Rizwan laid the foundation of Youth Revolution Clan in 2007, a platform for young people to serve their communities and bring positive and healthy changes in society, especially to empower young girls and women. He has successfully leveraged partnership with the private sector, government institutions and international organisations to provide support for Pakistani youth.
In order to further his knowledge Rizwan often attends entrepreneurship programs and is always learning new business techniques to further his cause in society.
One such course is the innovative cultural entrepreneurship which was organised by Cultural Infusion in Melbourne. Cultural entrepreneurship is a new paradigm of business that puts culture at the centre of enterprise ideation, development and growth. On completion, the course allows participants to explore, evaluate and develop their own business ideas by applying the principles of cultural entrepreneurship.
Involving industry leaders, academic leaders, NGO leaders and leading practitioners in the cultural entrepreneurship sector, a group of people from all over the world, including people from Pakistan, took part in a series of interactive presentations designed to get them to think about the differences between social and cultural enterprises, and culture as being more than a part of the creative industries.
Rizwan’s organisation’s latest project is focused on cultural diversity as well. The Youth revolution Clan is trying to educate people about the diversity of cultures in Pakistan and their importance to bring society together.
“We are trying to educate people about other cultures and asking them to accept them and embrace diversity” - Rizwan Anwar Virk
In order to achieve this goal, they have invited various speakers from different countries to come to Pakistan and talk about their culture and educate them about their customs and traditions and also share some similarities.
According to Rizwan, people in Pakistan believe in hospitality and treat their guests with utmost respect. So, they are hoping that by welcoming people from other cultures into their country and showing them their hospitality and care, they will be able to show the world their culture and traditions and get rid of any negative impression that sometimes overshadows the rich culture of Pakistan.
Rizwan has learned a lot through the Cultural Infusion program. According to him, culture is the biggest industry in the world after petro chemical industry. Tourism, arts and entertainment, hotel industry etc are all dimensions of culture. However, he said that in Pakistan, culture is only considered two dimensional – it’s either film or theater. It was to develop the culture and creative industry of their country, that they launched this program.
“I’ve learned that culture and cultural diversity is very important. In nations like ours, caste system taught us not to mix with other cultures….but after completing this course, we learned that people from other cultures are just like us, are part of the same world and we should not discriminate against anyone” - Rizwan Anwar Virk
He wishes that young people should do this course and start their own cultural enterprise back in Pakistan. By doing so, Rizwan believes that not only will they build their own carries but will also work towards women empowerment and development.
His travels to Australia and especially Melbourne have also impressed him in the way people conduct themselves here. Rizwan wishes that people in Pakistan would learn to value life as they do here in Australia.
“People are very courteous here. Not one misbehaves and everyone greets you with respect”
Rizwan plans to take his knowledge back to his country and educate more people about cultural diversity. The next International Conference on Culture will be held in Lahore in September.
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