Formed 1951 (1951) Website www.iap.gov.pk | Headquarters Lahore, Pakistan | |
Iqbal Academy Pakistan (Urdu:اقبال اکادمی پاکستان) is an institute whose purpose is to study, promote, and disseminate the teachings of the poet and philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal. It was established by the Government of Pakistan, through the Iqbal Academy Ordinance No. XXVI of 1962.
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History
Iqbal Academy Pakistan was originally established in 1951, under the administrative authority of the education department of the central government of Pakistan, in Karachi. When the capital of Pakistan was moved to Islamabad, the government decided to move Iqbal Academy from Karachi to Lahore, as Muhammad Iqbal, for whom the academy is named, was from Lahore. In 1976, the Academy moved to 116 McLeod Road, Lahore, to the old residence of Allama Iqbal. The federal government of Pakistan made a gift of a piece of land from a major estate in Lahore, behind one of the Avari Hotels and opposite Faletti's Hotel, to build a state-of-the-art building named Aiwan-e-Iqbal, as a monument and memorial to Iqbal. In 1996, the new building was formally opened by Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, and the Academy moved to the sixth floor.
Aims and Objectives
Allama Iqbal's vision is rooted in Islam, universal human values, and the wisdom of the East and the West, combining them to make them contemporary and relevant, and providing a way to deal with the issues confronting humanity today.
The aims and objectives of the Academy are to promote and disseminate the study and understanding of the works and teachings of Allama Iqbal.
Dedicated to the global dissemination of information and knowledge, the Iqbal Academy Pakistan aims to:
- Research, compile, disseminate and represent a revered national icon and one of the greatest Muslim poet-philosophers of the twentieth century;
- Systematically improve the academic reservoir;
- Represent the shared vision of Pakistan;
- Counter misinformed perceptions created due to lack of information.
Functions
In order to translate its objectives into action and activity, Iqbal Academy undertakes measures such as publication programs; IT projects; outreach activities; the Iqbal Award Programme; website, research and compilation, audio-video, multimedia, archive projects; as well as exhibitions, conferences, seminars, projection abroad, research guidance, academic assistance, donations, and library services.
Administration
According to the Ordinance of the Academy, the Governing Body is the highest administration body of Iqbal Academy, and is headed by the Minister for the concerned ministry.
The Executive Committee, headed by the Vice President, is responsible for day-to-day affairs of the Academy. Following is a list of some vice presidents of Iqbal Academy Pakistan:
Library
The Academy library is one of the oldest and richest libraries that specialize in Iqbal Studies. Its collection of books on Iqbal studies and related subjects have been translated into the major international languages as well as the regional languages of Pakistan. Holdings of important and rare periodicals augment its book holdings. The library not only supports the research projects of the Academy but also offers its research and reference facilities to a large number of outside students, teachers, and Iqbal scholars every year. The library has also developed the largest and most sophisticated website on Iqbal to facilitate research scholars, students, and general readers the world over through the internet.
Kitabdar
In 1989, Iqbal Academy Library developed Pakistan’s first true multilingual library management database software. The software is equally effective for professional and general library use. It can automate large research, reference-based libraries and personal collections alike.
Online library
In 2003, the Academy launched an online Urdu library named the Allama Iqbal Cyber Library (علامہ اقبال آفاقی کتب خانہ), which was formally inaugurated by Governor of the Punjab Lt. Gen. Khalid Maqbool. The main objective of the cyber library is providing an opportunity, to users globally, for online consultation of significant primary materials, including manuscripts, books, reference sources, and publications, in a multilingual format. This web resource is a unique place on the web for Urdu lovers all over the world.
YouTube video channel
The Academy has a YouTube video channel comprising 159 television documentaries, drama productions, interviews, and video footage of seminars and lectures to promote and exhibit the multifarious initiatives in the field of media and communications.
Products
The Iqbal Academy promotes Iqbal studies through the sale of a number of unique audio, video, and other multimedia products.