Young Leaders Conference kicks off in Karachi

The Young Leaders Conference (YLC) 2023 commenced with an impressive and fun-filled inauguration ceremony in Karachi on Thursday.

The six-day conference, geared toward instilling confidence and enhancing the capacities of youngsters, is being organised by the School of Leadership at a local hotel.

Addressing the ceremony, this year’s YLC Lead, Ali Haider, explained that there were three objectives of the conference: to rekindle the youth’s confidence; to give them exposure to what is happening around; and to bolster their capacities.

“The participants engage in rigorous activities, encompassing leadership simulations and demanding exercises, so they realise their true potential, and harness their strengths,” he later told The News.

Haider highlighted that the conference spread over six days and five nights had been consistently organised since its inception in 2002, marking the 22nd consecutive year of this event. This year, he added, the conference selected 220 young participants ranging in ages from 18 to 24 years, hailing from diverse rural and urban areas.

Over the course of six days, he said that various young leaders would lead the conference as ‘the day’s champ’ and today’s champ was Umair.

School of Leadership CEO Waqar Ali emphasised that every year we select 200 to 300 youngsters from over 60 cities of the country, both male and female, and even those without a formal educational background.

“They live together here for six days to boost their confidence and get exposure. It is such an initiative that is pushing youngsters to build their capacity, act and set their direction as well as follow their passion and achieve something,” he underscored.

Ali highlighted that there would be more than 40 speakers and trainers from diverse backgrounds, including artists, industrialists, educationists, and government officials, who would be sharing their insights and expertise. The conference covers a wide spectrum of topics, spanning politics, art, professions, personal development, and community development, with each day dedicated to a specific theme and featuring speakers accordingly, he added.

Addressing the ceremony, School of Leadership director and co-founder Kamran Rizvi said that previously, the composition of YLC attendees had typically 35 per cent females, 65 per cent males, with a few transgender persons. However, he added, for the first time, we are approaching an almost equal split this year, with nearly a fifty-fifty balance.

“This conference is nothing but a bouquet of humanity,” he emphasised. “We are here and want to learn from each other and make ourselves aware of each other’s perceptive,” he said, asking the participants to make most of this journey.