May 2022 Recap: It’s been a big week for us at Code for Pakistan. The first-ever batch of our Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Women Civic Internship Program graduated alongside Fellows from the 7th Cycle Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Innovation Fellowship Program on Tuesday, 31st of May. A special celebratory ceremony was held for them at Durshal in Peshawar. We also made some strides towards our goals of sustainable open data and expansion of digital services within civic technology. To bring these visions into practice, Code for Pakistan signed two separate memorandum of understanding (MoU’s) just this week; one in collaboration with Performance Management Reforms Unit (PMRU) and another with WQSoftwares — a tech company based out of Peshawar.
#Graduation2022
Over the past several years, we’ve worked on a variety of systems, for instance, a Lab Information Management System for DG Livestock & Dairy Research, the Mustahiq app for KPITB, and other dashboards that have been focused on making interactions between citizens and the government more efficient. This year’s 7th Cycle Fellows developed around nine different solutions for multiple government departments which included work on a citizens feedback app for the Halal Food Authority KP, a mercy petition system for Inspector General KP and a case management system for the Advocate General Office KP, among others.
These aren’t our only highlights though. This year was very special for us because we launched a new program for women who belong to rural areas of KP; the KP Women Civic Internship Program was a remote-based opportunity for women to nurture their tech skills similarly to our fellows, except the goal this time was to create greater access and opportunity for women. The program was structured such that selected interns were paired with one or more mentor who specialized in the area the intern wanted to develop in. Then via weekly online sessions with mentors as well as multiple other online sessions in areas like communications, freelancing, branding etc., the interns were trained. What’s special about both our Internship and Fellowship programs however, has been the practical approach that they take. Interns worked alongside Fellows on different applications for some government departments which is how they put their theoretical knowledge in practice, honing their skills.
The graduation ceremony on Tuesday was a way for us to celebrate these brilliant Fellows and Interns for what they achieved, the obstacles they overcame, and the social impact that they created. Chief Guest of the Ceremony, Mr. Matiullah Khan Secretary Science & Technology and Information Technology, spoke to the audience about the pillars of KP's digital policy and digital governance, explaining the relevance and importance of working on digital solutions to help improve the lives of people. Both batches- Fellows and Interns- discussed their own work and their experiences during separate panel discussions.
Many of our partners came out to show us their support as well, for which we are very grateful. From NIC Peshawar, Asim Khan came to celebrate with us and even addressed our new graduates on their new beginning. Dr. Ali Nazish Hanif Jang & Zahid Nawaz from KPITB were also among the attendees. The KPITB (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information & Technology Board) has been monumental in the success of the Fellowship Program, having enabled our Fellows to grow as tech pro’s. Rida from PTCL joined us on Tuesday too. PTCL and Ufone provided our women interns with 4G Wifi ‘Blaze’ devices to ensure their connectivity during their Internship program.
PMRU & WQSoftware- Memorandum of Understanding Signings
Moving towards our goals of advancing within the civic tech sphere, Code for Pakistan’s Country Head Samina Rizwan signed an MoU with the Performance Management and Reforms Unit (PMRU) regarding sustainable open data strategy and several projects related, but not limited to its scope, as well as initiatives for transparency. Director PMRU Capt (Rtd) Abdur Rehman signed on behalf of PMRU.
On the same wavelength, but with a different focus, we partnered with WQSoftwares which is a premier IT company based out of KP. After realizing a shared interest within a broad range of areas including promotion of digital services and civic tech intiatives, Mr. Waqar Yunas, Chief Executive Officer at WQsoftwares and CfP’s Samina Rizwan signed an MoU mapping out these expectations.
