The Protégés G1 – Day 31

“Glossophobia” is defined as the fear of public speaking, or speaking in public. Mentor Mishari Al Mufarreh took on this session to teach the protégés how to combat the fear of public speaking. Mentor Mishari also explained the importance of body language, voice, and tone when speaking in public.

Mentor Mishari Al Mufarreh

Videos were shown to the protégés on what makes a good and terrible public speaker. Even presidents, sometimes, can be bad at public speaking. Mentor Mishari focused on the following structure when giving a good speech:

1. What: Start by telling a joke to break the ice with the audience then introduce yourself and your topic.
2. Why: Explain why you have chosen to speak about this topic.
3. What: Talk about the details of your topic.
4. How: End your speech with how the audience can help and end your topic.

The protégés were divided into groups of 3 to practice their public speaking skills. Within each group, each member had to talk about a random topic to practice using speech structure (what, why, what, how). One member from each team would act as the speaker, the other would be the audience, and the other would obverse the speaker and the audience’s reaction. The observer would then give back their feedback to the speaker.

Group exercise

After the group exercise, each protégé was called onto the stage to give a speech. The protégés seemed to be more confident and capable of tackling any topic that was given.

The Protégés and mentor Mishari

The Protégés G1 – Day 30

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” – Winston Churchill

Etiquette is a behavior, not a personality. Many think that etiquette is something snobbish, however, it is a way of showing polite manners. Etiquette projects confidence, authority, and a positive image.

Ms. Ma’ab Al Qasem, The House of Etiquette managing partner, welcomed the protégés to teach them about the basics of etiquette. To start things off, the protégés were given a short test to see how much they know about etiquette, and surprisingly the majority knew very little.

Ma’ab Al Qasem, managing director of The House of Etiquette

The protégés inside The House of Etiquette

Etiquette was created by Louis XIV, meaning the ticket in French. Ms. Ma’ab talked to the protégés about the history of etiquette during Louis XIV’s reign. She explained that after Louis’s death, there came many other forms of etiquette because different cultures had different norms.

The protégés were taught how to greet, introduce, sit, walk, and eat in the right manner. They were even introduced to the 12 different types of cutlery used for eating.

Ms. Ma’ab talking about the etiquette of eating

Ms. Ma’ab also talked to the protégés about etiquette when it comes to entertainment and event planning. She covered the differences between formal and informal events, different kinds of clothing worn at certain events, seating arrangements, and menu planning.

To assure that everyone understood the topic, the protégés were divided into 2 groups to put their etiquette knowledge to the test.

Picking a topic to be tested on

Testing the protégés knowledge about cutlery

To master etiquette, one must know the basics of etiquette through appearance, behavior, communication, and dining. Thanks to The House of Etiquette now the protégés have mastered these skills.

The protégés with Ms. Ma’ab Al Qasem inside The House of Etiquette

The Protégés G1 – Day 29

“The constitution is the guide I never will abandon”.  –George Washington

When we hear the word constitution we directly link it to a political matter, but in fact the constitution was never about politics. The constitution grants the rights of all the aspects of life, even personal matters. Everything in life has its own constitution; countries, companies, and even people have their own self-constitution.

Kuwait’s consitution

Sout Al Kuwait translated into The Voice of Kuwait was the destination for this day; a group of Kuwaiti men and women united in the desire to work for the advancement of Kuwait and the protection of its constitution and democratic system.

The protégés gathered in Sout Al Kuwait headquarters in Khaldiya, where Hessa Al Humaidi, one of the founders, introduced the organization and how it started. ’s residence, when Ms. Hessa Al Humaizi, one of the founders of Sout Al Kuwait, started off by introducing the organization to the students, how and why it started. The protégés were amazed by the persistence, patience, and perseverance of Hessa and the other founders.

Hessa Al Humaidi

Afterwards, the protégés headed to the Society of Engineer, without a clue of what to expect. Once they entered the society, they were taken through a journey of Kuwait’s constitution. Guides from Sout Al Kuwait stressed on the importance for every citizen living on this land to know their rights and how to appreciate this treasure because it was not given on a golden plate.

Constitution journey

Discussion circle

The long, harsh, journey Kuwait’s constitution went through was not simple and it is essential for each and every person to understand the past in order to appreciate what they take for granted today.

The Protégés with Sout Al Kuwait

The Protégés G1 – Day 28

“Tolerance and celebration of individual differences is the fire that fuels lasting love. “ – Tom Hannah

The protégés were fired up for today’s discussion with Dr. Ebtihal Al Khateeb, professor of arts in Kuwait University and social activist.

Dr. Ebtihal Al Khateeb during the session

Dr. Ebtihal started off my discussing the thin line between respect and tolerance and how it complements each other. Shed handed the protégés some articles and asked what they thought was the writer’s point of view on a certain matter.

A protégé reading the articles

A small exercise was conducted by Dr. Ebtihal to test the tolerance of each protégé. She said that everyone carries an invisible bag filled with personal beliefs, feelings, opinions, and point of views. She tested the protégés by talking about different situations and see where they stand on each matter. Most of the situations were simple, yet the protégés found it hard to take a stand due to the invisible bag they are carrying. The lesson was that in order to be tolerant, we must understand; and in order to understand we must take off the invisible bag.

The protégés discussion

After the mind stimulating lecture, the protégés asked Dr. Ebtihal questions on different subjects and she gladly listened and answered everything. Her tolerant and professional attitude truly civilized the level of discussion.

The Protégés G1 – Day 27

Today, the protégés were taken to one of the leading investment companies in the GCC region, Global Investment House.

Rania Banoub, Assistant Manager of Marketing Communications introduced the protégés to the “Global Family.” It was nice to see how a large and successful company has maintained and cultivated such strong relationships with its employees. All the departments had a specific purpose for being in the company, and operate together for the success of the company. Each department is just as equally important, and none have a higher priority over the other.

A tour around Global Investment House

The next speaker was Mr. Bader Al Sumait, who is Global’s’ Chief Executive Officer. He explained to the protégés about the history of Kuwait Stock Exchange, through its ups and downs, miseries and glories.

Mr. Bader Al Sumait

The protégés during the lecture

Later on, mentor Abdulaziz Al Loughani gave the protégés a lecture about entrepreneurship and how to become an entrepreneur in such a shaky economy.

The protégés discussion during the lecture

The last speakers for the day were representatives from Kuwait Small Projects, Mr. Al Rumaih and Mrs. Al Thunayan, who gave the protégés tips and tricks on how to start their own business in Kuwait and how Kuwait Small Projects can help.

Mentor Abdulaziz withe Kuwait Small Projects representative

The protégés group picture in Global Investment House

The Protégés G1 – Day 26

The element of surprise is one of The Protégés program main characteristic. The protégés were asked to wear Islamic outfits the previous day without a clue why.

At first, mentor Reem Al Hunaidi gave the protégés a brief lecture on how to be connected to god by practicing the five pillars of Islam.

The protégés arrived at the Grand Mosque, where the session will take place. The Grand Mosque is one of the largest mosques in the region. It spans over an area of 45,000 square meters, out of which the building itself covers 20,000 square meters. The mosque is worth KD 14 million. The construction of the mosque commenced in 1979, and was completed in 1986.

The protégés

The protégés

The protégés were given a tour around the mosque. They had the privilege to enter a special room, which was designed in 1986, and has not changed since then. It holds an attributed “Mus’haf” to the time of Prophet Mohammed’s companion Othman Bin Affan.

The protégés inside the Grand Mosque

Attributed “Mus’haf”

After the tour, the protégés were given a lecture by Sheikh Jaza’a Al Suwaileh about the flexibility of Islam when it comes to reading the Qur’an. By using the ten different methods of readings or قراءات people from all regions with different accents are able to read the Qur’an.

Sheikh Jaza’a Al Suwaileh

 

The Protégés G1 – Day 25

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around it.” – Michael Jordan.

Mentor Shamlan Al Bahar began the session by talking about basketball’s ultimate legend, Michael Jordan, who managed to leave a legacy even after his retirement. Michael Jordan was not only a basketball player, he was his own businessman and was able to successfully market himself.

Mentor Shamlan talking about Michael Jordon

Michael Jordan gained 6 Championships in his career as a basketball player. After his 3^rd championship, Jordan decided to retire as a basketball player because he believed he could not excel any further. He moved onto baseball for 2 years, then returned back to his first career and gained 3 more championships to please his fans. Throughout the years, many player have tried to overthrow his legacy, but none succeeded.

One of the protégés reading Michael Jordan’s quote

“My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.” – Michael Jordan. Many have tried to push weaknesses onto Jordan, and Jordan always managed to successfully prove them wrong.

“The economy has produced 6.1 million jobs since I became President, and if Michael Jordan comes back to the [Chicago] Bulls, it will be 6,000,001 jobs.” [Bill Clinton in 1995]. From basketball and sport shoes, to music videos and movies (Space Jam), Michael Jordan has even managed to influence the economy.

The Protégés G1 – Day 24

Being able to criticize everything is not critical thinking, on the contrary, using proper tools is what makes a person think critically.

Topic of the day

Dr. Amani Al Bedah was the guest of honor for today’s session. She started off by explaining that critical thinking holds no definition but uses seven tools, which are: defining the purpose, the question, related assumptions, related information, the alternatives, results and finally communicating with others by delivering one’s thought properly. She explained each point and gave the protégés some exercises to practice these tools.

Dr. Amani Al Bedah

Exercise one: Dr. Al-Bedah asked the protégés to write down their opinion about co-education or التعليم المشترك.  After analyzing the results, it turned out that most of the protégés wrote about the segregation in Kuwait schools and universities. However, co-education or التعليم المشترك could also be between any different types of people. This exercise proved the power of assumption and how it plays a huge role in our way of thinking.

Exercise two: It has been known that comedians are very good at critical thinking when coming up with jokes. So, the protégés were split into teams of four and had to write a joke using the seven tools of critical thinking. The jokes turned out to be very well written, even the one’s that were not funny used the tools effectively.

Presenting a joke

Exercise three: Critical thinking is a necessary to face life’s problems. Each protégé was given a balloon for this exercise. The task was to blow the balloon in any way they can. Some of the protégés were able to blow the balloon and some could not. Some figured out the problem while others kept trying repeatedly without thinking of a solution. The aim of this exercise was to encourage the protégés to look at what they have, think outside the box, and cooperate with others to turn the problem into a solution.

The protégés during the session

After the exercise, strong arguments were discussed with Dr. Amani. She explained that in order to build a good argument one should not depend on what experts say, but also on proof. She elaborated on the five tools that are used to build a strong argument.

At the end of the session, Dr. Amani highlighted the importance of questioning. One should always question the given information and and surroundings until they reach a convincing answer or a strong opinion.

The Protégés G1 – Day 23

Today, the protégés had to ensure that they had all the resources for their project’s success. The protégés learned the importance of project management, in terms of communication, task delegation, task management and team work. Mentor Rana Al Khaled explained the importance of electing a “Project Coordinator” to coordinate between the teams and manage the project as a whole.

The protégés during the session

The protégés who were interested in the position nominated themselves and a vote was held. Communication skills, professionalism, commitment, leadership skills, task management skills, and the ability to motivate others were key aspects taken into consideration. Arriving to a unanimous vote, Eman Al Rashied was chosen.

Project Coordinator, Eman Al Rashied

Minutes later, mentor Reem Al Hunaidi assisted in assigning objectives for each team, and mentor Abdulaziz Al Loughani elaborated on the importance of 3 issues:

• The team’s policy – the rules set by each team.
• The team’s procedures – what the team needs to do to achieve a specific task.
• The authority matrix – this is basically the organization of each team’s tasks based on their responsibilities.

Mentor Reem Al Hunaidi talking about the project objectives

The protégés taking notes

After all that has been said and done, the teams were now ready to make a change and start their project.

The Protégés G1 – Day 22

The protégés spent a day at Umami Culinary School, founded by Adela Al Sharhan and Shaikha Al Nafisi, learning how to start a restaurant from scratch and in a few hours. The protégés had to come up with the concept, the menu, and even cook the food and serve it.

Adela Al Sharhan and Shaikha Al Nafisi

The protégés were separated into 2 teams of 11, “Red” and “Blue”, each with a project manager to coordinate between the team members. Members of each team were divided into working in the kitchen, grocery shopping, and creating the concept of the restaurant. The concept of the restaurant included the interior design, layout, location, and budget breakdown. Each team was given a hypothetical budget of 20,000 KD to work with.

Ready for grocery shopping

Menu development

Concept development

The Red team’s restaurant was called “Naan”, which specialized in Indian cuisine. The Blue team’s restaurant was called “Il Bianco”, which specialized in Italian cuisine. With the help of Adela Al Sharhan in the kitchen, the teams were cooking some really good stuff. Shaikha Al Nafisi helped the members who were working on the concept of the restaurant, giving them advice on the interior design and budget breakdown.

The protégés cooking

The protégés cooking

The mentors who took the role of the judges evaluated each team’s performance, restaurant, and food.  With a close call, the Red team won. Umami awarded the winning team with a free cooking class. A big thank you goes to Umami for their time and for giving the protégés an unforgettable experience.

Mentor Shamlan judging the food

The protégés with Umami