RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Young Leaders Conference (YLC) entered fifth day on Saturday with an exciting itinerary of keynote and panel sessions led by the best and brightest from development sectors, all looking to provide a fresh perspective on leadership.

The theme on the fifth day of the YLC was ‘Developmental Leadership’. It focused on the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship and the positive impact it has on young adults. Maalik Khaskhely, Executive Director SoL, and co-facilitated by Arsal Fahim, facilitator at SoL gave his insightful views on the topic.

Shahnaz Minallah, teacher, shared her observation and encounter with spirituality as an energy behind strengthening her as a person. She instructed the audience to follow this path and to amalgamate into their lifestyle.

This was followed by a keynote ‘Nexus Matter by Fareed Alam and Brayshna Kundi from The Asia Foundation which addressed the issue of water scarcity which Pakistan is currently facing. The panel, including Fareed Alam, Dr. Aftab Alam, and Dr. Ashraf implied that this matter calls for ensuring sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, water efficiency and integrated water resources management.

Later a panel discussion on menstrual taboos and stigmas sponsored by UNICEF was conducted to bring this long lasting and silenced issue into lime light. Moderated by Fizza Rehman, the panel included Wasma Imran, Kiran Khan, Sana Mehmood, and Maulana Professor Abdur Rehman Ludhianvi. This well needed session proved that this mentality can be damaging as it not only shuns an entire community from talking about something that is natural but also deligitimizes the concerns of women as a whole. This was followed by the launch of UNICEF’s #NoChutti campaign where the UNICEF Team officially launched their campaign to highlight the taboos associated with menstrual hygiene management.

A design thinking workshop was conducted by Mustansir Tanoli. Dr. Agha Saher Gul from Marie Stops Society then took the stage to give awareness on using contraceptives, followed by a session by Max Babri on Self care emphasizing on the need to take care of your mental, emotional, and physical health. Many benefits to self-care besides mood and energy elevation were also pointed out.

YLC is an ideal platform for young adults that facilitates them in launching them into the world as successful leaders and helps them further groom themselves for the future. YLC, since the past 16 years, has been a pioneer in bringing the youth of Pakistan under one roof and starting a dialogue on some of the key issues we face today.