Day 4 - 7 Feb 2009

Today is the last day of the AYLC 2009.

We first started out by playing the cultural games of the various countries. This was then followed by a telematch against the 4 families. It was so fun as we cheered for our respective families. Everyone was in high spirits by then. It was then followed by a telematch for teachers. It was the TongXiang teachers against the overseas teachers. Again, the indoor basketball court was filled with thunderous claps and cheers from the AYLC participants. It was no doubt that we enjoyed ourselves during the telematch.

After dinner, we had our farewell concert. There were cheers, songs and dance throughout the night. The best part of the concert was the fireworks and firecrackers. We were awed by the beautiful colours of the fireworks and the loud explosions made by the firecrackers. It was the most interesting experience for most of us since this is the first time we got to see the fireworks so near to us. The concert ended with a briefing by one of the organisers. He related to us on what he has observed throughout the convention and explain the importance of being a good leader and forging frienship among us despite the differences in languange and culture. We then had our chance to bid goodbyes to our new friends. It was indeed a touching moment for some of us.

Day 3 - 6 Feb 2009

It's day 3 and the programme is all set and ready to go as almost all the participants have arrived at TongXiang Quishi Experimental Middle School. The weather today is as cooling as the day before.

Today, the programme started off with a forum by Dr Yap Meen Sheng on Culture and Leadership . It emphasized on the importance of practising leadership skills accompanied by moral values and that leadership is about relationship and not position. The forum ended well with Mr Yap answering a few questions posed by the participants of the convention.

It was then followed by a treasure hunt where we were given more opportunities to know and work with the members of our leadership group. We also started memorizing the common

cheers as we go through the activities! =)

The day did not stop there as we continued to prepare our group item for the song singing session. We had a jolly good time preparing and taking part in the session that was held in the evening. All these activities made us more attached to our group members .

The day ended with high spirits among all the participants, including the teachers!

We are looking forward to a better day tomorrow!

Day 2 - 5th Feb 2009

Day 2 of the Asian Young Leaders Convention 2009 started with the Opening Ceremony of the Convention. It was followed by a forum on Leadership & Politics by Mr. Chen Weihong, the Executive Vice-President and Secretary of the Party Committee of Communist Party School. The students were dismissed for lunch after that. As there was some free time before the next programme starts, we decided to take a walk around the track. Below are some photos of the students having some fun.








The students attended a 2nd forum on Leadership & Entrepreneurship by Mr. Shen Minghu, President of Zhejiang Tonghui Dyeing & Finish Co. Ltd, at 2pm. After which they were gathered in their respective "Family" group (made up of 3 leadership groups) to go through the first CD Programme where they learnt character development through building relationship, interaction and working with SLs from other schools.

After dinner, the students went through Cultural Immersion (2) where they get to play some of the cultural childhood games. The objective is to let the students realise that one doesn't need computers or online games to have fun but they can also have fun through traditional games that requires little equipment or even games that do not require any logistics.

Day 1 - 4th Feb 2009

Its been an exciting day for all of us here.

We touched down at Shanghai at 0605 hours. The first thing that made us all amazed was the cold weather and the fact that smoke came out of our mouth as we speak. The journey continued with a 2 hour bus ride to TongXiang Quishi Experimental Middle School.

In contrary to the cold weather, we were warmly welcomed by the TongXiang students as they helped us with our luggages and clapped and cheered as we made our way to the meeting point. There were other schools who were with us as well.

After briefing and unpacking our luggage at the hostel, it was free time and we spent it together. There were not much programmes except for movie sreening as there were still many more participants who were on their way.To make use of the time we had, we decided to play basketball with the First Toa Payoh student leaders and teacher-in-charge. It was really fun and great as we were able to bond with others and improve our basketball skils at the same time. We were all sweating by the end of the game despite the 6 degrees weather! We then decided to run around the field. The feeling of the wind brushing against us was great.

The day continued with movie screening, dinner and culture immersion programme where the students get to warm up with the members in their leadership group.

Time passes really slowly today but we are just glad to be here. Look out for more updates!

Leaving on a Jetplane

As we wait for the flight, the student leaders are writing their reflections. Everyone is very excited about the trip and have been chattering non-stop despite the late hours. Here are the comments made by the participants of the trip:

Sheng Jie: "I'm excited because this is the first time I am going overseas with friends and teachers! I hope to make new friends in China and learn more aout their culture."

Jovin: "I am looking forward to learn about leadership and politics in China!"

Jin Li: "Looking forward to this trip because this is the first time I am going to such a cold country!"

Ms. Suhaila: "This is my first time to China and this is also the first time I am acompanying students overseas. I am definitely looking forward to the new environment and hope to learn more about China and my students."

Look out for the updates. We are going to board the plane now. Bye!