Foxy Shahzadi completes the first leg of her journey from Islamabad to Paris

Foxy Shahzadi was sent off on the first leg of her journey from Islamabad to Paris on the 29th of October, 2009. The Send Off ceremony was held at the E7 Park in Islamabad. The Ambassador of France to Pakistan, M. Daniel Jouanneau was also present on the occasion to send off Shahzadi to Karachi. Other guests included Ms. Shabana Atif Khan; President LMKR, families of the tour team as well as friends. Before being sent off to Karachi, Shahzadi was taken to the Behbud Primary School in Saidpur village, Islamabad. This gave the Art on Wheels tour team the opportunity to share their joy with the children of the school prior to departure for Karachi. The Art on Wheels tour team includes Dr. Haroon Khan (a consultant pathologist for PIMS in Islamabad), Dr. Vincent Ioos (a French consultant in critical care medicine, also working in PIMS Islamabad for the past 3 years) and Salman Rashid (an information architect with LMKR; a technology solutions company specializing in petroleum E&P data management, consulting services, software solutions and training). During the course of this journey, the tour aims to achieve the promotion of the artistic and cultural potential as well as a softer image of Pakistan, Pak-French friendship, inter cultural harmony, the spirit of adventure and determination, international collaboration and teamwork. 

The Art on Wheels tour was sponsored by corporate Pakistan. Organizations that understood and supported the spirit of this journey include LMKR, Trans World Associates (Pvt) Ltd, Gadoon Textile Mills Ltd (GTML), TOTAL Parco Pakistan Limited (TPPL), Mobilink, Kings Group Apparel Industries (Pvt) Ltd and TPL Direct Insurance Ltd. Media support was given by Dawn News TV (exclusive TV media partners) and CityFM89 (exclusive radio media partners). The Art on Wheels tour and Foxy Shahzadi also enjoy the support of NGO(s) such as The Citizens Foundation, Behbud, Acid Survivor Foundation and Cure2Children Foundation.

During Shahzadi’s journey from Islamabad to Karachi, she crossed Lahore, Multan, Sukkur and Hyderabad. Because of the prevailing situation, the car will be shipped from Karachi to Bandar-e-Abbas in Iran, from where the team will drive through Iran to Turkey, Greece, Italy and France. While in Pakistan, Foxy Shahzadi managed to bring a big smile on people’s faces in the cities, towns and villages that it crossed while moving towards Karachi. This became a source of great motivation for the Art on Wheels tour team who took as many opportunities as possible to talk to the common man about Pakistan and truck art.