The Final Day

March 14th, 2015

Written by, Samer Ebbini

MELA 6’s last day started off with an impassioned and inspirational talk by Mr. Mohammad Husain, President & CEO of EQUATE.

His attitude and dedication to addressing the needs and development of the next generation of leaders was impressive and encouraging!

The session was attended and enjoyed by special guests, MELA alumni from previous academies and many others.

After a hefty lunch and a session about the ‘Power of MELA’, it was the time for the GRADUATION… but first, the speeches by Mr. John Pay from Shell Kuwait and Mr. Qusai Al Amer from Kuwait Oil Company.

The great KOC team that facilitated and supported MELA’s academy to reach its full potential.

 Hana giving her heartfelt thoughts about what this all means to her…

Dhari being showered with praise and compliments.

Cindy basks in the glow of the limelight with Ms. Meisa Batayneh (MELA Chair) and Michael Kouly (Board member and speaker) on either side.

Suleiman: “What Can I say? You have to try it to believe it!”

Mrs. Neveen El Tahri, new board director, participated throughout the ceremony and was glad to award her protégé, Yasmine, with the graduation certificate.

Joy, laughter and friends forever!!

The stupendous MELA Admin Team finally relaxing enough to be silly and smile J

MELA 6 - a class to be reckoned with

The final dinner was a casual and joyful affair

The Band of Brothers

Final goodbyes the morning after

The Capstone Project

March 13th, 2015
Written by Maya-Nora Said

This Morning Victor drilled into us the essence of being effective decision makers.

Invaluable insight that cannot be better delivered by such a pro!

Next in line: The Capstone Project! An exercise bringing participants together to work in harmony on a project that they conceive and truly believe in. 

This year we turned the tables around and challenged the participants to come up with genuine ideas on how they can truly effect and improve their community! 

…And they’re off to the races…

Dhari making the case for 

MELA’s new Junior’s Youth Schools

                             Group 5's Project‘Promoting Efficient Energy Use in the Middle East'.

                                          Qais’ calm demeanor always wins over the crowd.

Guest Speakers and Projects

March 12th, 2015

Written by Maya-Nora Said

We all have had to deal with challenging problems and Victor told us how to solve these problems in a creative way. Bill was our second speaker of the day and spoke about how to hold others accountable. We learned valuable skills enabling all the participants to generate more creative solutions to the most challenging problems. 

Victor and the bowling trophy  

Muatz singing the blues

We learned a specific skill that will hold others accountable for missed expectations, broken promises, and generally bad behavior in a way that solves the problem and enhances the relationship.

We had two guest speakers Antoine Eid, Managing Partner, Leaderpership Consultants  and Wissam Darwische, Executive Director, principal Investments, Waha Capital .Antoine explained how we could use brain science in leadership and team performance and Wissam told us about securing and financing in the region. Written by Maya-Nora Saaid

Antoine Eid

Wissam Darwiche

Antoine taking over

Who doesn't like twister

Twister to an alien level

Blue's, Red's, and Bowling

March 11th, 2015
Written by Maya-Nora Said

Guess who was our morning speaker today? Yes, it was Jim! This morning he told us all about reds and blues, a negotiations exercise. The exercise yesterady morning provided us a metaphor for different strategies for approaching a negotiation and demonstrates the value of finding common ground and a collective identity. Jim also made us gain insight into real-life negotiations from the exercise.

Listening to what we should be doing

Petending to listen

Dream team

Who made Esam mad?

Ali being Ali

Mira!

After the negotiation

Out!

Mohamed was send to the corner

Still in the corner

Who wants to negotiate if you can take pictures?

Relaaaxxx

Afterword

Later that day we had a interview with Walid Al-Nader. Walid was telling us his experience as a leader and many people had questions. After lunch we went bowling, which the guys really liked and later to the oldest Kuwaiti souk (market), which the girls loved. We ended our night with a dinner at a Lebanese restaurant with a beautiful view on the sea. Written by Maya-Nora Saaid

Walid  Al-Nader and MELA 6

Faye and Emad

Qais

Technology interview

Amer and Dana at the Souk (market)

they see me rolling

Ginny won!

Lamees should shave her hair to fit in

Amal and MJ 

Leaders and friends