‘The best thing about this event is being able to experience other people’s culture in life rather than just reading in books.’ UK Young Ambassador
‘This provides the opportunity for young people to be real leaders; to have more confidence and to have more courage to face all possible problems and solve them by themselves.’ Teacher from Taiwan
‘Can I be like you?’ Malaysian primary school participant to a Young Ambassador
At the beginning of March, young people from the UK, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan got together to represent their countries as Young Ambassadors. They met in Malaysia to further develop their leadership and team-building skills as well as enhance their cultural awareness by working side-by-side in teams of mixed nationalities to organise a 1-day sports festival for 300 young primary school pupils from 10 Kuala Lumpur Schools.
The Sports & Culture Festival took place at the Malaysian National Olympic Training Centre and was a colourful blend of fun and exciting games, sports coaching and other healthy cultural activities. All the activities were designed to enable every single child to fully participate, regardless of sporting ability or physical fitness, therefore inspiring them to continue with healthy pursuits in the future. Due to physical disabilities or weight problems, some of the primary school participants had never been taken part in sport before, yet the Young Ambassadors ensured that everyone was included.
Following the festival a Youth Leadership Conference was held for all of the Young Ambassadors. Forum-style discussions focussed on how they will continue their Young Ambassador role in their country, inspire hundreds more young people in their community and continue to communicate with their new friends and colleagues. There were also some candid interviews with Young Ambassadors who had really been on a journey of personal change and development as a result of their week of work with their international friends.
The conference ended with the Young Ambassadors presenting their experiences and thoughts to their teachers. Combining their natural artistic flair and ICT skills to produce some stunning presentations, these young people were real naturals at presenting on a big stage and once again stole the show.
The truly inspiring event has been captured on camera and video and you can see more by visiting the Dreams + Teams online community at www.dreamsandteams.org or read some of the reflections from those who were there:
‘Thank you for giving me the opportunity to have such an amazing experience because I will never forget it and it has really made me think about my future, built me up as a person to understand other peoples cultures as well as helped me make a lot of friends from all over the world.’ Young Ambassador UK
‘It has really changed my students mind set in positive way.’ Indonesian Teacher
‘I now know that working alone brings you no where but as a team we can do it.’ Young Ambassador Singapore
‘Young people make things happen. Trust them and give them the tools – they will deliver.’ UK Teacher
‘I will definitely be more confident in myself and get involved in as many children’s education programmes as possible. ‘Be the best you can be’ UK Young Ambassador
‘I’ll come back [from this event] with a new spirit to change my environment to be better than now. I’ll try to spread leadership to my friends.’ Young Ambassador Indonesia
‘I would like to do this in the future in the UK. I would love to do this again and again. I will never get bored of this because it is such an experience.’ UK Young Ambassador
‘Thank you very much for having belief and trust in us to give us the role as groups managers. We had loads of fun, memories and new experiences that will not be forgotten.’ Young Ambassador Malaysia
“The best thing was to hear the children who came to the Young Ambassador event saying they were ‘happy and full of smiling’. Teacher from Thailand
‘ I don't know about inspiring youth but the adults were also inspired by the Young Ambassadors. The experience gained for the Young Ambassadors will remain with them for ever.’ UK Teacher
‘I am more confident and happy. I am proud of what I have done. I didn’t ever imagine it to be like this.’ UK Young Ambassador
Dreams + Teams have also recently given UK and South African pupils and teachers a life changing experience in South Africa. For more information click here.