Naufil Shahrukh, general manager operations, IPS addressed as keynote speaker a workshop titled ‘The Rise of Digiplomacy, Stratcom and Storytelling’ organized by Pak-Afghan Youth Forum (PAYF) on January 25, 2023 as part of its youth outreach program, aiming to enhance digital interaction among youth belonging to different ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds.
The participants of the workshop included attendees from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Shahrukh apprised the participants about the importance of communication, stating that while the communication has to be two-way in order to be effective, a clarity in the message being communicated is of utmost importance.
The communication strategist also termed storytelling as an integral part of human interaction, highlighting how effectively it is being used now in the areas like business strategic communication, national-building, and even in shaping narratives for the formulation of policies.
He pointed out that even research in the digital era has become much more appealing ever since it has adopted many new forms of propagation. Interestingly in return, the well-cultivated content generated on different social media platforms is also being used in academic research now, which ultimately shapes social and national identities.
Sharing his views in the context of digiplomacy between Pakistan and Afghanistan , the speaker stressed the need for countering the negativity of nationalist, divisive histories and researching and highlighting compelling stories from subaltern and micro histories that can help unite the region socially and economically, so that the people from the two countries could come closer, interact with one another, and benefit from each other’s knowledge, expertise and experiences.
