UCLan students discover diplomacy first-hand from Pakistan Consul General

7 April 2016

Consul General Dr Zahoor Ahmed shares career experience

Students from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) have been given a personal perspective on how to manage international relations from a Pakistan Consul General.

Consul General Dr Zahoor Ahmed came to Preston to meet UCLan students from a variety of courses all taking a module on global community exchange. He introduced diplomacy as a possible career while sharing his personal experiences of diplomacy and inter-cultural communication.

Dr Ahmed commented: “I think diplomacy is all about building bridges. In this day and age of social media everybody is a diplomat as we project an image of who we are through our interactions and we all influence the shape of the future."

"In this day and age of social media everybody is a diplomat as we project an image of who we are through our interactions and we all influence the shape of the future."

“Pakistan’s relationship with UK is unique as it is based upon our common heritage. These range from chicken tikka masala to dopatta to English language and common foundations of our parliaments’ bureaucracy, army and educational institutions.”

Dr Ahmed’s visit was organised by UCLan community leadership course leader and senior lecturer Wajid Khan to encourage his students to explore global issues and approaches to achieving wider international peace.

He commented: “It was a great opportunity for students to listen to and engage with the Pakistan Consul General as he has travelled and worked in different regions and served at a senior diplomatic level.

"Dr Zahoor gave a great insight to the work of a diplomat and reflected upon his own experience of achieving peach through diplomatic means. Students were delighted to hear from him and had the opportunity to discuss and converse about global challenges."

"Dr Zahoor gave a great insight to the work of a diplomat and reflected upon his own experience of achieving peach through diplomatic means. Students were delighted to hear from him."

Student Mitchell Taylor said: “Meeting a member of the Consulate has its own rewards and usually offers a fresh perspective on both the relationship between the two countries and the state of migration within Britain. Being on an international relations degree, this perspective is extremely useful for my studies.

“It was also beneficial to hear about the day-to-day life of Dr Zahoor and what the Pakistani Consulate Manchester does for the British Pakistani community. I found it inspiring when he spoke of the annual parades held by the Pakistani diaspora; it is refreshing to see the positive side of a community which may be seen as experiencing quite bleak times due to the current rise of far-right groups.”