Jaipur, Dec. 6 -- "For me, every woman is a leader in her own life. But LEAD-I taught me to be a leader among the masses," said Class 11 student Avani Agrawal from Nainital's All Saints College, one of the participants of the Leadership Education And Discover India (LEAD-I) programme organised by Jaipur's Maharani Gayatri Devi (MGD) Girls' School. Avani, who prefers to listen and speak less, raised her voice firmly over the lack of women's representation in leadership roles in various sectors across the globe. "Women have always been shut up whenever they tried to speak out. I don't need anyone's certificate to prove my skills. I know who I am. LEAD-I is only helping me to upgrade my skills and ideas which will surely help me to walk confidently in any adverse situation," said the 16-year-old who has not yet decided her career goal but has decided to explore opportunities before taking a call. This was the second edition of the MGD's LEAD-I programme this year that started on November 23 and ended on Friday evening. The programme saw participation of 42 students from 7 schools, including one from UAE's Sharjah. The 12-day programme had talks by eminent guest speakers, interactive sessions, workshops on art and culture, cultural programmes and visits to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Agra, and Jhalana. The "Incredible India" segment featured lectures by Dr Latika Nath, the first Indian with a doctorate in tiger conservation, Shyla Raghav, chief climate impact officer of Times Magazine USA, Dr Lakshyaraj Mewar from the royal family of Udaipur, and former director of the Mayo College, Ajmer, General Surendra Kulkarni. "We hear a lot about Beti Bachao Beti Padao. But there is yet a huge gap in the leadership roles across the globe. The usual leadership programmes do not make much impact on the women while they also lack providing the girls with a hands-on experience. Our programme has been designed to cultivate youth leadership, the intensive experience seamlessly blended intellectual, physical, and cultural development. Participants engaged in specialized 'Leadership Capsules' covering Mindful Mastery, Emotional Quotient, Resilience, Problem-Solving, and Design Thinking," said Archana S Mankotia, director, MGD Girls' School. While the usual leadership roles demand for the foundation of a strong character and excellence in gathering knowledge, MGD's LEAD-I also focuses on 'Gratitude Vault' with a vision to instil a deeper sense of responsibility and global citizenship. Maj Gen (retd) Kr VS Lalotra, who is in the board of governors of MGD and a key ideator of the programme, also emphasised on India's traditional knowledge. "Gratitude and global communication are part of the Indian tradition. The world used to look up to our country for our knowledge and education. We conceptualised this programme based on our tradition. There are students not only from India but also from outside as we wanted to build a dialogue among students from different regions and cultures to help our future leaders to excel in team-work."...