffered a great deal at the hands of terrorism and militancy acts. Ajmal Khan added,
The government is making efforts to revive cultural activities of the province and to support artists of the province in producing quality work. This stipend will play a positive role in this regard.
A similar initiative was taken by KP government last year, when about 500 artists, writers and singers were awarded stipends. The decision to continue the project this year has been taken because a large number of artists contacted the ministry for financial aid. The criteria for these stipends is not the financial status, rather the quality of work in respective fields.
The Directorate has also drafted a Culture Policy for the promotion of cultural activities and it has been forwarded to the relevant authorities for approval. These steps are being welcomed by artists from around the province as necessary for the revival of cultural activities in KP.
