Empower Inc. Presents 'Talk It Out'

Over the past few years, many organisations that focus on workshops or training programmes for the young have sprung up in the country. While they arrange workshops from time to time, many of them fall short of actually teaching the attendees skills they can implement in their day to day lives. To eliminate that gap and to create platforms that truly let young people reach their potential, Empower Inc. started their 'Talk It Out' series of events, the first of which was held at St. Joseph Higher Secondary School recently. 

Something that made Empower Inc. unique was that its founder, Shadman Karim, is a young person who is striving to help his fellow youth. Shadman, an AS student of Academia, has always wanted to help the country's youth break the conventions and lead their lives down creative paths. Protidaan and St. Joseph Higher Secondary School came forward to help him in this regard. "We, youngsters, have a lot of potential but very little room to explore that. Empower Inc. wants to create that room," Karim said.

The event featured three speakers. The first speaker was Ayman Sadiq, the founder of 10 Minute School. An educator and entrepreneur, Ayman Sadiq spoke on passions and how people can, through entrepreneurship, turn their passions into their careers. The second speaker was Khalid Mahmud Saad, Youth Leadership Trainer at the British Council. He spoke on presenting oneself clearly. The third and final speaker of the event was Mofizul Haque Chowdhury, vocalist of Black. He spoke on his journey in the music industry thus far and what it takes to survive and make it in music and similarly creative fields.  The event ended with a performance by Mofizul, featuring Moktadir Dewan Shanto (Blunderware) and Rayhan Islam from C!RCLE. 

Nearly 150 students attended and when asked, most of them admitted the event was geared differently than most workshops of this sort. Raisa Rahman, from Darland International School and College, noted how the event felt more like a discussion session than a formal workshop. "The trainers were far more informal, something that made learning from them easier. Usually it's just a very stiff arrangement where the speakers talk behind microphones. Here it felt like we were talking to them directly, which made the whole experience far more enjoyable."

Tabassum Islam, from IBA, Dhaka University said the event felt more like a brainstorming session than a workshop. "The informal nature was really helpful for grasping what the speakers were saying."

Ayman Sadiq, one of the speakers, noted this too. "I could really feel the energy of the kids here, which inspired me as well. Usually the energy doesn't resonate like it did at this event."

A major part of the registration fee that attendees paid was used to buy stationery for the Literacy School that operates at St. Joseph Higher Secondary School. In this aspect, Protidaan, a community service organisation founded by students of St. Joseph paid a considerable part. 

Rayaan Ibtesham Chowdhury is a business student who spends his nights trying to write a fantasy novel. Mail him at rayaansmail@gmail.com if you want to talk about dragons in suits.