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Sunday, February 20, 2011

GHAC Leadership Summit

What does it take to build a new generation of leaders? Lot of enthusiasm, a dash of optimism, tons of knowledge, sprinkling of confidence, dressed up with devil may care attitude. Actually it takes more than that. This was obvious, when over 50 organizers and wannabe organizers gathered at Dhruva College of Management at Medchal on the outskirts of Hyderabad.  The occasion: the two day Annual Summit of Great Hyderabad Adventure Club (GHAC).

The chock-o-block agenda began with the wonderful, haunting Silent National Anthem. Our host and Chairman of Dhruva College of Management, Dr Pratap Reddy made the introductory remarks. This was followed by a formal inauguration by Vishweshwar Konda, an adventurer in his own right. Sangita Reddy, Executive Director Operations, Apollo Hospitals followed with a peppy speech. Post the inauguration, Diyanat Ali, Chief Organizer and founder of GHAC outlined his vision for the next financial year and a road map for GHAC. A session on Conflict Management by Chandra and Suresh brought out the issues that GHAC organizers faced during many of the treks.

Diya then took up the subject of the basic s of organising treks, Organiser Qualities, Ethics and etiquette. Suresh Kochattil and Chandra had a session on Introducing and using Mentoring and Feedback as a growth and success tool. This interactive session saw a number of suggestions flowing back and forth.  Padmaja made her talk on Effective Team Bonding on Treks and Diya followed with on Using Social Media to spread the word. Suresh moved in with a session on Effective Public and Media relations. A small digression from the topic saw an animated debate by delegates on the road ahead for GHAC. That more or less closed out the day sessions of the first day.

Post dinner, it was time for the Night Navigation Workshop by Mel Irwin and Keku. The participants were trained in finding their way out of a forest or mountain top by navigating with aid of stars. The one hour session was obviously not enough and we need another meet up to complete this training. A cake was cut by Diya to mark the first Leadership Summit of GHAC. The campfire that followed went on into the wee hours of the morning and saw an enthralling display of the multifaceted talents of the participants.

An early morning walk in the reserve forest adjacent to the college saw Diya introducing map reading sessions for the uninitiated. This too requires more training and we are sure to see a meetup on this subject, soon. A quick breakfast was followed a talk on Bouldering & Rock Climbing as a sport by Sujay, and it was awesome. For the first time, many of us realized the sheer range of bouldering equipment that GHAC has in its arsenal.  Chief trainer of GHAC, Lt Col. Rajeev Sharma spoke on planning and conduct of Treks. The subject of following and implementing Club Rules, Reporting violations and Disciplinary Action was taken up GHAC General Counsel, Javed Razack. Following that, Ali Razvi, our master negotiator spoke on Vendor Persuasion and Negotiation Skills.

Post lunch, Col Rajeev took us on Wilderness Survival Skills Workshop in the reserve forest. It was enlightening session that complimented the theory class that was held in the morning. We learnt how to make tea without any vessel, make different kinds of fires, make a basic but effective water filter in the wild, and make shelters in the wilderness.  Col Rajeev also taught us how to make different types of Knots and their usage including a Rope Lashing Workshop Session.

Back to the classroom, it was time for First Aid and Emergency Procedures by Dr Vibha. CPR and other emergency procedures were followed by a demo on evacuation by Prashant Pai and team. A session on Pain Relief and Relaxation with Physiotherapy by Praveen was followed by presentation of accounts by Ranga.

All in all, it was two wonderful days of theory and practical classes that enhanced the learning skills of the participants. The benchmark gets higher for the subsequent Summits. The post-summit deliberations will continue in the weeks to come.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Two days of workshop taught me alot and I found myself to learn.I realised there is much more to explore in life.knots class is in my dreams and I am recollecting them everyday.It sounds funny but truely feel like learning.Two memorable days were bagged by me.Thanq GHAC.