Besides enhancing literary and cultural interaction in this region, the Conference shall have the following objectives:

• This will be the first step towards peace-building at grassroots level. Undoubtedly, it will have a wide-ranging impact and will create long-term human relationships and linkages among like-minded aspirants for peace.
• The Conference will help to promote regional cooperation as the writers and activists of the region are best suited to play a positive role in re-engendering better understanding in the region by promoting non-official initiatives. It will strengthen democratic values and promotion of socio-cultural cooperation within the region through an enhanced understanding of diverse viewpoints and learning to respect ‘the otherness of the others’.

• With its sustained efforts over a long period of time, the Foundation also hopes to range the people of the region against the menace of terrorism.
For the Conference, delegates from all seven SAARC countries will be taken to Pakistan where the deliberations will be held in separate meetings and study groups in the metropolises of Pakistan. The delegates will be taken first to Lahore for three days, followed by interactions in Karachi/Taxila and then to Islamabad. It will be spread over 6-7 days.
Whil the preparations for the mega conference in Pakistan are in the final stages, preparations for the next three conferences are afoot. These planned conference are: a Young Writers and Translators Conference in Bangladesh to be held in March 2004, a SAARC Writers Conference to be held in Bhutan (the first of its kind) in October 2004; and a SAARC Writers Conference to be held in New Delhi in December 2004. With all these conferences helping to mobilize writers of the region to further literary interaction, peace and amity, the concept of SAARC unity and commonality of interests envisioned by the Foundation is sure to get a big boost.