On the 12th November, Post 16 students from GEMS WSO hosted the first InnovaYouth UAE conference. It was set on developing leadership and communication skills among students to help them benefit their future. InnovaYouth was founded as a non-profit organisation, operating in 4 countries and providing information to over 7000 students. The organisation is based on the principles of giving students the tools they lacked in order to succeed in real-life situations, and deploying this in a rapidly developing country like the UAE opened it up to many more people. The event saw several business leaders and recognisable public speakers in the UAE, including May Ali, a speaker who will be attending the highly-anticipated Expo 2020 in Dubai. Each brought their own personal stories and equally inspirational messages to the audience.
We were first treated to a message from the head of InnovaYouth, Victor Ye. In it, he stated how excited he was to bring his company to the UAE in order to help develop and give students the skills they need to become successful. Afterwards, the UAE Team, lead by Aryan Raigangar, was introduced. The team also includes Raj Bhogal; current head boy of WSO, Rami Faahim and Zeyad Haggagg.
The first speaker, Orit Mohammed, treated the audience with her captivating story. Owner of Boon coffee, one of the UAE’s largest coffee roasters providing their coffee to several Jumeirah hotels in the region. A journey that was truly inspiring to many people in the audience, Orit grew her business from nothing by roasting and selling and even delivering home-grown coffee. One of the first points that she raised with the audience was the fact that she never took anything for granted and one of the first things on her mind was giving back to her community back home in Ethiopia where she came from.
Upon the first break, the audience was treated to a performance by two of our school musicians. This gave students a chance to meet some of the speakers and talk to them about their experiences. Refreshments were also served throughout the night. Blue Review interviewer Suhani was on hand to talk to the students about the evening and what they felt about the event and we were pleased to hear lots of positive feedback. One Year 9 student commented on how “emotive” and “personal” the various speakers were.
Secondly, there was Jude Chagas Pereira, the CEO of IYCON, a technology solutions company based in Internet City. He highlighted the importance of learning as well as leading quoting: “The best leaders are the best learners”. Another key takeaway that students were given was to surround yourself with people who are better than you in other aspects of your job, for example, someone that is better at number crunching or managing financial decisions. Jude used this example to show that you can always be learning from other people and evolving to become a better leader. The audience found the messages both inspiring and very amusing as there were many jokes that were cracked during Jude’s speech (including some PUBG references).
May Ali was the next speaker. Being a public speaker, she has experience speaking to large crowds of people across the UAE Ms Ali gave advice on how to improve communication and leadership skills and highlighted the importance of communication and speaking in everyday life especially in the workplace. Another key statement from her was that effective communication can influence people and improve their leadership.
Finally, there was a gripping and interactive speech from TJ Ahmed of PureCe. TJ Ahmed had discussed the importance of effective communication by using verbal and non-verbal methods such as sign language and hand signals. Mr Ahmed had also stated how vital communication is in situations and how leadership can be used to tackle risks and problems in business and the real world.
Several students believed that InnovaYouth was a great opportunity to learn about the several methods to improve their communication and leadership skills inside and outside of school. However, a year 9 student said ‘It would be better if it were a bit more interactive where he got time to sit with one of them for some questions’.
He had also said that he has gained a bit of expertise in the areas of leadership and communication and he is more aware of what the problems he needs to approach to improve both areas through the tips given.
Overall, the first UAE InnovaYouth Conference was a huge success. Powerful speakers delivered important and inspiring messages and ideas to the young minds of those who attended and it is safe to say that at least everyone took something away from the event, whether that be a pack of crisps or a piece of advice to use when starting a business.
By Cameron and Lewis Harrad
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