Lahore, July 18, 2013 (PPI-OT): The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, today announced plans to reopen the British Council Library in Lahore in 2014. The announcement took place during a visit to the British Council offices in Lahore where the Foreign Secretary met Punjab based teachers and trainers engaged in the British Council’s Punjab Education and English Language Initiative.
This decision comes after significant demand from the public to provide much needed access to books and a space where the next generation of Pakistan can learn in a conducive environment and engage with others. The British Council Lahore library had long been considered a cultural and intellectual fixture in the life of Lahoris that was widely missed when it closed.
The re-opened library of the British Council Lahore will serve teachers, entrepreneurs, students and young people through its specialist and general books’ collection available to members for borrowing. The British Council Lahore library will also have digital material for researchers and the library space shall also be used for public art exhibitions, meetings, lectures and trainings.
The British Council Lahore office has been working extensively over the past decade in setting up research links between universities of the Punjab and UK, running citizenship programmes, training teachers, supporting arts and literature events and conducting international examinations. Reopening the library will once again give the general public access to the British Council Lahore.
The library is one in a series of planned expansion of British Council work in the Punjab, more libraries in other cities may be added later on to expand the reach of books to an eager public. The British Council will also be opening a Cultural Space in Karachi next year to help with bringing together Pakistan’s brightest and most creative minds.
Speaking at the British Council, Lahore, today, the Foreign Secretary said:
“I am pleased to announce that the British Council will be reopening its library to the public once again in 2014. The library will represent the 21st Century, providing access to books, digital resources, online research materials and cultural events.
“Reopening the facility will not only give Lahoris access to the wide range of reading materials available in the library, but also cultural activities, lectures and much more.”
For more information, contact:
Shahid Ashraf
Marketing and Communication Manager
British Council
British Deputy High Commission
Shahra-e-Iran, Clifton
Karachi
Tel: 021-111-424-424 (Ext. 3216)
Mobile: (0301) 824 5168
Fax: 021-111-425-425
E-mail: Shahid.Ashraf@britishcouncil.org.pk
http://www.britishcouncil.org.pk