Environmental Leadership Day 2

Day 2 Environmental Leadership

Day 2 Started with Yoga Session in Ball Room. All of us were tired and lazy and not in the mood to do anything, except to sleep. Our physical limitations were outstreched by a trained Yoga Instructor. Who gave us excercises and activities to break free from physical barriers and enter in to the realm of spirtual freedom. Which not only allowed us to get over our less sleep time but also made us ready for the challenging day ahead of countless sessions.

The Second day was about Environmental Leadership. We were asked to take off our shoes for an entire day, To let go of our Ego and feel a spirtual connection with mother earth. After the Yoga Session we headed straight down to Al Bustan for our Breakfast. There was everything from Desi food to Mexican, Italian etc. I had two drinks of Orange Juice along with Sausages and some Mexican & Italian dishes. I wanted to try out something new and didnt regret it. It was deliciuos.

After the luxurious breakfast we headed straight to the Ballroom. There was a panel discussion about Environmental degradation by different Experts in the field. There were independent farmers, environmental journalist, corporate CEO's and representatives etc who spoke on the subject. One such name that stands out is that of Tofiq Pasha. The guy has more than 30 years of experience in independent farming. He has interests in agriculture, landscaping, environment, water conservation and children fieldtrips. He has hosted three regular TV shows, namely "Bagh Bani", "Kitchen Garden" and "Go Camping with Pasha".

The Corporations that took an initiative in their Environmental Responsiblities were NOKIA, and PSO. They were our guests. They talked about what their corporations are doing for their Environmental Responsibilities.

First, Nokia Head in Pakistan said that they are running recycling campaign all around the world. They are collecting all sorts of used, old, broken cell phones and paying customers for it in return. He also talked about energy conservation issues due to usage of batteries in cell phones. He said people charge their cell phones in night while leaving it plugged in till the morning. Which is harmful not only for batteries life but for limited energy conservation. He said all day charging of cell phone increases your Electricity bill by 15 percent.

Secondly, PSO Chairman talked about recent plans of the company to launch Ethanol usage in Pakistan. Ethanol, for those of you who dont know, is a fuel extracted from food products like corn etc. Ethanol consumption is on already happening in Brazil. One of the world's biggest producer and consumer of Ethanol. America second largest consumer of Ethanol. He said not a single car exist in the world that can run solely on Ethanol. Currently Ethanol has to be used in combination with Petrol and Diesel. Otherwise the car wont run. To elevate this limitation design improvements of the cars are being developed which will allow only Ethanol to be used as a fuel in the cars.

After hearing the concerns of environmentalist and initiatives of corporations, we were asked to choose a Break out Session for us. There were sessions related to Theater, Dance, Music and Organizational Environment. I choose Organizational Environment. There we were told about what constitues the Environment of Organizations and how to manage it. Plus we were told about general issues related to the Environment e.g., Ozone Layer Depletion.

We thought this day couldnt get any better, but when we saw the team of Djuice along with Youth Heartrob; Shehzad Roi, we changed our minds and started to expect more. We were all overjoyed when he turned back from the front seat and waved at us. The team of Djuice gave us free T-Shirts and a Coffee Mug. The Social Message of Djuice is Khamoshi Ka Boycott. It is a very popular brand among the youth. It asserts them to stand up for themselves and their rights. The Tv Ads that runs on air include "Chichoray Larkay", "Job K Liye Safarish" and "Exam Hall Cheating". Shehzad Roi and his team talked to us for a brief moment followed by Shehzad Roi singing "Tera Mukhra Haseen" on huge fan request. They then made their way out of the Hall with fans cheering with full joy and jubiliation.

In the mean time, individual teams were asked to make a video containing a social message in paying tribute to Djuice. We made a Video on "Following Traffic Signals to Avoid Accidents". All the Videos were played in one go at the end of the Day when all the sessions were finished.

After the departure of Djuice team and our assignment of tasks, we saw a "Mulla" type guy on the stage. All of us were confused as to what this guy is doing on stage. He acknowledged that from the start. He told us about people stereotyping him and discouraging him as he can't do any thing on the stage because of his dress code and appearance. But we were all amazed to see him owning the stage magnificiently. The name of the guy is Dr. Nadeem Abdi. He is an aspiring Motivational Speaker from Multan, having been trained by a couple of foreign trainers. He told us about a painful process that passes in the life of Eagle. He said on average life expectancy of an eagle is 41 years. After that his wings start to become heavy and it is not able to fly. In order to avoid that, an eagle make his way towards high mountains. There he goes through a painful process. He literally rips his feathers off its wings, rip of its claws and breaks its beak. He then waits till all of it grows back. The process takes about 90 days to complete. When the process is finished the Eagle is able to live a life of 30 more years. He was relating this story to our painful and tiring stay at YLC. However, he was assuring us that once the six days are finished we would be soaring into the sky higher than ever.

The session of Dr. Nadeem Abdi was inspirational and very energetic. I had a nice talk with him after the session where acknowledged his expertise and ask for career related advice.

The time came for the participants to have a Break out session and chose whatever they like to attend. I chose Street Power Session. It was about power of word of mouth and effect of Social Networking and Blogging on it. After the session we were escorted to Ball room for an Activity called Acid Test. The Objective was to accomodate 20 people standing on 5 seats and 1 paper chart. It was the symbol of unity. All of the teams did it splendidly.

When the dinner time came we were all expecting 5 star food. But our management had a surprise waiting for us. We were escorted to Back Garden of Sheraton where we had Self Organized, Low Cost, Eco Friendly Dinner. It consisted of Chapli Kabab, Onion Salad, Roti and Daal. It was done intentionally to have empathy for the poor people.

After having the Eco Friendly Dinner we made our way to the Ball room to see our Djuice Videos on Big Screen. The crowds roared to appreciate eachother videos and their unique concepts.

We had taken our shoes off for the whole day. Now it was time to wear them back,  make our way to our rooms and a have a good night sleep.