AIMING to ignite the potential of underprivileged youths throughout Malaysia, a community programme is giving 100 teens a chance to flourish under the Spark Leadership Programme.
Spark, which is a result of the collaboration between ECM Libra Foundation, Epsom College in Malaysia and social enterprise Leaderonomics, intends to not only develop local youth’s leadership skills but provide them a platform to foster ties with those of different racial and cultural backgrounds.
Announced recently at ECM Libra headquarters in Jalan Dungun, Kuala Lumpur, ECM Libra Foundation chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan explained that children need to be inspired to be able to achieve things in life.
“It is also important for children to get to know each other and practise tolerance in view of their different cultural backgrounds,” he said.
Also present at the press conference was Leaderonomics chief executive officer Roshan Thiran and Epsom College Malaysia headmaster Martin George.
The programme will see youths participating in various activities including projects, game-based learning and leadership sharing by prominent Malaysian leaders such as Tan Sri Tony Fernandes as well as field trips to Putrajaya.
Spark will run from Dec 14 to 23 at Epsom College in Bandar Enstek, Sepang with the 100 participants aged between 13 and 16 selected from all over Malaysia through non-profit organisation Teach For Malaysia, the Education Ministry and via a social media campaign.
All participants will be fully sponsored and given accommodation at Epsom’s boarding houses during the programme.
Spark will also have a live project called Lead Challenge, which participants must complete to graduate from the programme.
In this project, participants will be divided into teams and allocated a sum of money to
design, develop and execute a live community project during the duration of the programme.
The Lead Challenge is designed to ensure that participants quickly apply what they learn and integrate these skills into their personal leadership journey.
Kalimullah said he hoped to see an increase in the number of participants in the coming years and to keep the programme going.
ECM Libra Foundation aims to provide financial assistance for educational purposes to underprivileged Malaysians, irrespective of race, religion or creed.
For more information, contact Spark programme director Marcus Lim at marcus.lim@leaderonomics.com
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
