第19屆展望青年領袖培訓練計劃開幕典禮

第19屆展望青年領袖培訓練計劃於6月30日下午1時30分在北約克市政中心會議廳拉開帷幕。 共有大概150名人士出席，包括本屆訓練計劃的50多名學員，義工、學員家長和社區人士。

開幕禮由展望青年執行委員會主席Johnny Ho負責致辭，他分享了自己十五年來在展望青年領袖培訓練計劃中作為學員、輔導員及統籌委員的得著，除了學習成為領袖，亦在當中建立長久的友誼關係。Johnny 亦介紹展望青年領袖培訓練計劃如何支持學員學習，他亦鼓勵學員，他們已經踏出人生重要的一步。在典禮中，Johnny 介紹董事會的成員、執行委員會成員、課程執行團隊、輔導員及其他義工。

本次活動的主題講員是成功教育中心的教育董事蔡梓康先生。他在演講中分享給學員如何成為一個快樂的中學生，他提及保持開朗及把握每個學習機會的重要性。他亦列舉了多個青少年改變世界的例子，指出青少年要憑信心踏出自己的安舒區，以成為一個領袖。

於開幕禮上播放了於前一天舉行的迎新活動的影片。所有學員通過破冰遊戲、定向越野及團隊任務等活動互相認識，互相熟悉，在短時間內建立了團隊友誼，大大提高了積極性，為即將到來的培訓項目的順利展開打下了基礎。

開幕禮完結前，本屆50多名參與3個不同程度領袖課程的學員一一亮相，他們被分為7組，以不同的方式展現了各隊學員的創意及對即將開始的課程的期待。

展望青年亦在典禮之前為家長開設了茶會，解答他們對孩子參加領袖培訓計劃的各項活動所提出的疑問，進行更加深入、有針對性的交流，確保課程的順利和安全進行。

展望青年領袖培訓計劃（Vision Youth Leadership Program）於2001年成立。作為一個非營利性組織，其宗旨在於幫助青少年培訓生活技能，培養社交能力，造就完美的心理素質，以便將來更好地融入社會。不同於教育機構的教學模式，展望青年摒棄了給孩子灌輸知識的傳統教育方法，重在發覺及發展展望學員的潛能，寓教於樂，在接觸大自然的同時增長社交能力。展望青年組織為學員提供良好的環境以便學員能夠在自信心、溝通技巧、公開演講技巧、人際關係和團隊合作能力、領導才能、個人責任、社會責任、政治和社會問題的認識以及認識並愛護大自然等方面取得突破性進展。

展望青年領袖培訓計劃電話: 416-800-4040或瀏覽  www.visionyouth.ca

Journey into the Wild (Outdoor Survival Camp)

Bacala, Alexandra Rose Callanta

From the 11th to the 12th of August 2018, the Silvers had their Outdoor Survival Camp at Everton Scout Camp. They were joined by the Outdoor Leadership Team as well as two experienced wilderness first aid trainers: David and Casey. The camp was designed to teach the Visioneers how to survive and perform first aid in a wilderness setting.

In order to survive in the wild, the youth were taught to create an A-line shelter and a natural shelter to maintain body heat, a smoke signal, a campfire to keep warm, and wilderness first aid. Wilderness first aid is different from your typical first aid because injuries are more likely to be neck and spinal fractures at dangerous places such as on a cliff or in rapids. 

Other than building a shelter and campfire for the night, the participants also had to go through an obstacle course with a twist. The Visioneers were pushed to their limits but worked well together as a team because their interpersonal skills were enhanced. They also learnt to trust and care for each other more, and ensured that everyone was always together. Overall, it was a taxing yet extraordinary experience.

Closer Connections (Bark Lake)

Bacala, Alexandra Rose Callanta

On 6 August 2018, the Bronzes and Silvers went cabin camping in Bark Lake Leadership and Conference Centre for three days and two nights. The trip was not only for the Visioneers to have some fun, but to also improve their team building and interpersonal skills.

On the first day, we met the Bark Lake staff that would facilitate the various leadership tasks: Alex, Jennifer, Val, Seana, and Andrew. For them to get to know the people of Vision Youth, plenty of icebreaker games were played. After that, we were given a tour of Bark Lake; with the Bronzes split into two teams: Martens and Fishers, whilst the Silvers remained as one group. All three groups had different activities to do during their stay which included: low ropes, high ropes, kayaking, canoeing, and voyageur canoeing.

In addition to the activities mentioned above, the Bronzes played “Capture the Flag” with the Bark Lake staff and volunteers. Moreover, we went on a night hike led by Jeffrey Zhang to go stargazing. Despite the difficulty of navigating to Second Beach due to water elevation, everyone managed to get through safely with the help of the volunteers. Also, once we arrived at Second Beach, there were only a few visible stars because of the cloudy weather, yet Karen Au made our hike worthwhile by telling us stories about the constellations. 

On Day 2, the Bronzes continued doing their team building tasks while the Silvers were tested on their survival skills. The Silvers were divided into three groups that had to canoe to different checkpoints and finish different team building challenges. Later, the Visioneers were assigned to create a skit in their superhero teams. They were to perform their skits around a bonfire after dinner and the bonfire was later used to make smores. Nonetheless, as excitement grew, so did mischief. However, after being warned once, the Visioneers behaved themselves immediately.

Last but not least, it rained on the third day, but that did not stop the Visioneers and Bark Lake from doing their last activity together. On the whole, the camp was a great time for relationships to deepen through communication and courage which was learnt through the many leadership activities in Bark Lake.