An unadulterated sense of déjà vu overwhelmed me as I walked yesterday evening inside the sprawling Darbar Hall at Sheraton Hotel in Karachi to attend yet another successful episode of the Young Leaders’ Conference. (I could effortlessly figure out the success of the event from the enthusiasm one could see from the first look at the energetic participants).
Overlooking the stress caused by an the unprecedented seven-hour long delay in my flight from Quetta to Karachi, it was absolutely refreshing to see YLC never losing its charm and ability to reshape lives.
I had attended the YLC for the first time in 2003 and then in 2004 as well. This year, I had been invited to speak on biography session with the theme HOW I MADE IT BIG.
Amid global recession indefatigable cycle of terrorism in the country, it was, understandably, not a bed of roses to organize the leaders-producing prestigious event. The School of Leadership (SOL), its zealous organizers and the ever-enthusiastic young facilitators once again did a remarkable job by brining around 300 participants from diverse parts of the country. The presence of 300 young boys and girls aging 18 to 25 has evidently back-seated terrorism and provided positive attitude a leading role.
It was wonderful to meet after six years my YLC mentors Kamran Rizvi, Shireen Naqvi, Saima Khan, Nadeem Chowan, Farhad Karam Ali, Nadeem sahib, Shujja uncle, adorable Mehreen Shoaib and the Young Facilitators of our time like Talha Iqbal ( the team leader for this year’s YLC), Umair and Hussain Dada.
As always, YLC has not changed. It keeps motivating young souls, fuelling passion and providing a meaningful life vision. During the evening session, Kamba’s presentation on AVIRA (Awareness, Vision, Inspiration, Responsibility and Action) was highly thought-provoking.
While interacting with some of the YLC participants, I came to know that the young boys and girls in Pakistan stand for a “change”. They are all passionate to lead. They are not as pessimistic as the ‘leaders’ of this country. They have faith in themselves. They rightly learnt from TV celebrity Faisal Qureshi that change occurs only when decide to we change ourselves, before making futile efforts to change others..
I was quite young six years back, now I have a little shade of grey partly due to using salt water and mainly due to age.
Ahh Good old days…