Council Members meet SCA Deputy Director Nicole Chulick

March 28, 2013, Kathmandu: U.S. Embassy Youth Council Members met Nicole Chulick, Deputy Director of Office of Press and Public Diplomacy from the Bureau of South & Central Asian Affairs at YUWA. During the visit, Miss Chulick listened to the council members’ concern over the recent political development of the country and other social social issues including the changing gender roles and women rights movement of Nepal. Council members also shared the common problems that the Nepalese youths are facing. During the one-hour long meeting, Miss Chulick promised her continued support to Nepali youths. She also promised to initiate the virtual exchanges among the council members from around the glob.

Eight Leadership Lessons From The World's Most Powerful Women

Today I had the great pleasure of speaking at The Innovation Enterprises’ 2013 Women in Strategy Summit, which brings together 75 high-level women in marketing and strategy, about the leadership secrets of the world’s most powerful women. With women comprising just 4% of corporate CEOs, 14% of executive officers and 20% of America’s government officials, we’re facing a persistent leadership gap at the highest echelons. To move forward, we must first take stock of what is working. The following eight leadership lessons, synthesized and updated from a keynote I gave last year, come directly from the women who know what it takes to get to the top.

Stay Determined

The world’s most successful women really want it–and remain determined even in the face of obstacles. They have the skills, and they put the time in. But more importantly, they have the desire to do something great. Beth Brooke, global vice chair of Ernst & Young, was diagnosed with a degenerative hip disease at age 13 and was told by doctors she may never walk again. Before going into surgery she promised herself she would walk—no, she would run—and aspired to become one of the best young athletes the world had seen. Not only did she walk, she went on to play several varsity sports at her high school, earned multiple MVP awards, and later played Division I basketball in college. She made up her mind, and she didn’t quit. She brought that same determination to her career and today ranks among the 100 most powerful women in the world.

Be Courageous

Women at the top aren’t fearless. They move toward their fear to continually challenge themselves. That takes courage. In 2011, Beth Mooney, CEO ofKeyCorp, became the first woman ever to lead a top-20 bank in the U.S. Mooney began her career as a secretary at a local Texas bank, making just $10,000 a year, but soon realized she wanted something more. In 1979, she knocked on the door of every big bank in Dallas and asked for a spot in their management training programs. At the Republic Bank of Dallas, she refused to leave the manager’s office until he offered her a job. After waiting for three hours, he finally agreed to give her a chance if she earned an MBA by night.

That was a turning point in her career, one of many, powered by a courageous call to action—to champion herself and what she knew she was capable of. Later, she had the courage to move into roles she’d never done before, to pick up and move across the country, and to stick with it for three decades. If you’re not a little bit scared every day, you’re not learning. And when you’re not learning, you’re done.

Think Bigger

In order to achieve big success, you have to have big impact. When Michelle Gass, who is now leading 33 countries for Starbucks, started at the coffee chain, she was asked to architect a growth strategy for a just-launched drink called the Frappuccino. Her mantra: “Let’s think of how big this can be.” After countless hours testing ideas, she decided to position it as an escapist treat and added ice cream parlor fixings and new flavors. What began as a two-flavor side item is now a $2 billion platform with tens of thousands of possible combinations. Gass repeated her go-big-or-go-home strategy when she took over Seattle’s Best Coffee. She decided to take the sleepy little-sister brand to new heights by partnering with Burger King, Delta, Subway, convenience stores and supermarkets. In one year, the brand exploded from 3,000 distribution points to over 50,000.

Take Calculated Risks

As CEO of Kraft Foods and now Mondelez International, Irene Rosenfeld is very familiar with this one. A couple years ago she completed a hostile takeover of British candy company Cadbury. Not long after, she surprised the business community again with a plan to split Kraft into two separate companies, a North American foods company and a global snacks company. To move the needle, you have to make a big bets—but never rash—always based on a careful study of the outcomes. You have to know what you have to gain, and if you can afford to take the hit if it doesn’t go your way.

Remain Disciplined

It takes discipline to achieve and maintain success. You simply can’t do everything, and the world’s most powerful women stay focused on the areas that will have the biggest impact—from both a leadership perspective and a career management perspective. Sheri McCoy, the new CEO of struggling Avon Products, is currently implementing a huge turnaround at the century-old beauty company. Interestingly, when I asked what the biggest challenge would be, she said: “Making sure people stay focused on what’s important and what matters most.” It is very easy to get distracted by new trends, new markets, new projects—but when you extend yourself too far, the quality of your work suffers across the board.

Hire Smart

Over and over again women at the top say their best strategy for success is to hire people who are diverse, passionate and smarter than themselves–and then listen closely to their perspectives. Hala Moddelmog, president of Arby’s Restaurant Group, believes surrounding yourself with people of different backgrounds—including gender, race, geography, socio-economic and personality types—will help round out your conclusions. “You really don’t need another you,” she says. Similarly, staying open to different viewpoints keeps you ahead of the curve. Claire Watts, the CEO of retail and media company QVC, schedules open door times every Tuesday, so that anyone in the company who wants to come talk to her, ask her a question or share something they’ve noticed can do it then.

Manage Your Career

Denise Morrison, the CEO of Campbell’s Soup, knew from a very young age she wanted to eventually run a company, so she asked herself what are the kinds of things I need to do to prepare for that? That might mean management experience, global exposure or revenue responsibility. She always looked at her career as: Where have I been? Where am I now? Where am I going, and what are the right assignments to get there? If her current company would work with her to deliver those assignments, she was all-in. But if it didn’t, she knew she needed to move on. “We apply these skills in business, and yet when it comes to ourselves we rarely apply them,” she said.

Delegate At Work And At Home

The most successful women have learned that they have to have help, and they have to have faith in the people around them—at work and at home. It’s not easy, but it’s critical over the long-term. Katie Taylor, the CEO of hotel brand Four Seasons, admitted to me that she is a bit of control freak, but for the good of her and everyone around her, she tries to delegate. “Sit on your hands, if you have to,” she said. “Get yourself to that place.”

(This article is written by Forbes staff Jenna Goudreau and extracted from www.forbes.com)   

48th Int'l Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Marked

(KATHMANDU, NEPAL 22 March, 2013): Hundreds of people representing various national and international organizations rallied to the street to mark the 48thInternational Day for the Elimination for Racial Discrimination. Coordinated by the National Dalit Commission in collaboration with scores of Dalit civil society organizations, this year’s theme was “The basis of ending racial discrimination and untouchability is granting proportional privilege with special rights of Dalits in new constitution.” 

The rally began at 11:00 am with enthusiastic protesters marching in the rain from Bhrikutimandap to Rastriya Nach Ghar Jamal. The formal program at Jamal commenced with the welcome remarks from NNDSWO National President Bhakta Bishwakarma and was followed by national anthem and one minute silence to commemorate the martyrs from the Dalit community. Amongst the participants were representatives of political parties and senior civil society leaders. Padam Singh Bishwakarma, an original leader of the Dalit movement and living legend, chaired the program.
 

“The negligence of political parties and the government has united us to redouble our efforts to fight for our cause” said Gajadhar Sunar, DNF President. He continued emphasizing that in order to overcome caste discrimination and untouchability, proper policy should be formulated and supported by implementation guarantee.
 

CPN Maoist leader Ram Narayan Bidari noted that “discrimination faced by Dalit community is pernicious.” He called upon political parties, civil society organizations, media, private sectors and all individuals to work together against caste based discrimination and untouchability whenever it occurs.
 

Similarly, youth entrepreneur Anil Gajmer Bishwakarma opined that we should take pride in our identity as Dalit. He further elaborated, “The culture of hiding caste must be wiped out.” He further promised to provide a support of Rs. 50, 00,000.00 for construction of a temple provided the government supplies land. He further highlighted the need of millions of people coming to the street in protest of untouchability on 21 March every year.
 

In his concluding remarks, the chief guest Padam Singh Bishwakarma suggested to give up the culture of silence. He called everyone to be united and determined to discard the caste system from Nepal. The program was concluded by the NDC president Sushila Sirpaili.
 

PDRC student Smita Nepali recited her much appreciated poem about the miserable lives led by Dalit women and it earned a generous applause from the audiences. PDRC would like to thank students, guardians and other well wishers who came out to support this very worthy cause. 

 

The 10 Traits Of Extremely Successful People

Success is something that all of us wish to attain. But if it were so easy, everyone who wanted it would have it – it’s relative elusiveness is what makes it special. It’s exclusive to a handful of people who did extraordinary things in their lives to get them to where they are today. And it wasn’t because they were lucky or because it was just handed to them. 

Most successful people in this world started from the bottom and worked their way up in life. The only time luck plays a role is when you are in the right place at the right time, but it’s up to you to get yourself there and then.

Being successful is all about how badly you want it and how much you’re willing to work for it – it’s about the traits you possess to help get you there. Do you have what it takes? The best way to figure that out is to look at the traits of extremely successful people and see how you can begin adapting them into your life so that you can eventually end up just like them.

1. They Work Extremely Hard

Successful people understand that without hard work you get nowhere in life. They know the basic science of life: your input will equal your output. They don’t depend on luck to get them anywhere, they depend on their skills and ambition to get them to where they want.

They have sacrificed everything to get to their position and will eat and sleep thinking about work. It becomes a part of their life and even if they have to stay up for a few days or be up at 5am every morning, they make sure they do it because they love it.

They will rarely complain about how hard they are working because they know that all their hard work will pay off. They expect the utmost from themselves — and when they are focused, there is nothing that can stop them.

2. They Are Incredibly Curious And Eager To Learn.

Most people are stubborn; they don’t like to learn or explore new things and are very narrow-minded. Successful people are the complete opposite. They are very open-minded and are always studying something new, learning and constantly asking questions so that they can find out more information.

They know that knowledge is the backbone of success and they are hungry for more information because the more they know the easier it makes it for them. They apply or take advantage of what they learn in life. Successful people want to learn everything about everything!

3. They Network.

Your network is your net worth, as the good old saying goes. They don’t have to be the life of the party or the loudest one in the room. In fact they are usually quiet because they move in silence rather then being too loud.

They are constantly networking with others, exchanging information and asking people what they do before they even ask their name. Successful people have a Rolodex full of people who value their friendship and return their calls. In today’s world, it is all about the people you know and how they help you get to where you want to be.

4. They Work On Themselves And Never Quit!

Peasants are stagnant, they never grow and they get very comfortable with where their life is. The truly successful people are the ones that are always working on themselves and their lives. They are working on their personality, leadership skills, management skills, as well as every other detail of life. Successful people don’t tolerate flaws; they fix them.

5. They Are Extraordinarily Creative.

There are those who just accept everything in life and don’t like change and then there are successful people who like to question the status quo and change things that are too consistent. They go around asking, “Why not?” They see new possibilities and opportunities where others see problems. They wake up in the middle of the night yelling, “I’ve got it!” Successful people create stuff and innovate things. They are the ones that change the world.

6. They Are Self-Reliant And Take Responsibility.

Many people will find things to shift blame towards or find excuses as to why they are not successful so that they can make themselves feel better about the situation. All they are doing is giving themselves bullshit reasons. Incredibly successful people don’t worry about blame, and they don’t waste time complaining. They make decisions and move on. Extremely successful people take the initiative and accept the responsibilities of success.

7. They Are Usually Relaxed And Keep Their Perspective.

Even in times of stress or turmoil, highly successful people keep their balance. They breathe easy, ask the right questions, and make sound decisions, even in a crisis. They understand that when you let emotions get in the way of something, that’s when it all goes down hill. Life is about dealing with problems and successful people are the best problem solvers on planet earth because they don’t dwell on it.

8. Extremely Successful People Live In The Present Moment.

They know that “now” is the only time they can control. Successful people don’t waste time; they use it! They understand that the past is the past and they have learned from it. The future is what will happen when they are exceling in their present.

They are always focused on the current moment and don’t get lost in the game of time.  They “look over the horizon” to see the future. Extremely successful people live in the present, with one eye on the future!

9. Repeatedly Successful People Respond Instantly!

When technology, a new competitor or a change in the economic situation requires an adjustment, successful people are the first and quickest to respond. They don’t let things drag on or take too long to do something. They understand that time is everything…and that things need to happen fast.

10. Successful People Never Quit

Most people in today’s world will walk away from something because they find it too hard, whereas successful people love challenges. They understand that if it were easy, they wouldn’t want it and sacrifice it all to defeat the challenge at hand. They would rather die than quit at what they are doing. Their goal is to be the best always and to be on top because that is where their ambition and passion lies.

(This article was taken from www.elitedaily.com)

Youths dream of 'Beautiful, peaceful Nepal'

KATHMANDU, March 12: Sixty youths from 29 districts of Nepal gathered in Pokhara recently with the determination to work for the development of the country. Members of the US Embassy Youth Council promised to work for the development of their community, and Anil Shah, Executive Director of Mega Bank, boosted their resolve.

“The youth are not only the builders of the nation, they are also the present. Hence, my belief is not on my relatives, my friends, or even the political leaders, but on the youths of the nation,” said Shah. This statement managed to encourage the participating youths who came from various places, diverse communities and different employment and who had diverse views. 

The participants had resolved to bring in positive thoughts to their society and thus build the nation. Carrying the belief that it was not by burning tires on the road but by involving young people in the policymaking level that the nation can be made prosperous and each participant had the same dream of a “beautiful peaceful Nepal.”

“Don’t the young people have the guts to be involved in politics without burning tires?” asked Karuna Parajuli from Pokhara who is studying in Kathmandu and is a member of the All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU). She stated that it was time that the young minds represented Nepal and if they have to snatch some power and authority from the leaders in order to develop the country, then so be it. She explained that she had joined the US Embassy Youth Council to unify youths who carry similar dream of developing the nation.

ANNFSU’s leader Menka Pachai has similar thoughts. “We’re not allowed to take up the actual role of the youth in politics,” she said desolately. “So now we’ve to assume the responsibility we have and help in boosting our country.”

Surat Giri, a researcher, has different experiences to support his belief on why the country is not developing. He understands that though Nepali youth put in their best in various areas, the fact that they cannot reach the policy making level is a drawback. “It’s essential that youth should be involved and be allowed to participate in policymaking level,” he said. “Youth participation is important in their issues. I’m thinking of raising such issues through the Council.”

Kailali district’s Rup Sunar wants to do something for the Dalit youths. “These youths are still very far from the reach of information,” he said. “I’m working to ensure that they have the access to information and even to employment.”

Neha Poudel from Birgunj says that she joined the Council to do something for the society. “In various areas in the Terai region, marijuana is still illegally farmed,” she said, “With a group of young friends, I’m working on stopping marijuana farming.”

Lured by the prospect of good income, the people in the district are now habituated to smoke marijuana. “Many young people are now addicted to it and some have even lost their lives due to it,” she said. “We’re now working on stopping the farming of marijuana and encourage other kinds of farming.”

Neha has worked in an organization called Syano Paila in Birgunj, taking the responsibility of raising funds. At present, she is involved in a campaign to stop human trafficking. She believes that traffickers should be brought to book, and through Syano Paila, she is striving to see justice done. She plans to strengthen this campaign with the help and coordination of more young people. A participant of Miss Nepal 2011, she won the title of fourth runner-up as well as Miss Popular Choice.

Sushil Adhikari is visually impaired and he is grieved that the government has not paid any attention to the rights of the handicapped. He has trained many visually impaired people in computer and is working to change the way the society views them along with other handicapped people. “We’ve not yet been able to enjoy or exercise our fundamental rights set by the government,” he said. “So I aspire to spread positive messages in the society and do creative work.” He as worked for voice software which is installed in mobiles and helps visually impaired people. The software helps them to maintain their privacy.

A nursing graduate from Lalitpur, Pawitra Basnet gives training in basic healthcare and reproductive health in schools and community. She says that she doesn’t have any intention of going abroad to work.

The image of people dying of common diseases in remote areas is trapped in Santosh Nepali’s mind. From Jumla district, he says, “Since there’s no health service facility, people have died of common diseases in remote areas. My plan is to have health services available to the people there.”

Saroj Karki works with Youth for Blood in Biratnagar. The organization was set up two years ago and now has branches in Dharan, Lahan, Damak and Kathmandu. Saroj says that till now it has helped more than 1,500 people by providing fresh blood.

Ganesh Dhungana from Dhading says that Nepali youths do not have reading habit. “We’ve operated libraries in 15 schools in the district. We’ve also built the biggest library in the district,” he says. He is the leader of Yuwa Sanjal. They have published four books, two each in English and Nepali, and have also been presented with an international award.

Affiliated with Antardristi as a psychological consultant, Rajani Bharati works with children who are victims of torture and sex abuse. She trains them in dance, music and yoga and also spends a day of each month with 21 children who live in Opportunity Village in Hemja in Kaski.

Twenty-six year old Shivaraj Chaulagai from Ratamata in Sindhuli runs computer classes at a local school. “We’ve started compulsory computer classes in three schools of Kavre, Ramechhap and Sindhuli,” he said. “We’re planning to take computer literacy in all villages.”

Shivaraj started the campaign with four friends while studying at Western Region Engineering Campus in Lamachaur and they have plans to expand it in other districts.

Media person Sabana Paudel used to conduct a slot for women’s rights and against domestic violence on her weekly radio programs, touching on issues of trafficking in women, domestic violence, dowry and violation of human rights. She said, “Many women who were victims were able to get justice through the radio programs.” he, in her radio shows, used to call on youths and sometimes politicians. Paudel, who ran the radio show on women’s rights for 27 weeks, currently works for Nepal Television as a newsreader.

(This feature article was written by Madan Chaudhary and Samundra Poudel, and published in The Republica daily dated 13 March, 2013) 

Nepal club aims to build youth leadership

It was a cold February Saturday in Kathmandu. Yet that didn't deter young people from crowding into the Public Information Centre of World Bank-Nepal. Mostly students aged between 16 and 25 years old, they gathered for the 351st weekly session of Smart Club.

Founded in 2005 by the pioneering organisation Youth Initiative, the club aims to enhance participants' leadership abilities and their understanding of political and economic issues facing Nepal. Every week, three people deliver speeches, which are then analyzed and examined critically by other participants.

Ayush Pandey, 20, is attending for the second time. "I learned a bit about how to speak in front of a crowd and how to present myself during speeches," the Kathmandu resident told Khabar South Asia, about his first visit.

"I am looking forward to delivering a speech in coming weeks," he said.

An affordable learning curve

Although groups like Toastmasters exist in the valley to enhance public speaking skills, their high costs deter young people from joining. By contrast, many youths flock to Smart Club due to its nominal fee.

Robin Sitoula, 35, of Jhapa, came up with the idea for the organisation and is happy to see its progress.

"The club was envisioned as a platform for young people to engage in public speaking and presentation skills-enhancing activities, along with developing their understanding of contemporary issues faced by Nepali society, so that a new generation of young leaders would be developed," he told Khabar.

Rup Sunar, 29, is a Smart Club alumnus and Kailali native who works as a programme manager for Professional Development and Research Center.

"I went to Smart Club for almost three years," he told Khabar. "I used to be a studious person since I was young. But my experience at Smart Club broadened the horizon of my readings and helped me acquire skills to express [myself] in a more organised way, which definitely helped me in my career."

"Smart Club was sort of an internship for me," he added.

A template for future leaders

Saurav Bhatta, an 18-year-old Kathmandu resident and convener of the club, says around 50-60 young people attend its programmes

"Participation is open to all and the cost of participating is nominal," he told Khabar. "The club is fully run by youth themselves."

According to Bhatta, Smart Club activities have influenced his own life decisions. "I am a student of science but after being here for about eight months, I am convinced that the development sector would be a better career choice for me," he said.

Its popularity has inspired similar efforts in different parts of Nepal, noted Santosh Acharya, president of Youth Initiative.

"Currently, Smart Clubs are being run in five districts including Kathmandu," he told Khabar. "The public speaking is conducted in local languages in clubs outside the valley. Smart Clubs have allowed Nepalese youth to spend their free time in meaningful dialogues and debate and be more informed about the issues faced by our society."

"We are trying to expand them in other districts as well." More than 6,000 youth nationwide already benefited through Smart Club and its replicas, Acharya said.

Rajendra Mulmi, who works for the international non-governmental organisation (NGO) Search for Common Ground, believes in the importance of such clubs.

"Young people learn to agree to disagree and sort out their differences through dialogues and discussions through such avenues," he told Khabar. "It helps to build role model leadership out of youth, which is important for a country like ours facing leadership crisis."

Founder Sitoula said, "To find the club running successfully for more than seven years with leadership succession makes me happy. Young people are learning principles of democratic practice."

(This news is written by Surath Giri and published in http://khabarsouthasia.com)  

The Only Person You Should Worry About Is Yourself

The biggest mistake we all make is forgetting about ourselves. We manage to get caught up in all the drama, politics and nonsense of life and we forget where our true focus should actually lie. Let’s be honest, we become distracted at the drop of a dime with our ADD issues and procrastination problems.

The real issue is these small distractions manage to get bigger and bigger and, in the process, we lose ourselves and what we really want out of life. You should be a little selfish. The truth is no one is really going to care about you but yourself.

They might smile in your face, take shots with you and pretend to be your best friend, but when you need them most and you are struggling in life, you will soon realize that the only person you have there to help you is yourself. If you recall in the movie “A Bronx Tale” when Sonny explained to his protege that Mickey Mantle doesn’t care about him so why the hell should he care about Mickey Mantle. After that day the kid could care less about Mickey Mantle.

And that’s the same way you should go about dealing with others in your life. Of course we all have friends, associates, colleagues and other people with whom we interact, but there is one thing that you must understand about all of them.

People have their own needs and wants — and those needs and wants might actually never intersect with your needs and wants, which means they are going to be looking out for themselves when their opportunity arises. Don’t be caught up in all the bullshit.

Life is all about the energy and attitude you possess. When you are getting yourself stuck in pointless drama or politics, you are sucking all of the positive energy from yourself and letting it fester into negativity. It’s funny because people will always say they have to deal with some sort of bullshit — and the keyword is “need.”

They are forcing themselves to do so, so that they can keep in good graces with the people around them. You technically don’t need to do anything if you don’t want to and I believe too many people in our world have forgotten that.

They force themselves into situations and into doing things just because they are insecure and don’t like to be alone or left out, but by doing so they are losing themselves in the process. By worrying about other people, we tend to make their problems, our problems.

We constantly compare ourselves to other people who appear to be doing great because we are insecure — yet that only makes us feel worse about ourselves and discourages us. Someone’s life might seem fantastic and their Instagram might be straight flexing, but I assure you upon a closer look, their life is just as f*cked up as yours with just as many problems.

We have all turned into gossiping idiots and our mouths have become individual tabloids. We talk more shit than we eat. We love making up rumors, spreading juicy stories about people we know and taking situations and blowing them up so that everyone we possibly know can find out about it. Instead of focusing on ourselves, bettering ourselves and growing in life, we put our time and energy into other people, which yields no value, but feeds our stupid little insecure minds.

What I am asking you today is to be beyond all of that. You have a long way to go in life. Between finding yourself and finding your purpose, your to do list is as long as the Bible. The last thing you should do is procrastinate with other people’s nonsense and get involved in things you shouldn’t even be sticking your head in.

But as a generation, we love to procrastinate so most of you won’t take my advice. There will, however, be the handful of people that put themselves beyond worrying about other people, who start focusing on themselves and where their lives are going.

What you are forgetting is that you have a finite amount of energy. The amount of energy you expend worrying about others takes away the energy you devote to yourself – and in no way, shape or form helps you do anything but waste your time. And time is working against you.

You should be selfish and you should remove yourself from all the nonsense and drama that may occur in your life. It holds no value and works against you. Stop thinking that you have to do something just to fit in or to be considered in good graces with your friends.

When you stop caring about what other people think and stop giving them your energy, they will actually want you more. But don’t fall into their trap, they are just miserable and trying to drag you down. People often base their decisions on what others may think of them, and live their life as others may want them to, but that is just like wearing a mask — and when you wear a mask for too long you might lose what’s underneath it

In short, other people are your worse enemies. Stop depending on them for things and stop trying to worry about them or letting them affect your life. Make decisions based in your best interests, do what you truly want to do and don’t ever live a life someone else wants you to live, because there is no happiness in the long term from it. People suck, you rock, care about yourself and do whatever the f*ck you want.

(This article is taken from http://elitedaily.com)