ISLAMABAD: The Lok Virsa National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage will hold a monthlong Sindhi and Pashto summer camp for children aged between six and 12 at the Heritage Museum in Shakarparian.

Lok Virsa Executive Director Dr Fouzia Saeed said that last year a Balochi and Wakhi summer camp was held.

`The objective is to create ownership among children regarding Pakistan`s languages and cultural heritage, provide them an orientation about regional languages and indigenous folk cultures and re-affirm our identity of being a multi-cultural and pluralistic country, she said.

Dr Saeed said the registration of participants has begun, and is being conducted on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Around 50 children will be enrolled in each camp, and parents or guardians can enrol children over the phone and through email. The camp will run from July 12 to August 11.

`Broadly, the camp will provide basic knowledge to children in Sindhi and Pashto languages. They will learn about poetry, music, crafts and festivals of both these communities. Theywill learn 15 sentences and additional vocabulary.

`Children will also avail the opportunity to interact with master artisans in various craft fields, storytellers, folk artists and foll( musicians and learn hands-on from them in a very creative and meaningful manner,` she said.

During the last week of the camp, children will be taken to the Lok Virsa Heritage Museum, the Pakistan Monument Museum, the Pakistan Museum of Natural History and other cultural sites for brief study visits.

The camp will conclude with a colourful ceremony and the distribution of certificates among the participants.

It will feature live folk music performances, cultural diversity shows and multimedia presentations by the children.

Explaining role of Lok Virsa, Dr Saeed said `Our mandate has been to preserve, document and promote cultural heritage of Pakistan, which includes both tangible and intangible heritage.

The earlier focus had been more on the first two aspects. Currently, our emphasis is on the promotion of folk heritage of Pakistan in a way that is relevant to people of all ages and backgrounds and to provide more meaning, depth and rootedness in life.