About 450 graduates of Jas Leader Akademiiasy Program participated in the Forum in Almaty
The Jas Leader Akademiiasy Program was launched by Bulat Utemuratov Foundation in 2021 in 50 schools of the Turkestan Region and the city of Shymkent. Approximately 12.5 thousand students of 5-11 grades studied critical thinking, teamwork, public speaking, and argumentative expression throughout the school year. 450 students, who demonstrated high activity and motivation, became participants of the first Jas Leader Forum in Almaty, which was held in two streams and ended on July 17.
While greeting the forum participants, Minister of Education Askhat Aimagambetov noted, “The Jas Leader Akademiiasy Program has given you the tools to develop the skills that are in demand today, to unlock your creative and leadership potential. Now the using of gained knowledge depends on you. We are confident that you will make a great contribution to the establishment of the New Kazakhstan!”
During five intense days the students participated in training sessions and games, where they were able to practice the knowledge and skills of leadership, decision-making and communication. According to student of 11-th grade at School No. 14 in Turkestan, Aiaru Bakytzhankyzy, the leadership program helped her overcome the fear of public speaking: “I’d been attending all the Jas Leader Akademiiasy electives since September at my school. During this time I stopped being afraid to speak and express my opinion, because I have acquired the knowledge of how to prepare properly for the performance. But most importantly, I learned to listen to others, to interact with them. By respecting each other, we find solutions together.”
The Jas Leader Akademiiasy Program solves one of the most important tasks – providing access to up-to-date knowledge in the Kazakh language. According to Marat Aitmagambetov, Director of the Bulat Utemuratov Foundation, a lot of work had been done together with experts to collect and adapt the best foreign practices: “This is the first time we’ve brought international best practices together into one program to be conducted in the native language at schools. When I met the participants of the Forum, I saw their enthusiastic eyes and heard about their successes and victories from them. So we are on the right track and will continue to develop projects aimed at the younger generation of Kazakhstanis.”
Teachers involved in the project were also able to learn new things. Gulzhan Saulenbekova, a teacher in Turkestan, admitted that the knowledge and skills she gained help her not only in work with her students, but also in relationships with her children, “Teachers always have a tremendous workload and sometimes behind the routine we forget that our main task is to help children on their educational journey. By taking the Jas Leader Akademiiasy preliminary training for teachers, I began to encourage students to speak up and discuss, and our lessons became more interesting. My love of the profession came back to me. Even my children have noticed that I have become more relaxed in responding to their antics, listening carefully and involving them in discussions about our household chores.”
The Bulat Utemuratov’s Foundation plans to expand the Program in the Zhambyl and Kyzylorda Regions in the new academic year. Teacher training will begin this month at the 50 selected schools. During the week-long training teachers will be introduced to the Jas Leader Akademiiasy Program and trained in modern educational approaches.