Recently I came across a group of Pakistanis who have personally taken the mission of improving Pakistan's image in Western Media. The group is called Association of Pakistani Professionals (AOPP) and considers itself as "an independent group working to ensure the dissemination of accurate information regarding U.S.-Pakistan relations." The group has a simple one-point agenda of depicting a broader and cleaner image of Pakistan and project the true picture, usually ignored by mainstream media. They intend to accomplish this task by "helping Americans develop a deeper understanding of Pakistan and the South Asian region in general." With more than 550 Pakistani professionals under their umbrella, the group is poised to achieve its goals.Usually it is quite common to see a number of people who come together once in a while for a cup of coffee or simple networking, however, AOPP seems a par above such organizations. They recently held a very successful event, Branding Pakistan, in order to address the serious problem of negative publicity that Pakistan has been receiving in the Western Print and TV media. Pakistan indeed needs an image makeover. It's not something that the government can carry about on its own but it also requires a personal effort on our part. Especially for the Pakistanis living abroad in Canada, USA, Europe, Middle East, etc. We all need to do our part in projecting the positivity we have to offer. It's true that there are many negative elements working against Pakistan, however, we need to bring the few positive ones and project ourselves.
The event received a good amount of attention from the Print Media. You can access the articles written about this event at this link for more details on the discussions that were carried out during the event.
And for the readers who intend to contribute towards the AOPP's goals, please do contact them. Their website, www.aopp.org has all the details. The group is also an excellent networking opportunity for journalists, writers and columnists who can meet other professionals in that capacity. However, you can also contact me in case you need more details on accessing AOPP.
Tagged : Pakistan , Branding , Media , Associations
