The Youth Leadership Summit 2014 started yesterday in the capital’s Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).
Organised by Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre (BYLC), the theme of the three-day event is “Strengthening the Spirit of Public Leadership: A Journey from I to We.”
Nur Mohammad, secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ejaj Ahmad, the founder and president of BYLC, and Sarah Cooke, the country representative of DFID-UK, inaugurated the summit.
In his inaugural speech, Nur Mohammad said: “If you [youths] play a solo game, you will lose until you work in a team. That is the reason why leadership is very important. The endless potential of the youth will be utilised by the state.”
Sarah Cooke said: “Whether in politics, the civil service or civil society, public leadership is as important as leadership in the private sector. It is about integrity, vision, building coalitions, and the ability to seize opportunities to make changes for the better.”
The delegates participating at the summit will be trained to explore their leadership skills. Around 50 national and international speakers, including Barrister Sara Hossain, farmer rights activist Shykh Seraj, British High Commissioner Robert Gibson and Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Anneli Kenny will speak at the event.
Sumaiya Tabassum, BYLC volunteer, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We received around 2,000 applications from 61 countries. Among them, we chose 450 local and 50 foreign delegates.”
“We sought compassion, courage and competence in each delegate. The government is working to create a youth policy. The delegates will make recommendations for the policy,” Nabeel Khan, facilitator of BYLC, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will address the closing ceremony on Friday where delegates will give her the recommendations for youth policy. There will be around eight panels, and each panel will discuss on various topics, such as gender and leadership, public leadership and others. There will be a career panel as well, where delegates will be sharing their plans about their career,” he added.
The curriculum of the summit follows that of the Harvard Institute for Leadership.
Taslima Rahman, a delegate and a BBA student at Dhaka University, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I want to learn about leadership and how to communicate with people. I also came here to make new friends.
“In the recommendation, I want to suggest a change in our education system. Our education system is not skill-based, but rather, it is more theoretical. Now times have changed and practical knowledge is worth more.”