Why is diversity in leadership important? The Hanoi Student Leadership Conference (HSLC) explored the significance of diversity in leadership through a two-day conference on 11 & 12 February. 60 student leaders and six teachers from twelve schools across Hanoi were able to deepen their impact on driving sustainable, meaningful change in our communities.
With the help of a visiting expert, Nicholas Hathaway, the student facilitator team designed ten sessions focusing on the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. Each of these practices link to different skill sets, tools, personal strengths, habits of the mind, and attributes that help develop our skills as young leaders.
The conference utilised hands-on activities and workshops to facilitate these five practices. When asked what their favorite element about the conference was, these activities were a common theme amongst the participants’ responses. Many reflected on how this form of learning “created a really relaxed and comfortable environment,” as well as how “…everything was really hands-on, and the activities all required a lot of socialising and movement, which was a really cool way [to] approach learning.”
Incorporating different styles of activities kept the participants focused and engaged throughout the workshops. This structure of learning also supported the students in taking away life-long skills to, hopefully, drive meaningful change in their schools and communities:
“A lesson I[‘ve] learn[ed] from this program is that you have to think outside of the box sometimes and not have to constantly restrict yourself to a repetitive procedure because you never know if something is more efficient unless you try it out.”
The Hanoi Student Leadership Conference strived to highlight the value of teamwork, distributive leadership, and diversity. A close community was created throughout the two days, helping participants feel safer and more motivated to share, make connections, and learn. By developing these connections, the sixty student leaders had the opportunity to grow and discover their capacities as future leaders.