Lahore, July 1st, 2018: Energy, exuberance and excitement dominated proceedings as the 17th edition of the Young Leaders Conference (YLC), Pakistan’s premier youth leadership summit, got underway on Sunday at Faletti’s Hotel, Lahore. Dr.Umar Saif, Chairman of PITB was the guest of honor at the event.
Around 300 young and energetic participants from all across Pakistan will stay together for 6 days and will go through leadership training, learning from influential speakers and engagement in skills-based workshops and activities. YLC founding members including Kamran Rizvi and Shireen Naqvi welcomed the participants and other attendees along with YLC’s partners and SoL’s board members and advisors.
“YLC has been a great forum for people who are ambitious to make a mark in this world. This event will enable the participants to come face to face with the challenges in their life, tackle social issues, realize their abilities and potential and network with some of the top people in the business. We are proud to say that YLC has entered its 17th year and has influenced hundreds of individuals who have walked out of here with new hopes and life-changing experiences.” – said Shireen Naqvi, Founder of SoL while addressing the audience regarding the spirit of YLC.
“It’s great to see such initiatives. Our youth is inspired to lead but lack the opportunities or the skills to do so. Such forums prepare young individuals to navigate adolescence and realize their potential as an adult. This kind of training enables them to be more confident, motivated and able and prepares them to be the next generation of leaders in the workforce and in communities.”- stated Dr. Umar Saif during his welcome address.
A set of mentors from various organizations also addressed the participants with anecdotes and experiences from their personal lives.
Umair Jaliawala, Director at School of Leadership, kick started the program discussing ‘Personal Leadership’ which aimed to empower youth so that they can guide the direction of their life instead of letting time and chance determine their course. YLC’s vision and values were communicated by Kamran Rizvi and Shireen Naqvi in the form of a group activity amongst the participants. It was followed by a simulation to introduce the audience to this year’s theme ‘Its time’ and the concept behind it.
The first day also followed certain innovative sessions and activities, including ‘#PKNHDR’ by Dr. Faisal Bari in which participants formed a strong connection with the global debate shifting to the recent NHDR and explaining what it entails for Pakistan; a discussion on how and why the youth can play an important role for the future of our country.
The day also included an informative session by Alif Ailaan, ‘Taleem do, vote lo’ and a capacity building session on emotional intelligence by Shireen Naqvi.
This year’s conference aims to be bigger and better by hosting and training hundreds of students and young professionals from all across Pakistan equipping them with the skills and knowledge to bring about change in their communities.
This year’s conference has been sponsored by our Founding Partner EBM and Cause Partners Australian Government, The Asia Foundation, Feroze1888, USEFP, Wilshire, Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF Pakistan), British Council Pakistan, IlmPossible, UNICEF, Marie Stopes Society, Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited, Jubilee Life Insurance, Alif Ailaan, KFC Pakistan, ACM Foods, PTCL and Sui Southern Gas Limited.
Jang Media Group, the News, Geo News are the official media partners and Suno FM 89.4 is the official Radio Partner, for the conference while Xenith PR serves as the PR partner, helping to bring the message of YLC to all media platforms and providing essential coverage. TCS is serving as a logistics partner, ensuring smooth- running and timely execution.
The conference will continue till July 6th, 2018.
