These days, the Crystal Hall of the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore wore an unusual look: it was decorated with flags of Russia and Pakistan, banners of the “Voice of Russia”.
Here the 4th All Pakistan Conference of visitors to the Urdu site and listeners of our Urdu broadcasts was held. It brought together over one hundred participants from dozens of Voice of Russia listener clubs, who had gathered from all over the country, as well as representatives of major media of Pakistan the PTV and The Daily Jang, politicians and publicists. It was very pleasant to note that among the guests were many young people – schoolchildren and students. “Voice of Russia” was represented at the conference by a delegation composed of leading announcer Dr. Mirza Mojahid, chief editor of Internet sites VOR Conf, and senior editor Anna Zakharova.
Representatives of the “Voice of Russia” narrated about the main trends in the development of radio broadcasting from Moscow, about the principles on which the work of VOR sites is based. The importance of broadcasting in Urdu was underlined in the welcome message read at the conference from Deputy Chairman of “Voice of Russia” Oleg Kupriyanov.
In his speech, Mr. Habib Ahmad, Guest of the conference and Honorary Consul of Russia in Lahore, highlighted the importance of the development of relations between our two countries.
Llisteners Rana Naveed Abbas and Fahad Khan Younis, who began to study Russian language from the “Russian language courses on the radio,” astonished everybody with their performances in Russian. And Rana Naveed also impressed all the visitors to the conference with his little daughter, who was dressed in a dress in white, blue and red stripes – the colors of the Russian flag.
As was noted by many participants, “Voice of Russia” plays a very important role in the development and strengthening of Russian-Pakistani relations. This, in particular, was emphasized by Fahad Khan Younis in his speech.
The Guest of Honour at the conference – the famous writer Mustansar Hussain Tarrar, who was year taking part in the meeting of friends of “Voice of Russia” not for the first time, shared his memories of trips to Russia, spoke about his love for Russian literature and the deep ties between our nations.
The conference heard many suggestions from the audience. We will carefully consider them. They will make our programmes even more interesting and useful. It was nice to note a common desire – to increase the broadcasting time in Urdu. There was talk about closer relations between the editorial staff and visitors to the site. In particular, it was agreed to launch SMS correspondence.
Liaquat Ali Awan, a volunteer of the “Voice of Russia” in Pakistan, has been working with us since 2005. Not only does he constantly listen to our transmissions in Urdu and visits the site, but he also shares his opinion, gives suggestions and comments, and also forwards to the “Voice of Russia” letters from listeners, who for some reason find it difficult to do it themselves. He participated in all three previous conferences, but this time he came with his wife and son, who also listen to our programmes.
The conference announced the winners of the annual radio quiz “Do you know Russia?” The first place was awarded to one of the most active listeners Rana Naveed Abbas of Sheikhupura, the second place went to Shahzad Shabbir of Chichavatani, and the third to Muhammad Ahmad from Lahore. Amir Jamil from Sahiwal, who daily sent us e-mails, frequently called us and actively commented on materials published on our website and on the Facebook page, was rightly adjudged listener of the year. «VOR web visitors club», headed by Abid Hussain Sajid from Meilsi was named the best listeners club of the year. And the most active visitor of the “Voice of Russia” website was Hafiz Naeem Ahmad of Jhang City. Miss Kaneez Fatima was recognized as the winner of the photo competition. All winners received certificates and prizes.
In addition, honorary diplomas for special merit and prizes were awarded to Liaquat Ali Awan of Dera Ismail Khan and Rasheed Naz of Faisalabad. And all participants received commemorative souvenirs.
Besides the official part, a traditional tea party was held with Pakistani and Russian sweets that were specifically brought to the conference by the staff of “Voice of Russia”. Participants and guests chatted with each other, took photos for memory and exchanged contacts.
Monitoring News Desk
