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Miscellanea: An inspiring event
The second Young Leader’s Conference (YLC), aimed at inspiring young people to discover and apply their leadership potential, was held early this month in Karachi. The lighting of a candle. by the Governor of Sindh marked the inauguration of the ceremony. This candle, in turn, lit hundreds of others in the room spreading the message of enlightenment.
The six-day conference attracted participants from all over Pakistan. During their stay at the hotel, participants got a chance to know people from all walks of life and to share their experiences with each other. Apart from that, there were vigorous interactions with important personalities from various backgrounds.
Panel discussions were held from the second to the fourth day with a different topic being talked about each day. The themes included ‘implementing good corporate governance’, ‘establishing the rule of law’, ‘building an enterprise culture for Pakistan’ and ‘developing a clear sense of identity’. During the session, panelists presented their views for about five to seven minutes which was followed by a question/answer session. The thematic intervention and writing biography sessions were also an integral part of the conference. The thematic intervention sessions were two-hour workshops on specialized topics whereas during the writing biography session, the participants interacted with a prominent personality and various aspects of the individual’s personality were highlighted.
The cultural presentations and a concert were the most entertaining part of the YLC. The former had to be seven to ten minute skit presenting a national or global social problem. Team work and time management were the two major factors that had to be achieved by the young leaders in order to give a good cultural presentation. There were arguments within the teams but in the end everyone came up with quality work.
The climax of this programme was the grand national summit which aimed at simulating strategic discourses to arrive at policy recommendations on pressing issues. Topics like education, nuclear proliferation, civil society and terrorism were also discussed.
The six-day programme concluded with certificate presentation and exchange of ideas for the development of team projects. The YLC gave us a chance to reassess our values, discover our potential and think of ways to achieve our vision.
Uroosa Ibrahim
Fun gala
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A four-day “Games and fun gala” was recently held at Park Towers Shopping Mall to provide entertainment and leisure learning activities for children, during the summer vacations.A musical show by “Heart beat” was the highlight of this event. The visitors enjoyed the show very much. Cartoon characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse were roaming around the whole atrium whose hilarious activities were not only enjoyed by kids but their parents as well. Kids also enjoyed the amazing tricks by the magicians during the event. A bouncing castle and slide were also placed outside the Mall. Free balloons were distributed to the kids.
Besides this, a presentation explaining the working of robots and film making was made by the Discovery Centre. Working of the Robotics Invention System and Vision Command were also demonstrated. Theme rooms were created in order to explain the Discovery concept better.
Beacon House Informatics also conducted workshops on IT, specially on MS Office, Web designing, and making games and computers. Information about degree courses at their institute was also provided.
McDonalds also participated in this event by arranging fun-filled activities such as a singing competition, free face painting, etc. They also provided free meal vouchers to the winners of quizzes and games arranged by the management of the Mall.
Overall this event was full of fun and was enjoyed by all the visitors who came to the Mall.
Express Yourself
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When children translate their dreams and imaginations into some kind of form, the activity can be called child art. The difference between this art and the regular art is that in regular art the truth is often hidden intentionally but children are free from such inhibitions and use art as the medium to bring to the fore what they feel. The sole purpose of the child art is provide children with a platform where they are given the opportunity to learn and to express themselves freely. This plays a constructive role in their overall development and this is the idea behind “Surf Excel Paint Masti”.Child art inculcates in children a sort of discipline as a number of practical lessons are learnt by it. Through this activity children learn that they need order and harmony to express their thoughts and emotions effectively. Child art also builds bridges between children. Surf Excel Paint Masti is a very good example in this regard. This activity is brings the children living in 110 cities to a single platform where they can express their problems and concerns through art openly. This openness will be beneficial for both the children and the society as it will bring out the talent of our children and will play an important role in their overall social, emotional, and intellectual development.
Hyde Park Juniors polish skills at summer workshops
The boys and girls at the TCS Hyde Park Juniors are now a familiar bunch of faces that have weathered together some tense moments combating “stage fright” which happens to be the bane of all public speakers.
The three Public Speaking Workshops were focused on reiterating the rules of engagement.
The art of Extempore speaking was discussed in detail. Sidra Ishaq was full of good advice, and not surprisingly, given her vast experience as a public speaker. In the second workshop she screened a 20-minutes video prepared by Tony Slattery of the BBC entitled ‘Speak For Yourself’. It addressed every aspect of public speaking.
Another important point that was discussed was that rehearsing your presentation out loud minimizes chances of foul-ups. Know your audience and keep the message simple and to the level of the audience.
A discussion of depression followed with the pressure of peer expectations leading the list of causes. Suicide, the extreme manifestation of depression, received candid treatment at the workshop.
The theme for the third workshop was humour. This section constituted debates in which participants split into members of the House and members of the Opposition. The team spirit prevailed and the kids enjoyed themselves.
The workshops attracted a good sized turnout. Farooq Tirmizi, Sohail Razzak, and Anam Nadia Rahman, the top performers of the three competitions held so far were also present.
The stage is now all set for the ‘Grand Final’.
Giving a child a future
The TiF Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization devoted to providing quality education to those who are unable to afford it. TiF currently enrolls 120 children in three different grades and plans to expand in the near future. It thus requires dedicated volunteers to assist in fund raising events and in spreading awareness. Those interested in lending a helping hand may contact TiF at 021-4521549 or 0300-8232123. Even a meagre contribution on your part can make a huge difference in the life of a child.
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