Karakoram Area Development Organization, better known as its acronym KADO, has appointed Mehnaz Parveen as its first-ever female CEO. The vacant position of Chief Executive Officer at KADO Hunza was announced on 2nd August 2019.

Mehnaz Parveen, the new CEO of KADO Hunza, is a resident of Passu, Gojal. She has been working at Foundation for Arts, Culture & Education (FACE) as a Director and Institute for Preservation of Arts and Culture (IPAC) prior to FACE. She has also been associated with Indus Blues as a Production Designer. Indus Blues is an award-winning Pakistani documentary that focuses on the fading musical instruments in Pakistan.

Mehnaz Parveen holds a degree in journalism from Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi. She also studied documentary filmmaking from Madison Area Technical College, Watertown, Wisconsin, USA.

She has been in a leading position for Music Mela events in Hunza and Islamabad. Music Mela is an event organized by the Foundation for Arts, Culture & Education (FACE) in collaborations with partner organizations and brands.

Mehaz Parveen is also the co-founder of Seabuckthorn Hunza restaurant which is based in Islamabad’s sector F8. The restaurant serves Hunza Traditional Foods.

The new CEO brings on table years of experience working with indigenous communities from Kalash to Tharparkar. Mehnaz Parveen, during her time at FACE, has worked tirelessly for improving the livelihoods of these indigenous communities and for the promotion of culture and folk music of these areas.

“Karakoram Area Development Organization (KADO) is an indigenous initiative aimed at to improve the socio-economic conditions of people in Gilgit-Baltistan.”

www.kado.org.pk

KADO has been working actively since the mid-90s for the promotion of culture, entrepreneurship and giving training to differently-abled and young people across Gilgit-Baltistan and even Chitral.

With a headquarter based in Aliabad, Hunza, KADO has spent over a billion Pakistani Rupees, mostly grant and aid money, during the past two decades. KADO is currently operating projects like the Gems and Jewellery Development Centre, Karakoram Handicraft Development Project, Hunza Arts and Cultural Forum, Hunza Environmental Committee, Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), Rehabilitation Center and HiMaT ILDP.

Islamabad – August 29, 2017: Expanding its digital footprint to the far-flung and underserved areas of the country, Pakistan’s premier telecom, and digital services provider, Telenor Pakistan has launched its mobile agriculture advisory service ‘Khushaal Zamindaar’ in Gilgit – Baltistan. Launched in collaboration with Market Development Facility (MDF), the innovative service will provide localized and customized advisory services to facilitate local farmers in increasing their agricultural yield.

The high-spirited launch event was held at a local hotel in the provincial capital, Gilgit. The honorable guests include MDF, members from Agha Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP), Japan Inter Cooperation Agency (JICA), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), media persons, community leaders, female farmers of Gilgit and Telenor Pakistan officials.

The mobile agriculture service in Gilgit – Baltistan will provide location based weather forecast and information about value chains like Apricots, apple, potato and other crops cultivated in the region. The service shall also benefit the farmers who rear livestock, potentially transforming the domestic use to commercial benefits in the long run.

Speaking at the event, Head of Mobile Agriculture, Telenor Pakistan, Habib Saqib said: “Telenor Pakistan is bringing its innovative mobile agriculture solution to Gilgit – Baltistan to supplement the socio – economic progress of the region. Khushaal Zamindar will enable and empower the local farmers to make calculated and informed decisions to increase their agricultural yield. They will also be able to adopt best practices used around the world to get better yields in terms of quality and quantity. The initiative comes in line with Telenor Pakistan’s commitment to empowering the societies and we believe that true empowerment comes with financial liberty. We will continue to contribute to the socio – economic progress and well-being of the region.”

Sharing his thoughts, Osman Anwar, Coordinator Pakistan Country Team, MDF said, “Telenor’s 7272 service is very relevant for smallholder farmers in Gilgit-Baltistan. The MDF would like to congratulate Telenor for launching a service which has been designed by including feedback from a multitude of farmers. Weather alerts, forecasts, and crop advisory are core to a successful farming system particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan, a region where providing physical extension is difficult in hard to reach valleys and accurate weather information is seldom available. We hope that Telenor builds on the exciting suite of services and continues to add value in the lives of smallholder farmers by providing practical solutions to problems around information, market access, and credit.”