Italian Friends of The Citizen Foundation supporting TCF
Celina Ali
Islamabad: Italian Friends of The Citizen Foundation is an Italian charity that has been supporting TCF in implementing its projects regarding the education of the underprivileged in Pakistan.
Based in Milan, formed in 2010 and registered in 2013, IFTCF was created by a group of women, professionals and entrepreneurs in various fields, determined to help children from the most deprived areas of Pakistan. TCF purposefully introduces high-quality education to out-of-school children, often living in communities that have never had schools. Since its foundation, 28 years have passed. Now TCFruns 1,800+ schools, catering for 280,000 students, half of which are girls. The organizationfocuses on a modern curriculum that develops creativity and critical thinking skills, innovation in learning and teaching. The impact is well beyond education: TCF strives to create a safe place for students and to makeparents feel at ease about their children – especially girls – are attending school.
This is why,TCF hires only women as faculty, and is therefore the 1st employer of women in Pakistan in theprivate sector, according to the Economist. And not only that: TCF schools have become hubswithin the communities of the schools, where community members participate in adult literacyclasses, vocational training for women and have access to clean water. TCF was awarded withthe UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy and the Skill Award, among others. Over the years, the cooperation between TCF and IFTCF has borne fruit: through exhibitions,publications, and events, not only IFTCF has raised funds for TCF schools, but has also raisedawareness about Pakistani culture and art in Italy and Europe.
The proceeds from fundraisingactivities are donated to TCF, with the aim of creating agents of positive change in Pakistanthrough quality education. Between 2016 and 2018, IFTCF organized one of its most importantand successful fundraising projects, Art for Education. With the patronage of the Embassy of Pakistan in Rome and the Italian Embassy in Islamabad, this was a multi-year event that had two main objectives: to support quality education for the underprivileged in Pakistan and to unite two countries through the universal language of art. For this initiative, 60 Pakistani artists were invited to submit and donate their artworks. Later, in October 2018, all the artworks were showcased in Milan. This exhibition, titled ‘Art for Education: Contemporary Artists from Pakistan’, was the first group exhibition of Pakistani artists to be held in an Italian museum. The opening of the exhibition was properly introduced bySalima Hashmi – a renowned Pakistani painter, writer, critic, activist, and highly-esteemed
intellectual – and Maria Rosa Falvo – an Italian-Australian writer and critic. A charity auction was also organized to raise funds for seven TCF schools. The initiative has also created a strong bond between the two countries, showcasing the artistictalents of Pakistani artists and helping to support education for those in need. It is hoped thatmore collaboration like this will continue to strengthen the relationship between Pakistan andItaly, while also promoting artistic expression and education for all.
