AIESEC is a non-profit youth-run organization that strives to achieve peace and fulfillment of humankind’s potential by activating leadership qualities in youth. They provide exchange programs in terms of volunteering, creating a positive impact through social projects. The main vision of AIESEC in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) is to unleash youths’ true potential and unite them to strive for societal impact in the Perak community. They strongly believe that youths are the fundamental key in unlocking a better future.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, AIESEC in UTAR has adapted by organising their projects virtually to continue creating an impact towards the community based on the alignment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The fourth SDG, which is Quality Education, was the main goal of the Speak Up 6.0 Project, whereby AIESEC in UTAR envisioned to build confidence among every single Malaysian youth to speak to the world. They aimed to empower Malaysian students in gaining technical skills related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) which are useful for their future employment and entrepreneurship.
Speak Up 6.0 lasted 4 weeks from January to February 2021, including various activities from enhancing English communication to learning programming skills.
The key activities included:
- STEM Student’s project
- STEM Speak Up Workshop
- Speak Up Workshop
- Speak Up Challenge
The project has managed to help students gain technical STEM skills that can contribute to their future employment and entrepreneurship. In addition, Speak Up 6.0 also strived to increase students’ proficiency in English and to bring up the importance of the language. This was so that students would have more self-awareness and gain the confidence to speak up. For more information about the project, visit their official Facebook page, Speak Up.
Below are some testimonials from the local virtual volunteers of the programme:
“This four-week journey was fruitful and it is unexpected that a virtual connection kept us strong. I hope it will withstand till the end.” – Dheenosheeni A/P Maganthrin Kumar
“The whole Speak Up virtual volunteering journey was so wonderful. I made new friends, improved my personal development, gained priceless experiences and created cherishable memories in just a month.” – Sanjeetra Ravindharan
“Get to know lots of amazing people. Realize the purpose and responsibility of a volunteer.” -Tee Li Jia
For updates on future projects and more information on AIESEC in UTAR in general, follow their Facebook page.