LAHORE: A six-day 18th Young Leaders Conference (YLC) under the theme of ‘Personal Leadership and Values’ to empower and train youth leadership skills started at a local hotel on Monday.Up to 326 youngsters, including girls, from different cities are participating in the conference. They will go through leadership training by influential speakers and through skill-based workshops.

School of Leadership Director and YLC founding member Kamran Rizvi and Project Manager Osama Nasir welcomed the participants. Mr Rizvi discussed ‘Transcend Limits” to realise the youth of their potential and how to break the barriers that limit them.EBM Director Shahzain Munir said the YLC forum was being held to prepare young individuals to navigate adolescence and realize their potential as they grow on to become adults.

He said this kind of nurturing and training would enable the youth to become confident, motivated and able and it would prepare them to be the next generation of leaders in the workforce and in communities.

School of Leadership Director Umair Jalianwala said the forum was organised for young people who were ambitious and passionate about making a mark in the world.The first day followed certain innovative sessions and activities, including #PKNHDR by Neil Buhne, resident coordinator for the UN in Pakistan, in which participants formed a strong connection with the global debate shifting to the recent National Human Development Report and explaining what it entails for Pakistan.

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. The participants said they were attending the event to build their confidence and make connections to achieve his goals.

They said they would listen to the influential speakers in the conference and would prepare themselves to play leadership role in the country.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2019