JEDDAH — Toastmasters International in coordination with International Indian School-Jeddah (IISJ) conducted a Youth leadership Program for boys and girls recently. Indian Social activist Dr. Zafar Mahmood was the chief guest of the girls YLT inauguration ceremony. An inspirational message by IISJ Principal Syed Masood Ahmed started the event, which included a talk on importance of public speaking & a presentation on Introduction of Youth Leadership Training Program by Toastmaster Samia Khan, followed by captivating speeches by Gaveliers Abida Abdullah and Iman Aqeel Khan. These two girls represented IISJ Gavel Club at Saudi Arabian Toastmasters Annual Conference 2015 and 2016 respectively. Toastmaster Zainab Mulji conducted an impromptu speech session. IISJ Girls Vice Principal Mrs. Farah presented the girls with Toastmasters' Gavel Pins. She also introduced the trainers, TMs Samia Khan, Zainab Mulji, Aqeel Jamil, Shafiqur Rehman and others. Gavalier Safia Meer and Asma Zain hosted the event. Jamil introduced Dr. Zafar Mahmood and highlighted his contributions for the community, especially the Indian youths. He also joined Principal Syed Masood Ahmed in presenting Dr. Zafar Mahmood the plaque of appreciation. Around 400 attendees were present, including 250 participating girls from 9th to 12th grade with their parents, school staff HM Girls Mrs. Rita Sharma, HM Boys Noufal Palakoth and guests including Anjum Iqbal, Arshad Saeed and Syed Abid Mahmood. Dr. Mahmood appreciated the performance of the Gaveliers. He said he was very impressed with the performance of the girls and that the skill of effective communication combined with systematized studies could be a powerful tool to crack competitive examinations. Dr. Mahmood, former Haj Consul, Founder of Zakaat Foundation was also former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's officer on special duty for Muslim affairs and helped in drafting the Sachar Commission Report. The Zakaat Foundation of India is involved in preparing the youths for Indian Civil Services Examinations and has a very successful track record, as 17 ZFI trainees of the total 34 qualified. He emphasized the importance of Civil Services in India, as all the major decisions and implementation of government polices are carried out by the bureaucrats. Therefore, he urged the youth to eye this as a career and advised them to start preparing from class 9th onward. Dr. Mahmood also had an interactive session with boys and girls of class 12th and gave valuable recommendations for their future careers. This Youth Leadership Program is being organized by Area 16 of Division K District 79 (Saudi Arabia) under the leadership of Area 16 Director Toastmaster Aqeel Jamil. Under this program, 250 girls and 200 boys of IISJ of class 9-12 have enrolled for public speaking training. For training the boys, a team of seasoned Toastmasters was involved which include TM Aqeel, TM Abdul Sami, Division K Director, TM Usman Omer, Division K PQD, TM Shafiqur Rehman, TM Riyaz Sarang, DTM Bobby Ensomo, TM Nasir Khursheed, TM Omer Aqeel Khan, TM Siraj and others. Toastmaster Aqeel informed that for the boys all the eight sessions of training has been completed while for the girls it is in process. The graduation ceremony for both has been planned after the vacation. He also stated that in today's competitive world public speaking is the most powerful tool to empower the youth. He thanked IISJ management for their cooperation.
