The Soualiga Corporate Toastmasters Club, conducted a Youth Leadership program from March 4th to April 8th 2011. The execution of the program was handled by Toastmasters Leona Romeo Marlin as coordinator and assistant coordinator Catherine Arrindell-Conner on Tuesday and Friday afternoons.
The group of fourteen participants, whom were all children of civil servants, consistently showed up for every meeting, which was an impressive display of commitment on the part of the Youth Leaders. The participants showed considerable interest and enthusiasm in the program. Every Youth Leader presented two speeches, and received evaluations from coordinators and other Youth Leaders. The coordinators provided practical, "learn- by-doing" educational sessions at every meeting. Of all the activities in the program, the participants enjoyed the Table Topic sessions and the Debate sessions the most. All the meetings were conducted in a fun-filled atmosphere of mutual support, in keeping with the mission of Toastmasters International. The mission of Toastmasters is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills which in turn foster self confidence and personal growth .
TM Leona Romeo Marlin says, "Too often society emphasize on what our youths are not doing. It is time for that stigma to change as there are many youth leaders who are positively contributing to society. I am confident that all participants benefited from the program and will translate the added benefits to their school and out- of-school activities."
The final session ended on Friday evening, with friends and family witnessing what their children learnt in the program. The program can be considered without a doubt a great success.