Aspiring young leaders provided diverse platforms to analyse, solve issues

Islamabad
Around 300 young leaders, all brimming with energy and enthusiasm, continued to attend the six-day Young Leaders Conference organised by the School of Leadership (SoL) here on Wednesday.
The conference that opened on Tuesday saw a busy second day with keynote speakers expressing their views on a host of topics, besides plenary, syndicate sessions, a field visit and thematic dinners.
The students, representing 52 Pakistani cities, have been divided into 20 groups, each given different colours. They were exposed to social, cultural, political and economic facets of leadership under the theme of ‘Regeneration’.
Kamran Rizvi, founding director of the School of Leadership (SoL), told ‘The News’ that the concept behind the ‘Regeneration’ theme is changing perspectives and rediscovering roots and heritage. “This means dealing with issues such as gender disparity, environmental changes and several matters of urgent concern that we tend to designate as low priority,” he said.
“Ignorance is a curse; large sections of our society unfortunately remain ignorant,” he said. “They fail to discover the real meaning of greatness which lies in character and not wealth.”
He said that through various exercises and sessions, they are attempting to introduce real qualities of leadership to the youth. “It is so fulfilling to look at these young leaders who are such a big human resource and so enthusiastic to serve the country,” Rizvi said. “The only thing we need to do is to direct their energies in the right direction.”
The atmosphere on the second day was filled with song and dance during breaks between sessions. National songs were played as youngsters cheered and clapped adding colour to the occasion.
Earlier in the morning, the participants visited the Planning Commission of Pakistan where they met officials and learnt first-hand about

development initiatives.
“Youngsters were amazed to learn that so much was being planned in the country,” said SoL Director Urooj Mazhar. Talking about the conference, she said that the conference is designed to expose aspiring young leaders to diverse gatherings helping them to analyse and solve pertinent issues.
“I am here to represent disabled persons. Not many people know our issues. The best thing about this conference is that we can freely express ourselves, something that is lacking back in our education institutions. I will go back with great confidence in myself,” said Waqas Munir, a Person with Disability (PWD), from Peshawar.
His views were shared by many other students from different parts of the country. “We have come to this conclusion that the only thing missing is action. We are aware of issues but we fail to organise and find community based solutions,” said Hifza Ejaz from Lahore.
Shahan Anwar, a student from Karachi, said if young people get a chance to connect, they can solve many problems. “We need to change perspectives and mindsets and convince ourselves that we can bring change,” he said.
On second day, participants got a chance to listen to some great speakers like eminent human rights activist Asma Jahangir, development expert Quratulain Bakhtiari, Qadeer Baig and others. They asked challenging questions and enjoyed conversation full of knowledge and inspiration from big names from diversified sectors.
In her session titled ‘Time to Act’, Asma Jahangir highlighted the gaps in Pakistan’s justice system. She said that timely deliverance of justice is the basic right of every citizen. “Sometimes cases linger on for years, even decades. This is strenuous problem for the complainants who often see no light at the end of the tunnel while fighting for their rights,” she said while urging youth to play their role in changing the system and mindsets.
Wajiha Malik from Planning Commission of Pakistan briefed young people on the opportunities available in Planning Commission for youth if they want to become part of the policy-making.
The day ended with a thematic dinner titled ‘Book Reading’ in which participants were divided in groups and went in deep discussion with their partners about their lives.