Consul General of Italy in Karachi, Danilo Giurdanella inaugurates 7th edition of the Italian Design Week at Habitt City.

The Consul General of Italy Danilo Giurdanella welcomed the guests at the 7^th edition of the Italian Design Week in Karachi on Thursday, 16 March, 2023 jointly organized by the Consulate of Italy with Habitt City – a community safe space for cultural initiatives and activities for Karachiites.

The event was organized to launch Don Corleone Objects in Pakistan by the renowned Sicilian ceramic artist, Antonino Forlin. Antonino Forlin and IBL/Habitt CEO, Munis Abdullah ventured together for a retail launch of the signature home textile and ceramic collections namely ‘Taormina’ and “Munis × Don Corleone” in Pakistan.

The event was attended by diplomats, foreigners, government-officials, prominent-architects, artists, selected members of press and notable members of business community. Some of attendees were Commissioner Karachi Mr. Iqbal Memon, Consul General of United States of America Ms. Nicole Theriot, Consul General of France Mr. Alexis Chahtahtinsky, Consul General of Japan Mr. Odagiri Toshio, Chairman Gul Ahmed Textile Mills, Mr. Bashir Ali Mohammad and many more.

During his welcome speech, The Consul General of Italy Danilo Giurdanella welcomed the guests at the 7^th edition of the Italian. He termed this event as an important event. He added; “such is the importance of Designing in Italy that more than 64,000 Experts work in Design sector in Italy”. Italian consul further added that; “Italian consul in Karachi is collaborating with Pakistan in Textile and in Ceramic sector”.  

Munis Abdullah CEO Habitt City thanked Italian CG, staff at Italian Consul, IDC and his staff at Habitt City for bring Italian Design Day/Week which also includes Italian Markitt to life. He praised Italy for its exclusive and exquisite designs. Mr. Munis Abdullah also reminded that the concept of super-star (super-stardom) was first coined by Italians. Mr. Munis also shared that Habitt often referred as IKEA of Pakistan.

Commissioner Karachi Mr. Iqbal Memon said; “we have been seeing heavy rains for last couple of years, and this trend is expected to stay or maybe increase. To counter this, architects should design infrastructure like building, road, bridges etc in such a way that they can withstand heavy rains”

The Italian Design Day is an event conceived to promote Italian design abroad, to support exports and the internationalization of companies in this sector, to foster international know-how and exchange of technical and creative skills. This 7th edition focuses on quality, the ability to conceive and create products that combine aesthetic and functional needs using production processes that respect the environment and people’s health.

Besides the product launches of Taormina and Munis × Don Corleone collections in Karachi, the Consulate also organized the book launch and panel discussion of The FOLD – a book by Salman Jawaid, the first Pakistani architect invited in 2018 by the European Culture Centre to organize the Pakistan Pavilion at the International Venice Architecture Biennale, which created history for the people of Pakistan and opened the doors for others to follow. The book looks into the journey of a team of young passionate architects from Pakistan, who make a mark at one of the most prestigious international design event with their sheer determination and hard-work.

The Consulate together with Habitt City have lined up cultural events such as an Italian Markitt – a three day street food festival from 17-19 March, 2023 for people of Karachi to enjoy the Italian delicacies in their city. Furthermore, a ceramic workshop by Antonino Forlin has been organized for arts enthusiasts and students to get a chance to learn specialized technique and methods used in pottery and ceramics. An Italian Culinary Class has also been organized for ardent lovers of Italian cuisine to learn authentic Italian recipes, which will be demonstrated by Chef Gennaro Carrozza during the Italian Design Week.

The Italian Friends of the Citizen Foundation, a non-profit organization advocating the cause of TCF Pakistan in Italy has partnered with Indus Valley School for Art and Architecture and Salone del Mobile, the largest Annual Furniture and Design Exhibition in the world hosted in Milan. Dr. Faiza Mushtaq, Executive Director & Dean of Academics at IVS School of Art and Architecture took the opportunity to announce on the occasion of Italian Design Day, the ART4EDUCATION project, that aims to showcase award winning design pieces by Pakistani artists, architects and designers to be auctioned at Salone del Mobile in 2024 to support the TCF network in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Ayla Majid elected vice president of ACCA

Joseph Owolabi was confirmed in his new role at the annual council meeting after ACCA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 10 November 2022. Ronnie Patton, formerly senior lecturer at Ulster University, Northern Ireland, was appointed deputy president and Ayla Majid from Pakistan, founder and CEO of Planetive – a clean energy and sustainability advisory practice – became vice president.

Ayla Majid joined ACCA in 2006 and has been serving on ACCA’s since 2014. She is the first person from Pakistan and South Asia to be elected the global vice president in a 118-year history of ACCA. 

Ayla is an international speaker and is a strong advocate of sustainability and energy transition; takes part in contributing to important themes: Digital Transformation, Climate Finance, Future of Work, Future of Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure. She sits on the Boards of various public and private entities in Pakistan in the areas of energy, pharmaceutical and not for profit sectors. In her various roles she focuses and advises on the adoption of the SDGs across different industries. Ayla is Eisenhower Fellow, and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She sits on the Global Future Council of Energy Transition of the World Economic Forum.

Ayla Majid shared her views by saying; “being a finance professional has equipped me with the tools and connected me with people who are working towards creating action-oriented solutions for a sustainable world”.

For Ayla promoting the role of women in governance is something she is very passionate about and she said; “it is the need of today’s forward-looking organization”. Ayla is a champion of board diversity and actively engages in promoting women on boards. She was the first female to sit on the board of any stock exchange in Pakistan. Thanks to pioneers like her, the influence and impact of women is changing the face of Pakistan”.

Ayla is also proud that ACCA plays a major role in offering young Pakistanis a promising career path full of growth and opportunities while creating a positive global impact, she said; “ACCA is a wonderful qualification, with high quality standards, up to speed with addressing global needs and provides flexibility, and therefore fits really well with the requirements of a diverse audience. It’s particularly a very attractive career choice for women in all parts of the world including developing countries”.

The newly elected ACCA president, Joseph Owolabi, grew up and studied in Nigeria, has lived and worked in Africa, North America and the UK, and now is an adoptive Australian. He will bring his knowledge of being a global citizen to his time as ACCA president and will draw on his experience of finding a home and a family with ACCA wherever he has lived and worked.

He became an ACCA member in 2011 and has served on ACCA’s International Assembly 2014-2015 and has been an ACCA Council member since 2015.

Joseph said; “If you had told me as a child growing up that I would one day be the first African leading the largest, truly global accounting body, I would not have believed you. ACCA is an inclusive open and global community for members, future members and partners. Wherever in the world I have found myself, ACCA has given me a home and a family”.

He added; “I am passionate about connecting our community and inspiring the accountants of tomorrow. Great things happen when we collaborate across jurisdictions and national divides”.

He further added; “the challenges of today and the complexities of tomorrow will demand continuous learning, courage, sound judgment and a resolve to stay ahead of the curve. The accountancy profession has a key role to play in creating a better world”.

Joseph brings a wealth of experience to the role. He is founder of Rubicola which works in Australia, Africa and North America advising clients on risk, non-financial reporting and sustainable business strategies. His previous experience includes roles at Deloitte, EY and PwC.