UNIC PR - UN & AKF Celebrate World Environment Day with Film screening and Musical performance

United Nations & Aga Khan Foundation organize public event at PNCA on Friday with music by Khumariyaan, film screening, and discussions with climate heroes like Sirbaz Khan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 6th, 2024 – On Friday 7th June, Islamabad celebrates World Environment Day with a public event at PNCA featuring a musical performance by Khumariyaan, the premiere of a new movie by Nyal Mueenuddin, discussions with climate heroes such as Pakistani alpinist Sirbaz Khan and artist Abuzar Madhu, and a Climate Marketplace.

The event, organized by the United Nations and the Aga Khan Foundation, aims to celebrate all the women and men who are taking action against climate change across Pakistan every day. It is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which backs the National Adaptation Plan, and the Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination.

Khumariyaan, the popular music band from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, will play its mesmerizing tunes in honour of the Indus River Basin. Stretching from mountains to sea, the Indus is at the heart of Pakistan’s ‘Living Indus’ initiative, which aims to protect and restore the ecological health of the Indus River Basin.

‘When the floods come’, the new documentary by Nyal Mueenuddin, shows the 3000km odyssey of this young Pakistani filmmaker and his friends down the Indus River. It captures the most intimate stories of how people’s lives along the river are inextricably bound to water and climate change. The film was produced by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH).

Climate activists will discuss their experiences with the public. Among them are Sirbaz Khan, the second Pakistani to have scaled Mount Everest without oxygen support, and Abuzar Madhu, an artist and environmental activist of the Ravi River. A Climate Market Place will offer an opportunity to discover the innovative projects implemented by the UN and AKF to protect the environment.

Note to editors:

The UN in Pakistan: Climate Action and the Environment are one of the top priorities on the United Nations’ global agenda, and one of the 5 priorities agreed between the UN and Pakistan. Investing to fight climate Change, biodiversity loss and pollution is one of six pathways that can help achieve the 17 Global Goals (also known as SDGs) to end extreme poverty, inequality, and mitigate climate change. This is why we support Pakistan’s ‘Living Indus’ initiative. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Aga Khan Foundation (AKF): Environment and climate is a core strategic priority and cross-cutting theme for the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). AKF is significantly accelerating its response to the global climate crisis, working with communities to strengthen their resilience to climate change, so they not only survive but thrive. AKF works with communities in diverse ecosystems (mountains, coasts and plains), alongside government and civil society and the private sector, to develop locally led adaptation and mitigation responses to climate change and improve quality of life. AKF’s Climate Resilience interventions are crosscutting, interlinked and include Forestry, Regenerative Farming, Clean Energy, Green Economy, Coastal Regeneration, and Education and Climate Change.

UNEP: The United Nations Environment Programme is the leading global authority on the environment. It unites 193 Member States in an effort to find solutions to climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, collectively known as the triple planetary crisis. UNEP supports Pakistan’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for building resilience to climate change. Website: UNEP

For more information, please contact:

United Nations Information Centre in Pakistan (UNIC)
Catherine Weibel, catherine.weibel@un.org, Tel.: +92 300 854 0058
Mahvash Haider Ali, mahvash.ali@un.org, Tel.: +92 319 071 2828

Aga Khan Development Network
Laila Naz Taj, laila.taj@akdn.org, +92-333-8288098