The Pakistan Collective of Decolonial Practice is organised around transdisciplinary approaches to undoing the deep epistemic violence of our colonial history, convene to discuss, to write, to produce exhibitions and publications that center the work of Pakistani designers, artists, architects, scholars, researchers and poets.

For the GFA24, we organised two panels around the theme of Apnaiyat – which most closely translates to belonging, being of, feeling close, feeling kin; it is a word that makes relation. This word is our starting point for the development of a glossary of terms in all the languages of Pakistan (Urdu, Sindhi, Balochi, Pashto, Punjabi, Siraki, etc). These conversations around the theme of apnaiyat allow us to develop a shared glossary that brings together our histories of colonialism and how re-membering words that bring us together will help us forge a future that is more authentically ours. The question we address is ‘How can we reclaim our words, and the oceans of meaning that they contain, to begin to help us bring together who we are as a collective of peoples, histories, languages?’

Watch the full recording on the GFA YouTube channel.