VIP Event - Reception with HRH The Prince of Wales

One of the sure-to-be-remembered-highlight of MOSAIC 2013 was the Reception with HRH The Prince of Wales at his residence, the Clarence House. Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine such an opportunity, but it happened! 

Thank you to team MOSAIC for arranging such a special event, we were warmly received by HRH The Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness Princess Badiya. We were very honored that they took the time to address each and every delegate at the reception.

Truly MOSAIC is lucky to have such strong support from all its Management and staff, I sincerely feel that this is the key of MOSAIC's success (and more).

Spot me in pink!

Do You Love What You Do?

The morning kicked off with personal leadership journeys shared by Mr. Stephen Howard & Mr. Khawar Mann. Both leaders who gave us valuable insights that went straight through my heart! Briefly the points were:

1. Ask yourself: "What do you do that matters?" (Shared by Stephen from his conversation with Mother Theresa) Wow, this really got me thinking...what have I done with all my time..did any of it matter/left an impact for the betterment of us/society?
2.  A key factor of success is LOVING what you do! It will help you have conviction for what you do. 
3. It is okay to move jobs often but make sure you leave when you are doing well so ur moves will be seen as a series of wins & not a series of losing. Its important to be honest with yourself on the reasons of your move & take action on it..are you just bored or do you really want to change? Are you just making excuses & not enough effort?

In the afternoon we had Dr. Alan Knight share on Sustainability. It may be a common concept in more developed nations but not in developing ones. From my own personal experiences I know that awareness of this concept is still not enough. 

Its interesting how sustainability is so relevant to the Quranic teachings ["And when it is said to them, 'Do not cause corruption on the earth..."-Surah Al Baqarah Verse 11 or "...And do good as Allah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters." - Surah Al-Qasas Verse 77] especially on our role as caretakers of the earth & how we should be responsible in our use of it. 

Leaders must think in advance e.g. 27 years ahead. A good question to consider is 'how does my my country want to look like in 2050' before implementing policies for the country...I thought his session was such an eye opener..will have it in my action plan to raise awareness on recycling/sustainability at the very least within my household & department.

Till the next post!

Day 2 - Bringing Communities Together & Empowering Young People

The day started of with a panel discussion by 3 successful British Muslims (Aaqil Ahmed, Peter Sanders & Bushra Nair CBE) and their contributions or efforts to bring communities together. Listening to their experiences really reflects the whole spirit of MOSAIC which was to highlight the contributions of British Muslims in the UK. 

Some key points I gathered from the panel session were:

1. You have to be creative & bold to explore ways of raising awareness of new/unknown issues in society. People may respond positively to these issues.
2. Set yourself a time limit to achieve the goals you have set. Work towards it, achieve it and leave (and of course, move on to new goals)
3. Bushra's amazing quote - "What do you want to be remembered for when you leave the room?" So always leave an impact (positive of course) in whatever you do.

In the afternoon, we had John May from the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Foundation sharing ideas on the top challenges affecting the youth in our community today as well as the opportunities that exist to address such challenges. One of it is through the Duke of Edinburgh Award and I must say, I think its an awesome award. I understand its only made available in private schools in Malaysia at the moment. I think it should expand to public schools/colleges so that it would give incentive to these children (whom would not be as exposed to more interactive/extraordinary activities as the more privileged students do) to challenge themselves and try new things. There is a need to develop our youth to be more involved in community and extra-curricular activities. (I know I hated it back in school!) [John May has blogged about his session with us & has attached the link to his slides...click here]

So thats the end of the second day. Our perspectives are expanding by the day Alhamdulillah :)

Till the next post!

Living out of your comfort zone!

Alhamdulillah we survived Day 1 (and the cold, wet London weather). We were priviliged to have Ms. Deema Bibi, CEO of Injaz and Baroness Warsi share their personal leadership journeys with the Mosaic delegates today. Some of the key points I got from their sessions are:

1. Always question things, when you question you open the room for making improvements, changes.
2. To go fast, you go alone...to go far, you go together/in a group..so kindness is essential as it will help you in getting the support/help you need. 
3.  Identify the limits that have been set for you (by yourself @ by others/environment) and find ways to overcome them. 
4. Good leaders will open the paths to leadership for those around them..learn how to delegate & entrust others to take lead roles.
5. Learn to laugh/be positive about difficulties/hurdles you face..part of being a leader is accepting the fact that there will be hard times & that they can be overcome.

As female leaders, both speakers definitely inspired the female delegates & gave us the courage to know that yes, it is possible to assume leadership roles & manage your family at the same time.

We also had our first group session today & networked with other delegates over a delicious dinner at a local Turkish restaurant. The new things we are learning about each other's country/culture is amazing.. Highlight of the night was learning that women in Bangladesh get 6 months of maternity leave! Amazing! :)

In the beautiful campus of the Royal Old Naval College, Uni of Greenwich

Till the next post! :)

The Delegates Have Landed

Its 2.10pm and we have safely arrived London. The flight was good & I am thankful we had a transit. 7 hours was getting a bit tooo long!

Here's all of us from Malaysia! Met up with delegatea from Pakistan & Indonesia as well. :)

The Malaysians - Zhafri, Nasli, Sabrina, Me, Hui Yi, Aleeka & Alia

Testing!

Trying out the blogger for android function so it will be easier to give more frequent updates!

There will be 7 delegates from Malaysia & we have been communicating via our whatsapp group. Everyone is so pysched because we are leaving in about 12 hours!

Hoping for a smooth journey!

How I Learned About Mosaic

I was introduced to MOSAIC by my colleague, Siti Rosina who previously attended the Summit in Doha, 2011. The moment she received the email calling for applicants to the 2013 programme, she urged me to apply immediately! It was such an anxious time to keep waiting for the outcome of the interview, and I was so thrilled upon receiving the good news in April. I have been counting down days since then and after receiving our flight tickets two days ago, it is finally happening!

Siti Rosina is a really good friend of mine and she has recently left the organisation we work in. I am quite sad that she will no longer be sitting next to me at work but I know she is going to do awesome things out there! What she has imparted on me from MOSAIC was the inspiration that you get to want to do more, for yourself, for your country. She has shared many stories of what her fellow delegates have done/achieved and I must say, it is nothing compared to what I have gone through or done.

Myself, Fadzrul & Siti Rosina

So I have found out that I am in Group 6 and from the profiles we have shared through emails, I can tell I will be working with delegates from amazing backgrounds! 

Till then! 


P.S. 4 days to gooooooo!! :)