Over the past 6 years, Hive Pakistan has engaged in multiple interfaith harmony and religious coexistence initiatives that are aimed at providing experiential learning as well as entertainment value. These include not only Holi and Christmas but also religious events from smaller communities like Baha’is & Sikhs. In the form of participatory and interactive events, Hive Pakistan has led educational interfaith diversity tours, art competitions, sporting events, music competitions, Christmas gift drives across Pakistan, training, and workshops on digital activism and network building, conferences, and adventure related excursions in the form of bicycle rallies and hiking.
Celebration of Religious Events
HIVE has over 8 years of experience in organizing festivals celebrating religious events with different religious communities in Pakistan.
Christmas Celebrations in Islamabad
In 2017, on the occasion of Christmas, HIVE Pakistan conducted a Christmas event in a Church in France Colony, F-7/4, Islamabad. The event involved community meet-ups, multi-religious dialogue, and the distribution of gifts to children to commemorate the special day with Pakistan’s Christian community and share the joy of Christmas.
Holi Celebrations in Lahore
In 2017, HIVE Pakistan organized Holi in Lahore where a large number of people showed up in the festival of colors. The event included the then member of the provincial assembly, Mr. Kanji Ram of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) as the chief guest. The event brought people from diverse religious backgrounds on a single platform as Pakistanis who wish to see a tolerant, developed, and pluralistic Pakistan.
Ayyam-i-Ha Celebrations in Rawalpindi
In 2017, HIVE Pakistan, in collaboration with the Baha’i community of Rawalpindi organized an event to celebrate the holy occasion Ayyam-i-Ha. The Baha’i calendar is composed of 19 months of 19 days each, plus an extra four or five days referred to as “Ayyám-i-Há”, the last day of which marks ‘Alá’, the month of fasting. HIVE Pakistan organized the event to mark the annual celebration of this auspicious occasion and share the sentiments of the Baha’i community.
Interfaith Iftar Celebrations in Islamabad
In Ramadan, 2017, HIVE Pakistan under the principles “Togetherness” and “Harmony’’, organized an interfaith Iftar session where it hosted various religious groups for an inclusive Iftar. The idea of ‘Inclusive Iftar’ was to share love and respect with everyone in the community regardless of religious differences. The event witnessed people from various religions; Hinduism, Christianity, Baha’i, Islam, and Sikhism. The event is intended to strengthen the community bond on occasion of happiness and distress.
Mach Kachehri Diwali Celebrations in Karachi
In November 2021, HIVE Pakistan in collaboration with the Hindu community of Sindh organized the Mach Kachehri event on the holy occasion of Diwali. This idea behind Mach Kachehri was not only to celebrate Diwali but also to encourage and nurture the act of joining together as one community and engaging in a community dialogue. More than 50 participants took part in the event which involved classical, folk music of Sindhi Hindus.
Christmas Dialogue on Social Cohesion in Islamabad
On Christmas 2020, HIVE Pakistan organized an event that focused on community dialogue on Social Cohesion with Islamabad local Christian community. The event which was organized in 66 quarters, a predominantly Christian neighborhood in Islamabad had people from the Muslim majority and other religious communities gathered at a local church to have a constructive debate and fruitful conversation around the topic. The event not only celebrated Christmas but also emphasized the importance of communications and the promotion of “interfaith dialogue” to combat the forces of extremism that are widening the gaps between different religious communities of the country. Following the dialogue, HIVE Pakistan organized a small ceremony of lightning lamps to display the message of unity and solidarity.
Diwali Celebrations in Rawalpindi
In 2017, HIVE Pakistan celebrated Diwali with the local Hindu community of Rawalpindi at Krishna Mandir.
Interfaith Harmony Conferences
HIVE has over 8 years of experience in organizing conferences on interfaith harmony and other similar themes. We have organized over five local, national and international level conferences having attendance from 100 to 500 youth in each event.
Ravadar National Coalition
In 2021, HIVE Pakistan, in collaboration with the University of Sussex, organized the Ravadar National Coalition which Included 100 members from minority communities of Pakistan.
Young Leaders Exchange
In 2021, HIVE Pakistan organized a three day “Young Leaders Exchange” program, a national retreat in Changala Gali, Galiat region of Northern Pakistan, where all the young leaders of Pakistan had gathered under one roof to collaborate with various experts, network with the country’s leading activists and laid the foundation to build a countrywide network of activists working together against violence and extremism. Around 40% of the participants belonged to religious minorities communities hailing from Hindu, Sikh, Christian, and Bahai’ communities.
ISD YouthCAN
From the year 2019 to 2021, HIVE Pakistan in collaboration with the Institute of Strategic Dialogue (ISD) organized a series of three Youth CAN innovation lab conferences to build the capacity of young activists on innovative campaigning for interfaith and inter-communal harmony.
Festival of Ideas
HIVE Pakistan in collaboration with Khudi Pakistan organized a series of five conferences titled “Festival of Ideas” in four cities of Pakistan and one international conference titled “International Youth Conference and Festival” from the years 2016 – 2020.
Minority Youth Convention
HIVE Pakistan under its campaign “Dil Say Pakistan”, in collaboration with MSDO Sindh organized “Minority Youth Convention 2017” at Pakistan National Museum, Karachi. The convention aimed to unpack the opportunities and confidence in students through interactive theater on religious minorities’ youth issues, youth volunteerism, career counseling, and possible opportunities for youth.
YES Peace Festival
In 2018, HIVE Pakistan in collaboration with UNESCO organized YES Peace Pakistan Festival where we gathered the brightest and most passionate social activists from all over Pakistan. Sizeable participants belonged to Pakistan’s religious minorities and several topic covered issues related to interfaith harmony.
Speak Karachi
HIVE Pakistan organized the ‘Speak Karachi’ conference to promote the culture of debate and dialogue amongst diverse religious communities residing in Karachi.
Symposium on Single National Curriculum
HIVE Pakistan in collaboration with CELL Foundation organized a one-day symposium on the single national curriculum especially discussing issues related to interfaith harmony and minority rights, participants included Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs.
Simurg Talks
HIVE Pakistan, under its initiative Simurg Fund, organized a one day conference with various speakers belonging to Pakistan’s religious minorities to share their stories, journeys, and struggle to motivate young people
Music, Arts and Culture
Interfaith Harmony Musical Night in Peshawar
In an attempt to promote the cultural fabric of the region, HIVE Pakistan, in 2021, organized an interfaith harmony musical night in Peshawar. The event had representations from various artists belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Christian communities who showcased their talent. Apart from the fore mentioned communities, a small Baha’i’ community comprising of only six families in Peshawar also participated in the activity and presented musical performance.
Music Bethak in Lyari, Karachi
HIVE Pakistan in 2021 organized a music beshak in Lyari which was aimed to promote the local talent of Lyari neighborhood, this included representation from various religious and ethnic groups.
Drum circle in Lahore
HIVE Pakistan, in 2021, gathered young activists working on the issues of minority communities and organized a drum circle to increase the coordination and networking among them and celebrate the diversity of the country. These activists were trained and mentored by HIVE Pakistan through a series of online workshops in collaboration with the Institute of Strategic Dialogue on social campaigning and digital activism on the issues of religious minorities in Pakistan and funded their social action campaigns and projects.
Adventure and Exposure
Diverse City Tours in Islamabad
In 2020, HIVE Pakistan took the citizens of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to worship places in the twin cities. This included Church, Temple, Imam Bargah and Baha’i community center. A total of four diverse city tours took place where people from all aspects of life joined the tour and enjoyed the whole day activities during the trip.
Interfaith Tour in Lahore
In December 2020, HIVE Pakistan organized another interfaith tour in the city of Lahore. People from various backgrounds joined the tour and got a chance to visit each others’ holy places that they had never visited before. It was an interesting and learning experience for them to see the worshippers performing their religious rituals which eventually changed their concepts about different religions.
Religious Education Tour in Peshawar
After conducting religious harmony tours in Islamabad and Lahore, HIVE Pakistan, in January 2021 travelled to Peshawar to conduct its third tour, this time we called it “Religious Education Tour”. The religious educational trip focused more towards educating the participants about the knowledge of various faiths existing in Pakistan. A four hour activity briefed the participants about the various teachings of Christianity, Hinduism, Shia’ism and Sikhism. The activity took place in All Saints Church, Gorak Nath Hindu temple, Imam Bargah Akhunzada and Gurdwara Joga Singh. Speaking to the participants, they believed they felt more learned after this event.
Women Cycle Rally Islamabad
In 2020, HIVE Pakistan in collaboration with Samar Khan, a national athlete of Pakistan organized all women bicycle rally in Islamabad, A considerable number of participants belonged to minority communities who enjoyed the cycling session.
Peace Hike
On the mountains of Margalla in Islamabad, people from different religious backgrounds, sects, and communities gathered in what was described as a “Peace Hike”. Organized by HIVE Pakistan, the event focused on the importance of interfaith harmony. The hike began where various representatives of different communities engaged in a healthy dialogue as they walked on the Margalla Hills.
Beach Adventure Trip
Adventure trip of the beach was organized by HIVE Pakistan for the participants attending HIVE Pakistan’s conference.
