52 Bahraini youth mobilized for social entrepreneurship at 1st annual Leadership Bridge Programme

Inspired by Dubai-based Ms. Rama Chakaki, CEO of Baraka Ventures, the five teams of ten students each, assisted by a cadre of volunteer mentors, designed strategies to support the Down's syndrome community, and address the issues of water pollution, women's rights and bullying.

The winning team, presented a plan to engage youth with preserving their cultural heritage, encouraging interaction with the older generation and reviving traditional outdoor games in favour of and in complement to the electronic games they now play.

The teams were judged on their presentation skills, team work, use of social media, and ability to devise plans that had the best chance of being self sustaining and economically viable.

The weekend-long event, the Leadership Bridge Program (LBP), was organized by Young Arab Leaders Bahrain (YAL) in partnership with 3BL 'Triple Bottom Line' Associates Consultancy.

The programme focused on leadership, teambuilding, and creative thinking; emphasizing ethical leadership through positive social action. It also offer participants the opportunity to apply their theoretical learning through 'social action projects', where participants designed a social enterprise model (using a business model to address a social or environmental issue) to solve issues facing society.

In addition to the plenary speaker, leading GCC social entrepreneur, Ms. Chakaki, the program also benefited from sessions led by a high calibre group of speakers. Local entrepreneur, Mr. Suhail Al Gosaibi, presented the "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens". Mr. Mohammed Mattar and Mr. Andrew Card from EMIC Training spoke on "Your Passion and Your Future" and Ms. Elham Abdul Razzaq of Capital Knowledge led a session on ethics and helped the group think through several ethical dilemmas.

The programme was hosted at the Gulf Aviation Academy (GAA) at their facility near the airport in Muharraq. The highlight of the program's first day was the mock aircraft evacuation teambuilding exercise led by the expert GAA staff. Beyond getting to experience leaving an aircraft via the inflatable slide, the participants learned the importance of being ready and prepared in the case of any emergency and the importance of maintaining your cool and doing your duty faithfully when under pressure.

Key support for the program was also provided by creative partner, Gulf Marcom, which created all the promotional materials and marketing collateral.

At the end of the weekend, Mr. Amin Al Arrayed, a member of the YAL Bahrain leadership presented trophies to the members of the winning team as well as certificates to all the participants.
The program, which is expected to be an annual event, serves as an important bridge between high school and university by honing leadership skills, promoting youth empowerment, and inspiring young leaders to play an active role in constructively shaping their country for the better.