AIESEC in Kedah-Perlis launches “Speak Up 20.0” Youth Development Project in Sungai Petani
News and photo Sanaa Mohammed Said Al-rabeei
SUNGAI PETANI, 7 December 2025: From 1 to 31 August 2025, AIESEC in Kedah–Perlis successfully hosted Speak Up 20.0, a Malaysian Youth Volunteer project aligned with SDG 4: Quality Education. This four-week programme brought together nine dedicated volunteers from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) to support underprivileged students in Sungai Petani by creating a comfortable and engaging English-learning environment.
Speak Up is designed to help local youth step beyond their comfort zones, strengthen their public speaking and leadership abilities, and gain hands-on experience in organising meaningful community workshops. The project also promotes the importance of English proficiency and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) skills through enjoyable and interactive activities.
Throughout the month, volunteers conducted a series of impactful educational sessions. At Persatuan Kanak-Kanak Khas Sungai Petani, they facilitated a Shadow Play Workshop and learned basic hand sign language to communicate with children with disabilities. The organisation emphasises foundational “3M” skills—reading, writing, and arithmetic—and the workshop’s activities, including colouring and wayang kulit (shadow puppet) crafting, encouraged creativity and enhanced meaningful connections between volunteers and students.
Meanwhile, at Kolej Vokasional Sungai Petani 1, students were introduced to fundamental robotics concepts in a Robotic Workshop held in collaboration with Adroit Tech Sungai Petani. The session exposed participants—primarily from IT, machine, and welding programmes—to robot assembly, simple programming, teamwork, and problem-solving through hands-on LEGO-based robotics learning.
The EmpowerME Workshop at Bengkel Daya Sungai Petani focused on self-development, confidence building, self-expression, and basic leadership skills. AIESEC in Kedah-Perlis invited Miss Rawadee from Yakult Malaysia as the guest speaker. Bengkel Daya, which provides vocational training in areas such as laundry services, agriculture, and cooking, enabled trainees opportunities to explore sessions tailored to their abilities and interests.
Additionally, the volunteers visited Tech Dome Penang for a STEAM Workshop that showcased real-world applications of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. Through interactive experiments and demonstrations, students engaged with concepts of creativity, innovation, and critical thinking.
Across all workshops, volunteers championed inclusivity, innovation, and personal growth whether through learning sign language, building confidence in communication, or fostering problem-solving skills. Overall, Speak Up 20.0 reaffirmed AIESEC in Kedah–Perlis’ commitment to nurturing young people in the region through purposeful, meaningful, and transformative educational experiences.
