Sessions Help Unlock Best Practices for New Leadership
Following a 20-hour road trip braving the cold weather and jagged roads from Skardu, Ashiq Hussain, Muhammad Ilyas, Siddiqa Moosa, Saira Zahid and Manzoor Hussain arrived in Islamabad.
“We did not want to take a chance on the weather. We wanted to make sure we were in Islamabad in time!” they exclaim.
54 Alumni from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Lahore, Multan, Jamshoro, Karachi, Sukkur, Quetta, Gawadar, and Khyber Pukhtonkhwa convened in Islamabad for the seventh Annual National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting held from January 21 – 22, 2017.
At the start of each year, the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN) arranges the NEC to provide alumni leadership an opportunity to build on their leadership skills through interactive skills-based sessions, brainstorm ideas collectively on chapter activities and outreach projects, and share best practices and case studies.
This year’s NEC marked the start of the two-year tenure of the newly elected leadership of 54 alumni who had emerged victorious after the 2016 PUAN General Elections. Over the course of the two days, 16 sessions were held to acquaint the new leadership with their roles and responsibilities and resources.
Speaking to the leadership on this occasion, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale, said. “I appreciate the time, work, and thought that you put into your work for PUAN, and our shared efforts continue to strengthen the relationship between the Pakistani and American people.”
Passing on the Wisdom: Senior Alumni Share Best Practices
“PUAN carries tremendous potential that can be a game changer for Pakistan. Think big and realistically set achievable and self-sustainable targets,” shares Dr. Iqbal Raza, an alumnus of the Hubert H. Humphrey program and Former Joint Executive Director, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in his session on “Leadership Challenges”.
Finance Secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan chapter Saddiqa Moosa found his session particularly useful. “He really helped us understand our role and how we can work through the challenges with dignity.”
International Visitors Leadership Program alumnus Ahsan Mukhtar shared his experience of building programs, citing the example of TedxIslamabad 2015 and TedxIslamabad 2016 – both supported through the PUAN Alumni Small Grants (ASG) program. “For your audience to engage and stay engaged, you must create value in your content. Remember, content is king.”
Aftab Iqbal, one of the founding members of PUAN and an alumnus of the IVLP program, conducted a special session with the leadership on “Building Public-Private Partnerships” for small grants projects, chapter activities, community outreach projects, etc.
Planning, Monitoring, and Executing Successful Projects
The PUAN team at the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) held detailed sessions on applying for small grants, preparing chapter plans, financial reporting, monitoring projects, branding guidelines, and communication tools and resources for chapter leaderships.
Rabia Baloch, Finance Secretary of the PUAN Quetta Chapter found the session on financial reporting particularly useful. “I was quite concerned about the financial reporting – how to collect receipts and how to share the report – but the session today has cleared all my confusions.”
In addition, open house discussions on ethical practices and finalization of theme for the country project engaged alumni in a healthy dialogue and helped identify key areas that the leadership aimed to address.
The U.S. Embassy’s Counselor for Public Affairs, Robert Raines also hosted a networking reception for newly elected PUAN leadership. The reception provided ample opportunity for PUAN leader to interact and share their community ideas; volunteer work and exchange experiences with representatives of U.S. Mission in Pakistan.
NEC Elects Country President
Following one-minute speeches by candidates contesting for the post of Country President, the NEC cast their votes through a secret ballot, electing Khawaja Mudassar from Multan chapter as PUAN Country President 2017 – 2018. In his winning speech, Muddassar emphasized to support PUAN through creative networking opportunities and projects. Read the message from the Country President here.
As they go back to their respective chapters, the leadership is set to take charge and engage, inspire, and empower their chapters to continue strengthening people-to-people ties through their outreach projects.
