“When I grow up, I will be a President”. School students in Kazakhstan have been trained in leadership

More than 500 school students from Turkestan, Zhambyl, Kyzylorda Regions, as well as from Shymkent and Astana were brought together in the summer forum.

General academic schools in Kazakhstan often devote their primary focus to academic knowledge. Meanwhile development of the soft skills required for both successful social adaptation and career growth is often overlooked.

The Bulat Utemuratov Foundation has been implementing the Jas Leader Akademiiasy Program (The Young Leader Academy Program) in regional schools since 2021 to unlock the leadership potential of Kazakhstani school students and to assist them in training in soft skills such as leadership, critical thinking, communication, and emotional intelligence.

During a school year, the 5 to 11 grade students attend the extra-curricular classes where they are taught critical thinking, teamwork, speech-giving before public, and negotiation skills.

It has already been the third year in a row when the most active and motivated students are invited to the Jas Leader Forum in Almaty, arranged as a summer camp. More than 500 school students from Turkestan, Zhambyl, Kyzylorda Regions, as well as from Shymkent and Astana were brought together in the summer forum in Tau Samal Recreational Facility from July 6 to 16.

Parents of these children point out that after the leadership extra-curricular classes the students become more confident, they learn to give a speech before public, and their academic progress improves.

“My daughter attended classes during the whole year, and I have noticed she developed leadership skills. Before that she was very shy as relates to giving public speeches, didn’t take part in school events. She became more confident in the middle of Term 1 and even started doing some volunteering,” says a student’s mother Gulbarshin Kamalova.

“Those were extremely busy days! We solved different quests, did interesting tasks, and solved difficult problems during five days. I have met new friends. I am grateful to the hosts and teachers who helped me stop being afraid and lacking self-confidence. I have also overcome my fear of giving a speech in front of the camera. Now I would like to try to take part in debates and to give public speeches. And today my dream is to be a President when I grow up,” tells us 14-year-old Arlan Moldabekov.

Leadership classes are free: all expenses on supervisor trainings and auxiliary tools are incurred by the Bulat Utemuratov Foundation. Five million US dollars have been allocated for this five-year program (one million dollars per year).

“Our mission is to bring people, ideas and resources together to create useful and sustainable solutions which move our society forward,” says Marat Aitmagambetov, Bulat Utemuratov Foundation Director. “This is how the idea to create the youth program that could help school students learn important life skills was born.”

More than 36 thousand of children and 217 supervising teachers from 124 schools all around the country have been trained for the time of the Jas Leader Akademiiasy implementation.