November 01, 2021
Afghan Studies Center (ASC), the brain child of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), organized a Pak-Afghan Youth Workshop on the theme “Acing the Art of Leadership” on November 01, 202 in Islamabad. Saddam Hussein, a Development Economist and leadership trainer, was invited as the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker for the training session.
Imtiaz Gul, Executive Director, CRSS and Afghan Studies Center, in his opening remarks stated that the future of both Afghanistan and Pakistan lies in the hands of the youth. Hence, it is essential to inculcate leadership qualities in the younger generations to secure the future of Afghanistan. He also encouraged the participants to make critical thinking a daily practice and to accept and learn from the mistakes made by their ancestors.
The session commenced with a brainstorming session aimed at pinpointing the root causes of Afghanistan’s failures and deficiencies. The Afghan participants agreed that the corrupt and inefficient nature of the successive Afghan governments and leadership was the main reason behind Afghanistan’s downfall, and asserted that an efficient, responsible, and honest leadership is the only solution for Afghanistan’s problems.
Building on the inherent flaws of the Afghan leadership and devising ways to overcome those insufficiencies, the workshop answered key questions essential for Afghanistan’s development, including, what leadership qualities in Afghan power runners will help the country in escaping the ill fate of the country and how can the youth grasp values and establish habits that might bring change in their country.
The trainer enlightened the youth about how an honest and efficient political, economic, social, military, and religious leadership can transform the present and future of countries, and bring about revolutionary change. While discussing key leadership qualities like accountability, honesty, integrity, communication, far-sightedness, flexibility, and responsibility etc., the trainer urged the participants to develop these qualities and motivated them to incorporate these habits in their daily lives.
By the end of the session, the group of young individuals from both the countries were well versed with the qualities that are essential for their national growth and development and had the vision that a country cannot achieve excellent leadership unless the common public has leadership qualities, as a leader emerges from the grass-root level.
© Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) and Afghan Studies Center (ASC), Islamabad.
