Javed Jabbar has diverse interests in mass media, international and national affairs, the environment, voluntary development work, social and cultural issues.
Senator® Javed Jabbar is a Member of the Senate Forum for Policy Research (2015-18). As a Minister in three Federal Cabinets, he has handled the portfolios of Information & Broadcasting, Science & Technology, Petroleum & Natural Resources and National Affairs. He has diverse interests.
Mr. Jabbar has written, produced and directed internationally acclaimed and award winning film documentaries and cinema films. He wrote and produced the 5 – top award winning cinema film “Ramchand Pakistani” in 2008, directed by his daughter, the widely-applauded Mehreen Jabbar. He is also the author of 14 highly praised books.
In a voluntary capacity, Mr. Javed Jabbar served for 8 years (2004-2012) as one of the four elected global Vice Presidents of IUCN – the International Union for Conservation of Nature, headquartered in Switzerland, the world’s largest and oldest environment organization. IUCN is the only environment organization with official observer status at the United Nations. He also served for over 4 years as Chairman of the Pakistan National Committee of IUCN, representing 24 Governmental and non-Governmental organizations of Pakistan.
Founding president, Baanhn Beli (a friend forever), (1985) working in over 400 remote villages of the Tharparkar arid region for the past 27 years in girls education, water resources, health care, training and micro-credit. Baanhn Beli was one of only 50 NGOs from around the world to be presented with a Special Award for bringing people together by “Friends of the United Nations” in New York to mark the 50th Anniversary of the UN.
Co-founder, (1993) past Chairperson and presently Member, Board of Directors, Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO), working with over 1600 villages and poor urban communities in 80 districts in all four Provinces of Pakistan to build development leadership capacity, particularly amongst women.
He is the founding Chairperson of Social Development Enterprise working across.
Other aspects of his voluntary work for the past 30 years include the following details:
He is founder of the Citizens’ Media Commission of Pakistan, the South Asian Media Association and several research centres, think tanks and grass-roots development organizations and others that work in over 2000 villages in all 4 provinces.
He is Co-founder, (1982) and presently Chairman, Advisory Council, SOS Children’s Villages of Sindh offering secure homes and quality education to hundreds of orphans and abandoned children in Sindh & Chairman of the new SOS Village at Jamshoro and the planned SOS village at Khairpur. SOS in Pakistan operates over 60 projects in four provinces of Pakistan.
He is past Chairman, Board of Directors (2004-2007), Society for the Protection of the Rights of Children (SPARC), HQ: Islamabad, a nation-wide network focusing on advocacy and documentation, publishes annual reports on: “State of Pakistan’s Children”.
Other experience of voluntary work includes:
Member, Democracy Assessment Group and Civil-Military Dialogue Group, PILDAT, Islamabad; Founding Chairman, South Asian Media Association, Colombo, April 1991, the first network to bring together editors, media scholars and specialists from 7 countries. Over 50 training and thematic workshops organized; Co-founder, (2003) Karachi Chapter, Kiwanis International, a global network of humanitarian services for disadvantaged children presently operating the Down ’s syndrome early intervention and counselling centre at Karachi; Trustee and Director, International Institute of Communications, London: first Pakistani communications specialist to be invited (1998 – 2001) to serve on the Board in one of the world’s leading communications think-tanks; Member, Board of Directors, National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA), Karachi; and Member, Board of Directors, Education for Sindh (EFS), Karachi.
