WWF-Pakistan and The Coca-Cola Foundation collaborated to host the finale of ‘The Panda Challenge 2020’ school competition organized at the Ali Institute of Education in Lahore on Tuesday, February 25, 2020. The event was graced by the presence of chief guest Minister for Provincial Assembly, Sumera Shams who distributed medals, shields, and certificates to all the winners in the presence of top management officials from WWF Pakistan and Coca-Cola.
The Panda Challenge is an interschool activity which brings together students from grade 1 to 8 from different schools. The 2020 Challenge was organized to not only help raise awareness about the environment but to create a platform that helps the youth in honing their public speaking abilities, mental faculties, artistic endeavors and creative writing capabilities around the theme of plastic pollution. The event’s aim was to promote healthy competition and to rouse the academic curiosity of students through activities like quizzes, rapid-fire rounds, masking posters, creative writing, speeches, and debates. Prior to the Lahore event, the finales of Islamabad and Karachi were organized on the 12th and 19th of February respectively.
Fahad Qadir, Director of Public Affairs & Communications at The Coca-Cola Export Corporation for Pakistan & Afghanistan regions stated, “Coca-Cola has partnered with WWF to create awareness around safe segregation and disposal of plastics to mitigate the impact of plastic pollution.
Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General, WWF-Pakistan added, “It has always been our prerogative to engage in educational pursuits that not only enlighten but impart knowledge and help the youth gain a fresh perceptive on the importance of the environment and its conservation.
This grand finale was the third and final stage of the school engagement program, prior to which orientations and activities took place in schools involving over 30,000 students who competed to be shortlisted as semi-finalists and finalists.
