Youthcon: ‘Teamwork key to youth empowerment’

Hundreds attend youth conference.

LAHORE: Teamwork and innovative ideas can help the youth realise their dreams, said speakers at a two-day youth conference on Saturday.

The National Student Council has organised the Youthcon. More that 200 people attended the first day of discussion.

The event aims at providing the youth a platform to interact with experts and leaders in various fields. Adam Jabbar, a trainer with the British Council, addressed a session on social problems and the initiative needed to solve problems in their communities.

Ayesha Zaman, author of The Quest of Existence, talked about her struggle to get her book published.

She said that she had decided to follow her dream of becoming a writer. “It is important not to give up,” she said.

This was followed by a session on entrepreneurship. Asif Farook, the Waste Buster CEO; Omair Bangash, the co-founder of Toss Down and Khaba; and Khurram Shahzad, the IDEA CEO; spoke on the session.

They told their own success stories and answered the participants’ questions and presented several business models.

Farook presented the economic model he said he had used in establishing his waste management company. “Our company is ready to train young people who are interested in setting up their own waste management operations. We have discussed with several banks the possibility of extending microloans to such individuals,” he said.

Bangash highlighted the importance of teamwork. He also told the participants about things that had helped him establish his own business.

Shahzad discussed the importance of out-of-the-box thinking and being able to come up with quick innovative solutions.

The sessions ended with musical performances.

The conference will continue on Sunday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2015.