‘We fear change, but with it come opportunities’

The 3rd Junior Leaders Conference (JLC) was organised at the Beach Luxury Hotel from December 28 to January 1. A total of 130 youngsters, aged between 13 and 17 years, participated in the conference. They hailed from different areas of Sindh including Karachi, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Dadu, Sukkur, Larkana, and Ranipur as well as from Balochistan.
The JLC is more than a typical youth conference. Experts speak on topics of leadership, relationship management, career mapping and much more on self-grooming. In addition, participants have plenty of networking opportunities. What makes the JLC different is that it is designed and run for the youth, by the youth, who know what it is like: the schoolwork, parental pressures – feeling like you’re caught in the middle: too young to do some things, but too old to be trusted to do more. In our teens, all that matters is to figure out who you are, and who you have the potential to be.
“The JLC is a transformational gift for your children who go through intense conditioning throughout their lives via media and academia,” said JLC Director Umair Jaliawala.
“They are baffled, have no idea what to do and feel helpless most of the time. Parents do not know where their children are headed. Such are the trends in action these days which is why we need people with futuristic approach,” he added.
Jaliawala said speakers and trainers at this conference understand the gravity of the situation. “JLC is designed to provide teens with avenues to develop their personal capacity for more coherent engagement within a multi-disciplinary context. It is also a good networking opportunity for likeminded individuals where they get to learn more about themselves.” 
Zain Goplani, conference leader, said JLC experts guide youngsters to a better life because if teenage years can be the most exhilarating era of our lives, they can even turn out to be the most perilous ones.
“Change; we don’t like it, we fear it, but we can’t stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. But change must be appreciated mainly because we always come out learning something or the other,” he added.
“Sometimes in life we have instances when we hide in our own dark caves. What we fail to understand then is that there is a source of light at the end of a dark tunnel which opens up to new beginnings, beautiful developments and interesting reasons to get back on track once again.”
Goplani said makes the JLC different is that it is designed by youngsters like him. “We know what it is like to tackle such problems when you see every door shut and see no other way,” he added.
“Success and life-changing learning, like candy, can be the sweetest treat of all. So let’s experience this treat at JLC. Josh-e-Junoon!”