Jul
26
The dates for the next conference were set for January 6th-11th, 2011, and here we have a brand new, fresh-looking poster for you to enjoy and spread!
21st IYLC Poster
Jul
23
Garikai Matambo (South Africa) has highlighted the Closing Ceremonies of the 20th IYLC with a passionate song, inspired by friendships and bonds he has built during this week in Prague. Below are the lyrics to this amazing song.
This Is Not The End
I
This song is hard to sing because good-byes are hard to say
But I know this time it’s not the end
We shall meet again some day.II
The song I sing today will bring back all the friends
And the melodies keep echoing
We shall meet again some day.Chorus
So, let the light of your bye shine
For all the world to see
May your joy and laughter become a part of me
And because I have known you
My life will never be quite the same
May your spirit live in me
Apr
23
Young Voice of Pakistan
Bilal Masood has been one of the outstanding students of Department of Public Administration, University of Karachi. He has recently completed Masters in Public Administration with flying colors. An exceptionally bright & motivated student during his academic career, he has represented his academic institutions at various public speaking competitions and has been awarded as the best debater many times. He has been among the top few English language speakers of University of Karachi.
Bilal’s excellence in public speaking was more prominently reflected at an international arena when he was awarded as the best delegate speaker from Asian and European Continent in Political Pillar at the Model Asia-Europe Meeting, 2008 in Beijing, China. The same year, Bilal brought honor to the University of Karachi by securing first position at the All Pakistan Elocution Competition organized by The Pakistan Women Foundation for Peace. The year earlier, he had secured 3rd Position at the Inter University Declamation Competition held at Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, in 2009, it was a dream come true for Bilal to get the unprecedented opportunity to represent his university at the All Pakistan Bilingual Declamation competition held at the Pakistan Air Force (P.A.F) Academy Risalpur. It was one of the thrilling experiences of his life to get a touch of P.A.F.
Bilal’s leadership qualities were proved from his election as the Chief of Prefects at his school when he was only 14 years old. But the year 2004 was a turning point which made Bilal a star product of TCS Hyde Park Juniors, one of the prestigious public speaking competitions. In 2006, with assistance from TCS Pakistan he attended the 11th International Youth Leadership Conference at Czech Republic. “It was an unparalleled learning experience and cross-culture adventure” says Bilal.
In 2007, his passion to experience life application to real world took him to the International Youth Festival in Germany and with a few days gap to the Inter-Civilizational Youth Engagement Program in Malaysia. He was the only one to represent his country there, and the later year at the International Youth Forum in Indonesia.
Education without Borders Conference, 2009 in Dubai was another event that he will cherish for a long time. Moreover in the list of his latest achievements, he has recently been selected to attend the prestigious 5th World Youth Congress in Istanbul, Turkey which will gather 1000 youth from around the world in August this year.
In Bilal’s opinion such cultural experiences are pivotal for the youth of 21st century as it not only inculcates the spirit to appreciate other cultures, but it also teaches you how to be independent, how to deal with people from different countries, how to manage your conflict, the importance of setting a goal for your life, and how to get involved in the civil life. He firmly believes that traveling is the best learning experience; it enhances what we learn in the class room. But he also thinks that cultural exchanges could also be fostered through local youth events. It creates a feeling of harmony and unites the youngsters of the country. Courtesy, the Youth Parliament of Pakistan, he recently attended the second annual Youth Congress which was organized by the Drug Free Pakistan Foundation. He is also an alumnus of the British Council’s Active Citizens Programme which empowers tomorrow’s young leaders.
Bilal recently participated in the Global Pulse 2010, a 3-day, online collaboration event, that brought together individual socially-engaged participants and organizations from around the world.
Bilal has learned something very important which is that you should put your own fingerprint in this life in terms of developing this world starting from yourself, your country, your region and then the world.
Currently, as the National Focal Point Pakistan for UNICEF Rural Voices of Youth, he is indeed applying well to what he has learned. His passion for empowering the youth does not end here as he is also working actively as the Media Coordinator & volunteer for the Pakistani Youth Organization and also a member of the Youth Parliament of Pakistan. He has also worked for Rotary Karachi.
Bilal has not only been the young voice of Pakistan at international forums, but he is also projecting Pakistan’s true image as the Foreign Correspondent for Kurier Dyplomatyczny, a Polish Magazine. He has also written number of letters for this Newspaper on social, political, and international issues.
Surely, Bilal has a vision to make a positive difference in the country and is a true young voice of Pakistan.
Original article appeared in The Nation on April 14, 2010.
Jan
28
‘Leadership 2.0: Time for Action’ - 12th Annual International Leadership Association Global Conference
The ILA conference is where leadership scholars, practitioners, and educators present their finest scholarship, compelling ideas, and best practices. Bringing together leadership educators and scholars, business and community leaders, leadership consultants and coaches, graduate and undergraduate students, and others with a passion for leadership to share ideas and practices. This conference builds bridges between leadership theory and practice to create unparalleled learning and networking opportunities.
The conferences feature over 100 state-of-the-art leadership presentations, panel discussions, workshops, paper presentations, conversations with authors, roundtables, posters, and case studies that build bridges between leadership theory and practice to create unparalleled learning and networking opportunities. In addition, ILA’s annual global conferences feature inspiring keynote speakers and unique special events.
Submit your Proposal to present a conference session and learn more about the ILA Annual Global Conference here - http://www.ila-net.org/Conferences/index.htm.
Questions? Contact Josh Tarr, ILA Conference Coordinator, at jtarr@ila-net.org or +1.301.405.2342.
ILA Boston 2010 Oct. 27 - 30 - Submit your Proposal!
Jan
20
By Vicky Wong
Vicky Wong who originally heralds from Hong Kong, was born and raised in South East London, England, and is a second year Politics and International Relations student at the University of Reading. Having caught the travel bug in the summer of 2008 during a World Challenge expedition to China and Vietnam, she went on to find more opportunities to go abroad and eventually stumbled upon the 19th IYLC, which she now cites as a life-changing experience.
Outside her degree, Wong is also a musician (playing both violin and piano), a journalist for her university newspaper, and also enjoys learning to speak several languages including Mandarin, Cantonese, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Russian.
The annual International Youth Leadership Conference brings together a diverse group of young people from all over the world. United by the questions that even the leaders of today cannot answer, these fledgling leaders come together to participate in a weeklong forum in the backdrop of Prague, where they learn and challenge ideas of justice, culture, international decorum, and leadership. Including a series of workshops, presentations and simulations, the IYLC promises and guarantees its participants that they will not only leave with a new base of knowledge, but a collection of memories and friendship circles that arch across the world.
With at least 100 participants of over 30 different countries, the cultural interchange of ideas is what makes the conference markedly different to any classroom environment or school.
Simulations in the conference take the form of a UN Security Council meeting, an International Criminal Court Pre-Trial and a European Parliament session.
The UN Security Council simulation pits group members against each other in a discussion over pressing and complex international issues such as nuclear proliferation, human rights and so on. But whilst proving the difficulty of coming to an international consensus, it also demonstrates the recognition by all for international co-operation, and how sometimes, decisions need time to materialize.
The International Criminal Court Simulation demonstrates how the justice system works, how humanitarian issues are a lot more complex than what they appear at face value, how lawyers (as leaders of justice) must have nerves of steel in order to think quickly to defend their cause, but also illustrates how even a criminal can escape unscathed from the justice system.
The run-up to the European Parliament session provides participants with a medium to vent their creative capabilities through lobbying and campaigning, but also proves that even at an international level, co-operation is still possible, and that even a leader needs a strong team to help them.
The conference encourages individuals to pursue the best that they can be through responsible, caring, pragmatic and wise leadership, and inspires participants that in order to become a leader, one must first understand themselves and other cultures, making the IYLC the ideal medium through which to do so.
The objective of the conference is to encourage individuals to challenge themselves by testing themselves in an environment alien to them; an experience which becomes both daunting and exciting. At the same time, the IYLC perfectly epitomises the “work hard play hard” ethic, as all participants, facilitators and observers display both a serious professionalism combined with sharp wit and humour when approaching the simulations, and ultimately becoming a fun educational experience.
Other events in the conference include embassy visits, a culture night, and regional talks; all of which display the importance of culture to people, of the importance of transatlantic relationships and of the confident pride and determination of nations to make a difference in the world.
What the IYLC has proven is that in order to become a strong leader, they need mental strength, a caring nature, an empathy and understanding for others regardless of culture, a passion for what is right and an unshakeable bravery.
Jan
12
We are starting the year 2010 with some exciting news and changes.
First of all, we have launched a brand new IYLC web-site, which we hope will enhance visitor experiences and will offer more functionality to our users. The new web-site is available, as usual, at www.czechleadership.com.
We are also launching a marketing campaign to spread the word about the anniversary 20th IYLC to take place on July 11th-16th, 2010. If you would like to help us in this effort, please email us at info@czechleadership.com, we will be happy to send you our posters and other materials.
And last, but not the least, Maryna Puzdrova will be succeeding Ismayil Khayredinov in the position of IYLC Conference Director. Feel free to contact Maryna at maryna@civicconcepts.org.
Our best wishes for the year 2010,
Civic Concepts International team
Dec
21
We are pleased to announce that the key-note address of the 19th IYLC will be delivered by Nqobizitha Mlilo, our esteemed alumnus, spokesperson for Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change and aide to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
We are happy that Mr. Mlilo will be joining us for the conference week, giving us invaluable insights into the past, present and future of Zimbabwe and the African continent!
Nqobizitha Mlilo was born in a small rural town in the Midlands Province in Zimbabwe on the 18th of July 1981. He did his pre-tertiary education at Njerere government primary school, Mvuma primary school and St Francis of Assisi High school, before enrolling at the University of Cape Town in South Africa where he did law.
It is while he was the University of Cape Town student movement that he was introduced the Civic Concepts International, attending the 2003 conference as a participant, and the 2004 conference as a facilitator.
After completing his law degree, he briefly practiced till he was thrown into full time national politics as the Political Liaison and spokesperson of the Regional Office of the Movement for Democratic Change in South Africa.
Mlilo is currently an assistant of Zimbabwe’s Minister of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion, Hon Elton Mangoma MP
Mlilo is convinced that the future of Africa is incrementally bright and full of hope with the emergence of African leadership committed to democracy and respect for human rights. Young people across the world, not least Africans, have a cardinal responsibility of removing the causes of conflict and human suffering.
Dec
21
Alan Krautstengl is the president of the oldest private institution of higher education in the Czech Republic. In the past, Professor Krautstengl has worked as a Vice-President for Research, Development and International Affairs at the Institute of Finance and Administration, and as Senior Researcher at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Professor Krautstengl holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Kent State University, where he tackled and solved a 25-year old open problem in numerical linear algebra. He has a vast academic experience as a visiting and associate professor at Chapman University, University of Puerto Rico, Black Hills State University, Case Western Reserve University. Professor Krautstengl has closely cooperated with NASA, University Hospitals Cleveland, Ford Motor Company, Eaton Consulting Group, Honeywell, Deloitte and Touche, PwC, Appian Group, Ceska Sporitelna and others. His research interests lay in numerical analysis, linear algebra, matrix theory, application of mathematics to science, business and finance.
Dec
08
New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE: EDU) was founded on November 16, 1993 as Beijing New Oriental School. At present, the group offers a wide array of training and educational programs focusing on foreign language training. We are a large-scale comprehensive education and technology group providing education and training, written and audio-visual publications, overseas education services, vocational education, online education, and the research and development of educational software. New Oriental was the first private education company in China to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange on September 7, 2006. By December 2008, we have a network of 41 New Oriental schools rooted in 38 cities and 6 subsidiary companies based in Beijing. The student enrollments have reached approximately 7 million during fifteen-year development.
Sponsored Participant: Ms. Yue Wu, Journalism student at the University of Hong Kong
Dec
08
Tim (Mac) Macartney is an enigmatic and inspirational speaker who challenges some of our most fundamental preconceptions and current ways of thinking.
Mac has been working as a people and organisation development professional since 1984. He is the founder of Embercombe, a published author, a trustee with two other charities, and an associate of Leaders’ Quest www.leadersquest.org.uk Alongside his own UK company, Mac also co-founded a leadership development consultancy in Poland www.pathways.com.pl This dynamic, entrepreneurial company, develops the leaders of many large corporations such as BP, Whirlpool, Unilever, PwC, and PKN Orlen, while also engaging them with some of Poland’s most vulnerable communities and winning their support.
Over the last six years most of Mac’s work with organisations has been focused towards a variety of consulting projects with Unilever.
• Joined an in-house team exploring Unilever’s global purpose. The outcomes of this work significantly contributed to Unilever’s ‘Vitality’ mission.
• Was the lead consultant in a 3-year culture change project for Unilever Poland, which successfully realigned the company to a new set of core values and produced a sustained and impressive improvement in business performance.
• Was the lead consultant in a 3-year culture change project for Unilever Italy HPC. At the time Unilever was in the midst of the biggest shape-up of its’ history, this change programme successfully embedded a positive, high-performance culture and resulted in the company meeting or exceeding its’ business targets when most others were falling behind.
Mac’s work with organisation leaders is motivated by his belief that:
• Leadership is one of the areas where we most need to see radical and transformative change.
• We need to move towards a future in which all commercial organisations consider their primary purpose to be focused towards a just and truly sustainable world.
• All trade will eventually become ‘fair trade’.
• Corporate responsibility will become integrated and inseparable from the business mission of every commercial entity.
• We will reverse the long-standing tradition of rewarding performance even when this same performance has hurt and weakened the individuals, communities, or the natural environment.
Over a period of twenty years Mac has been mentored and coached by Native American Metis ‘Medicine’ people to learn the cultural and spiritual teachings that once informed the practice of our own British indigenous culture. The values, principles, and wisdom of this tradition inform and guide all aspects of his work.
Mac’s recent book ‘Finding Earth, Finding Soul – the invisible path to authentic leadership’ speaks to the necessity for each of us to gather our courage, step out of the shadows, and become the leaders we have been waiting for.
