Pakistan has more than 76 million internet users, 37 million active social media users, and 2.4 million users added each year, yet Pakistan does not own any digital media platform.
The last decade has proven to be the revival of Pakistani film industry. Hundreds of films, documentaries and other media content have been produced, providing opportunity to talent and contributing toward the Pakistani economy. But the global pandemic has forced cinema to close and halted other activities, such as film festivals, pushing back the efforts made for the revival of the industry. Now is the time we shift to digital, overcoming the barriers for telling our story our way.
RINSTRA is Pakistan’s first short-form digital media platform for on-demand streaming and for creation of user generated original content on iRINSTRA.
RINSTRA provides entrepreneurship opportunities to emerging and established content creators and film makers in Pakistan and beyond. RINSTRA gives content creators access to a large Pakistani community around the globe.
RINSTRA started when a group of Pakistani expatriates started a volunteer organization called DICE for Distinguished Innovation Collaboration and Entrepreneurship. The mission of DICE is to create a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Pakistan. It works with the academic institutions and it has a network of universities across the country from University of Karachi to University of Chitral. Innovations from universities are showcased to the investors and industry. Investment in innovations and young innovators has resulted in creation of many entrepreneurial ventures.
One of the mega projects of DICE is to develop a global digital media platform which is Pakistan’s own. Pakistan is fifth largest population in the world but does not have a major digital media platform. Our story narrated by international platforms is mostly negative. To change this narrative and improve the image of Pakistan, we have to tell our story our way.
Taking the mission of encouraging the artists and storytellers, RINSTRA celebrated November 20 as “Pakistan Storytellers Day”. Haseena Moin was awarded Storyteller of Pakistan with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual AGHI Awards for 2020. RINSTRA aims to celebrate Storytellers’ Day every year to celebrate and honor creative minds of the industry.
RINSTRA is the gateway for Pakistani content and talent to the local and international media markets and digital platforms. Rising stars on iRINSTRA are promoted on the main RINSTRA platform that will open-up global opportunities for the artists. The state-of-the-art RINSTRA platform offers content creators to discover, create, showcase and monetize their content creation and creative pursued.
Chairman and Co-founder, Rinstra Technologies and Vice President DICE Foundation USA, Dr. Adil Akhtar said, “this initiative was conceived and incubated by DICE CAM (Creative Art & Media) Platform of DICE Foundation. We further developed it by inviting the key professionals in the Pakistani media industry, specializing in media management, news and entertainment content creation and production designs. This is a milestone for the media industry in Pakistan, as RINSTRA will enable the true creativity of the people. A person with an idea or creative skill can now impact the narratives of the media on his or her own.”