Kem Juara hosts 6th annual Toastmasters youth communication camp
KUCHING: The 6th annual Toastmasters Youth Communication Camp (YCC) was held from Sept 22 to 24 at Kem PLKN Juara, Serian. The actionpacked, three day camp attracted 160 students from 23 schools from the Kuching, Samarahan, Serian and Bau divisions.
Student Campers were put through an intense, fun-filled educational program specifically designed to develop their public speaking and communication skills; this included speechwriting, speech delivery and presentation for both prepared and impromptu speeches as well as judging workshops for speech contests.
Campers were divided into groups of 3-5 mentored by dedicated facilitators in speechwriting and speech delivery.
Apart from the educational components of the Camp, Campers went through an obstacle course on Day 2 and various teambuilding activities. Staying true to the Camp’ s ethos of experiential learning, daily reflection sessions helped Campers reflect on what they had learnt throughout the day; key lessons were the importance of teamwork, effective communication, and good planning. The Oscar Night on Day 2 saw Campers showcasing their acting skills and musical talents with original skits, beatboxing, singing and dancing on stage.
On Day 3, Kimberly Tan Hui Yuin from Lodge International School emerged triumphant in the Prepared Speech Contest with ‘Conquer the Chaos’.
Aaron Ong Wei Chung from Tunku Putra International School ranked second place, while Natasha Fung Chia Chee from Lodge International came in third.
In the Impromptu Speech Contest, Nur Fa’hira Fardela binti Mohammad Bakri from Kolej DPAH Abdillah outshone 11 other contestants to emerge as the champion, followed closely by Erwin James Chai Chang Jie from SM Lodge and Valerie Lee Sze Ying from SMK Green Road in second and third place respectively.
Formerly known as the Toastmasters Youth Leadership and Communication Camp (YLC), the camp was rebranded this year to better reflect its emphasis on public speaking and communication skills development.
Nonetheless, the spirit of the camp remained true to the Camp tagline, ‘Get A Life, Live The Dream.’ The YCC is spearheaded by the Kuching Toastmasters Club, and is led by Organising Chairperson, Stanley Ngu, and Principal Facilitator, Mike Lim.
They were aided by a dedicated team of 78 volunteers from Kuching Toastmasters Club as well as Toastmasters from other clubs including SEB, Hornbill and SAINS. Also in the team were 10 volunteers from CMSB, as well as past YCC alumni.
The YCC is made possible by the generous support of Camp Patron, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, and his ministry.
The YCC is further supported by sponsors – Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad, Titanium Foundation, Sarawak Energy Berhad, Quality Concrete Berhad and Hock Seng Lee Berhad.
For updates and more photos of the YCC, visit Toastmasters Youth Communication Camp YCC Facebook page ‘toastmastersYCC’.