World Malayalee Council initiated the Youth Leadership Program for 16 high school students in August. The online program was sponsored by Good Souls Toastmasters and coordinated by Thomas and Maria Thottukadavil.
The award ceremony for the 16 participants will be held on Saturday, October 30, 2021, 3 pm, along with NJ Provinces Leadership Meet and celebration of the birth of Kerala. The meeting will be held at Syro-Malabar church fellowship hall, 508 Elizabeth Ave, Somerset, NJ.
Those receiving the certificates of the Youth Leadership program are Calvin Cherian, Ananya Raghunath, Sanjana Kaloth, Rithvik Rajesh, Alayna Zayb, Anjali Anil Nair, Nimay Sathees, Chinmayi Mahesh, Jayden Thomas, Giah Jaison, Tanvi Mareddy, Teja Mareddy, Ojas Rana, Noah Peter, Kalyani Anil, and Joanna George.
The Youth Leadership program is a program developed by Toastmasters International with the purpose of developing Communication and leadership skills among the youth. The program focuses on the assessment of current skills and helps the participants improve their communication and leadership skills through 8 different sessions. They also learn about parliamentary procedures by taking on roles as Chairman, Secretary etc.
The World Malayalee Council under the leadership of Mr. Philip Thomas, Mr. Sudhir Nambiar, and Mr. Pinto Kannampally hosted the online program. The Good Souls Toastmasters under the leadership the President Rosalin Thottumari sponsored the program. Paul Varghese, Leo Thottumari, Janette Markert, Manju Pulickal, and Somesh Chablani volunteered as speakers for different topics.
A typical Youth Leadership Program can be provided in any community in USA in concert with a Toastmasters club operating in that area.
The local clubs can be found through the website: