Ebène, 27 November 2023: The winners and runner up projects for the National Leadership Engine (NLE) 2023 were announced on Saturday during a National Convention, marking the culmination of this fifth edition, which brings to more than 1500 youth across the country trained in leadership skills.
The winners were as follows:
Grand Winner: Paraboot - Flacq region
Second Winner: Papye Latwal – Lower Plaines Wilhems region
Third Winner: Cap Lor Recyclage – Port Louis region
For the 2023 edition, the training for youth was completed in July 2023, followed by regional assessments of projects and a national assessment that were held in August this year. A total of 35 community-based projects involving more than 200 youth were presented in NLE 2023.
The event was attended by the participants of NLE 2023 as well as former participants, members of the Leadership Engine Action Drivers (LEAD) and other stakeholders. It is worth mentioning that the NLE project has now become a reference among Mauritian youth who intend to hone their leadership skills and embark on a journey to bring positive transformations in their respective communities.
Mrs. Sandhya Boygah, Executive Director of the NPCC, stressed on the importance for the youth to create opportunities themselves and contribute in the progress of the society and economy.
“You have access to information and technology. You should use these tools to innovate, bring solutions to problems in our society and come up with initiatives to create wealth, not only in monetary terms, but spiritual, cultural, familial, social and entrepreneurial,” Mrs. Boygah pointed out. She also reminded parents present at the event to act as guide for the new generations to become model citizens of tomorrow.
The Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Hon Soomilduth Bholah, exhorted the youth to focus on issues including climate change and unemployment. “At the level of my ministry, we are doing everything to promote a culture of entrepreneurship among the youth. As such they can employ themselves and create jobs for others. Moreover, it has been observed that out of every ten start-ups, seven cease to exist after some time and this is due to lack of training. Hence, we are putting a lot of emphasis of training so that our young entrepreneurs can continue learning and sustain their business,” he added.
One of the main highlights of the event was the motivational speech of Dr. Hill, Adjunct Professor in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, US. The latter is currently in Mauritius for a series of workshops on leadership under a collaboration between the NPCC and the US Embassy in Mauritius. Dr. Hill will also conduct a Master-Class for NLE participants during three days this week.
According to Dr. Hill, it is very important for youth to be humble and empathic in a global landscape that is constantly evolving. Dr. Hill, who has been involved in diverse leadership programmes across the world, encouraged the youth to continue nurturing their leadership skills.
“Like the engine provides power to move the car, youth is the power to move the country,” she says, adding that the youth have to continue ignite, drive and inspire other youth.
Since 2016, Dr. Hill has been the Academic Director for the Georgia State University Leadership Institute of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. She designs and implements an intensive six-week, Public Management leadership program for individuals from across Sub-Saharan Africa.
NLE 2023 was organised by the NPCC in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation. The project aims at creating a pipeline of leaders to achieve higher productivity and better living for the nation.
More than 200 youth enrolled for the training in the following regions namely, Black River, Upper Plaines Wilhems, Lower Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Pamplemmousses, Flacq, Rivière du Rempart, Grand Port, Savanne and Moka.
Youth aged 16 and above were empowered with personal and social competences which they had to demonstrate by conceptualising and implementing community-based projects in their locality.