Under the initiative of the Parish Council, Youth Leadership Programme 2010 was conducted by the Star of Arabia Club of Toastmasters International, at the premises of St. Mary's Church, Dubai, from 16 to 27 March 2010. In a total of 8 sessions, 25 children between the ages of 12 to 15 years were trained in Public Speaking and Communication skills.
In his opening address at the Grand Finale on 27 March 2010, Parish Priest Rev Fr Tomasito Veneracion highlighted the importance of such training. Rev. Fr. Varghese Chempoly, the Vice Provincial of the Capuchins who is also a competent communicator, addressing the audience outlined what impact an effective speech can produce in communication, and encouraged the 25 budding Toastmasters to continue to use the skills acquired from this training.
Following participants won the Prepared Speeches and Table Topics contests arranged during the evening: Prepared Speech category: (1st) Donald Francis, (2nd) Tresa Katrine and (3rd) Jason D'Sa. Table Topics category: (1st) Christy Paul, (2nd) Stefan Johan Paul and (3rd) Anaida D'Souza. Both contests were well-judged by guest Toast Masters, Mr. Hemant Mundra, Mr. Nelson Menezes and Mr. K.L. Nagarajan. In their evaluations, they explained in brief how the prepared speeches and table topics should be presented, while appreciating the speaking abilities of the contestants and also offering hints to improve on their weak areas.
Mr. Ayyap Hariharan, the current President of the Star of Arabia Club of Toastmasters, and Mrs. Revathy Venkatratnam, the main co-ordinator of this year's YLP, gave away the trophies to the winners. Each participant of the YLP was also given a certificate of participation. Both Mr Hariharan and Mrs Revathy admired the skills this batch of YLP participants have acquired in the short time of 8 sessions, and requested them to continue to practice and learn what is needed to master communication skills.
In appreciation for the support offered by the Toastmasters who attended for the programme, as well as those who conducted sessions in this YLP (but were not present on that day viz: Mrs Sheela Lobo, Mr. Avinash D'Souza and Mr. Balaji Nagabushan), each one of them was presented with a memento by Rev. Fr. Freddy D'Souza. Mrs. Aboline D'Cunha, Vice President of the Parish Council thanked the participants, their parents and all others who worked towards the success of the YLP 2010. She also offered the budding toastmasters a few tips to improve their knowledge which can in turn help in preparing of their speeches.
Here below are the first hand reactions of one of the participants, Jovita D'Sa:
Along with other participants, I joined the Youth Leadership programme with the hope of being able to enhance my speech. I learnt a lot from this programme.
TM Sheela Lobo, TM Hariharan, Mr. Avinash D'Souza and above all TM Revathy Venkatratnam taught us a lot as to how to deliver any speech in very presentable manner. I learnt that meetings held should start and end at the correct time. I learnt how to hide my nervousness by walking around, trying to be conscious about what I am speaking, grasping others interest and many more finer details. In order to have a really good speech, I must choose a good topic, rehearse and see that I finish the speech within the time limit. It was fun to learn how to evaluate speeches of others and what should I suggest so that the speaker can improve upon his speech. I came to know about the Table Topics, the way to handle a given topic and how to organize my speech. I was taught theimportance of listening and paying full attention to what the speaker is saying. I learnt to enhance my speeches using gestures, expressions, vocabulary and vocal variety.
All the tips given to us by our Toastmasters to prepare and deliver our speeches well were put to test on the final day of the programme when a contest on Prepared Speeches and on Table Topics was conducted. The audience were greatly impressed by the participants' performance and the feedback from the Toastmasters who were judging the contests. It was the most memorable evening for all of us.
Thanks to TM Revathy Venkatratnam, we were priviledged to attend one of the meetings of Toastmasters International Star of Arabia which gave us insight into the different type of speeches. She even requested Fr. Freddy to organize the Gavel Club for all those who wish to continue with this training and I am looking forward to join this club as soon as it is organized.
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