Dubai Leadership Conference: Bringing International Night Back

By Ingy Fahmy

Schutz students attended one of the most stimulating Leadership Conferences in Dubai (October 3-6). Schools from all around the Middle East flew into Dubai, and heads were put together in order for each school to create a strategic plan. Through the conference, a strategic plan was created to resume the festive tradition of International Night to Schutz American School. The Schutz students who attended the conference felt the urge to liven up the school by showcasing the diverse cultures that exist in Schutz.
In order to be able to come up with a strategic plan for each school, the conference organizers arranged for the participants to visit the Wild Wadi water park. During the time spent at the park, conference participants were separated teams to work on building the bridges from person to person and learning to be part of a squad. The objective was to have the ability to work together and cooperate within a group in order to have an effect on a greater cause.
Returning to the hosting school, the American School of Dubai (ASD), participants were sent off to find out more about their personalities and identities and getting acquainted with oneself helped with the developing of strategic plan through teamwork. Mr. Thomas Lungrin, a keynote presenter, talked about becoming true leaders and learning to work with what is available. Mr. Lungrin holds no college degrees yet he has managed to open one of the most leading retail furnishing stores, THE ONE (Total Home Experience), located all over the countries of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates. Through his presentation, he gave the following message that participants should follow for the rest of their lives, “Nothing great has ever been achieved without passion.” He taught participants to look for what would make them happy in the end, not what would make them successful.
The HSSC Treasurer, Aly El Attal, reflected on what he learned, “A fine leader is a fine servant.” The HSSC President, Youssef Talaat, added, “In order to be a true leader, one must discover the potentials of one’s team and execute them through a methodical and meticulous plan.”
The Schutz participants succeeded in completing this task of planning for an International Night and proudly presented the action plan in front of all the other participants.
The International Night will be taking place shortly to Schutz, and all people attending will witness the effects of the Dubai Leadership Conference that impacted the organizers of this event. Finally, the Schutz Coach, Kelly Sullivan stated, “I was proud to accompany the Schutz delegation, and I was pleased with their participation and with what they learned. They represented Schutz very well.”