JEDDAH, 30 October 2003 — Al-Wurood International School organized a leadership training camp under the motto “Reach for the Stars” here recently.
The program was inaugurated by Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled Al-Maeena, who in his opening speech stressed the importance of compassion among the qualities that make an effective leader.
The primary objective of the camp was to realize the vision of a true leader, he said. “Leaders are ordinary people with extra-ordinary determination,” he added.
Among the various workshops and seminars was a session on “The importance of Vision and a Perspective on Leadership” conducted by M.C. Sebastian, the academic director of Al-Wurood.
Matthew Kurian, a past governor of the Toastmasters Club of the Gulf Region, presented a session on communication skills, demonstrating various techniques to enhance the oratorical skills of the students.
Al-Wurood Principal Mary Thomas spoke about “Setting Realistic Goals” on the second day of the camp, and George Tharakan, the chairman of the World Malayali Council’s Jeddah chapter spoke about time management, another important aspect of leadership.
Dr. Abdullah Moopen, a leading psychiatrist in Jeddah, focused on “Personality Development”, suggesting a number of strategies to help students develop their potential.
The final session made an attempt to put into practice some of the things the students had learned in the previous two days. A tower building exercise encouraged students to realize the value of concerted efforts and sought to bring about an awareness that failure can be a source of future success for people who are willing to learn from it.