Jamaican High School Students for Canadian Global Leaders Programme
May 11, 2010The Full Story
Ten high school students from Jamaica will be arriving in Canada shortly to participate in York University’s Emerging Global Leaders Programme (EGLP).
The students are from eight high schools – Ardenne, Calabar, Clarendon College, Cornwall College, Kingston College, Knox, Morant Bay and Excelsior – and will take part in the programme May 13 to 16.
Initiated by Toronto-based York University, the Emerging Global Leaders Programme is a “leadership retreat” that gives students the chance to gain skills and work towards goals in building their global awareness and leadership capabilities. It targets three groups – students attending York University; high school students in Ontario, Canada; and high school students in the Caribbean.
The Alliance of Jamaican Alumni Associations (AJAA), an umbrella group for some 35 Jamaican Past Students’ Associations (PSA) in Canada, is the coordinating agency for the Jamaican participants. They became involved four years ago.
Speaking to JIS News recently, former President and current Director of AJAA, Mr. Paul Barnett, described the programme as an innovative one. He explained that the Toronto PSAs sent the information to the principals and guidance counsellors at the schools, who selected participants with the best potential leadership skills and qualities.
Mr. Barnett said that, at the end of the programme, the students are expected to return to Jamaica and put whatever skills they have acquired into use at their individual schools.
Another segment of the EGLP takes place later in the year in Barbados. When the students return to Jamaica, at the end of that programme, they will work together on a joint project.
York University takes care of the students’ accommodations, while the PSAs take care of their travel expenses.
While in Toronto, the students will visit a Canadian high school and the Toronto Science Centre; interact with former students of their schools; and pay a courtesy call on Jamaica’s Consul General to Toronto, George Ramocan.