Visionaries Bahrain is an aggregated newsfeed aimed at fostering innovation and empowering youth, owned and operated by Starlight Consulting.
"Ensure Your Future"
In October, 2013, Visionaries partnered with the UNDP Office in Bahrain on the MY World Survey regarding the post-2015 global development agenda.
Visionaries was one of the first NGOs in Bahrain to support the United Nations in this initiative, and our contribution to the campaign was organizing “Ensure Your Future”, a seminar which was held at the University of Bahrain on the 11th of December, 2014. The aim of this seminar was to shed light on the topic of sustainable development by tackling the subject of job opportunities, which is one of the 16 categories of the MY World Survey.
The seminar featured five guest speakers: Mr. Peter Grohmann (UN Resident Coordinator), Mrs. Hala Ramzi Fayez (Member of Shura Council), Dr. Noora Al Shamlan (University of Bahrain professor), Mrs. Melanie Hutchinson and Mrs. Marie Dhaher Corthay from the UN Environment Program (UNEP).
The seminar achieved tremendous success with over 200 attendees, and was Visionaries’ launchpad into the field of sustainable development, which led the organization’s administration to consider this topic as the Visionaries main theme for the year 2014, and the inspiration behind the main upcoming event, iSustain.
"iSustain": The Visionaries Sustainable Development Convention 2014
iSustain: The Visionaries Sustainable Development Convention was held on the 11th of January, 2014, and was Visionaries’ first and inaugural high-level event in which familiarized the public with the organization’s work. The event featured a sustainable development educational exhibit featuring three sections: Economy, Society, and Environment, followed by a voting station, where the public voted on the sector they found most important to them. Visionaries has since utilized the data collected from that poll to develop a research study on the topic of sustainable development.
It also featured an exhibition for local talents, showcasing Bahrain’s most talented youth and future entrepreneurs and leaders. The event featured 40 youth participants that showcased their artistic, technological, and culinary talents before the large audience that attended. Furthermore, the event featured unique performances, interviews and shows exclusive to Visionaries.
Our high-level attendees included Deputy Prime Minister His Highness Sh. Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, His Highness Sh. Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, His Highness Sh. Mohammed bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Excellency Sh. Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and many more.
Global Youth Service Day 2014
The international organization Youth Service America initiated GYSD as an annual event that celebrates the role of youth in community service and development. Bahrain became the second country in the GCC to host GYSD in the region and was proud to be chosen by YSA as a country partner to organize the 2014 GYSD in Bahrain.
Visionaries planned the GYSD program to be divided into six community service activities in cooperation with different educational institutions around Bahrain, followed by a one-day celebratory event on the 12th of April 2014, which marks the day of GYSD. Each of the six GYSD activities revolved around one of the six themes chosen by YSA.
The GYSD ceremony, which was held at the Isa bin Salman Cultural Hall at the Alumni Club, presented the most prominent achievements of the organization since its inception. During the ceremony, Visionaries Chairman Sh. Khalifa bin Khalid Al Khalifa and President of the Bahraini Society for Strategic Planning Dr. Hala Bader Sulaibeekh signed a memorandum of understanding between the two organizations in the field of research and development.
"Success Stories" by Visionaries 2014
Visionaries developed the program “Success Stories” by Visionaries to demonstrate to Bahraini youth that creativity and innovation are evident career paths and great success can be achieved through these areas. This goal was accomplished by bringing in real-life examples of such success: every year, Visionaries will host three internationally-acclaimed personalities to take part and share their various experiences with Bahraini youth.
Chau-Giang Thi Nguyen, Maribel Lieberman and Selima Salaun arrived to Bahrain in June 2014. Throughout the week, the Visionaries team organized a cultural tour of Bahrain and introduced them to the country’s expansive heritage. Their visits included the Bahrain National Museum, Sh. Salman bin Ahmed Al-Fateh Fort and the Muharraq Old Town. The guests were also received by Her Excellency Sh. Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa.
“Success Stories” by Visionaries panel discussion event was held on June 14th, 2014 at the Capital Club at Bahrain Financial Harbor. And on June 17th, Chau-Giang Thi Nguyen performed at the prestigious Cultural Hall in Manama.
"iCitizen": The Visionaries Global Citizenship Convention 2015
iCitizen was held over a period of 2 days on the 2nd and 3rd of January 2015 at the Bahrain International Circuit, where iSustain was held the year before.
For iCitizen, the organization decided to add ten extra slots, bringing the commutative number of participants up to 50. Furthermore, the convention added two new criteria to its participants along with youth talents: established entrepreneurs and youth volunteer groups.
The event featured a wide range of programs throughout the two days, including interviews with influential personalities and panel discussions over the topics of youth development and volunteer work.
Emphasizing its commitment to global citizenship, Visionaries extended an invitation to Kuwaiti activist Mariam Al Kharafi to attend the convention and share her experience with young admirers in Bahrain.
Along with hundreds of attendees on both days of the event, iCitizen was attended by a number of high-level personalities, including His Highness Sh. Mohammed bin Salman Al Khalifa, Her Excellency Sh. Hind bint Salman Al Khalifa, and His Excellency Sh. Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chairman of Tamkeen.
"Success Stories" by Visionaries 2015
After the great success of “Success Stories” by Visionaries in 2014, the organization decided to repeat this program in its second installment by featuring three new prominent international personalities: Architect Carlos Zapata, fashion designer Maggie Norris, and artist Benjamin Shine.
The five-day visit to Bahrain included a cultural tour of the Kingdom and visits to the many historical sites and landmarks the country has to offer. The personalities also met with several high-level personalities who wanted to personally welcome them to Bahrain.
“Success Stories” by Visionaries 2015 event was held on the 1st of June at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Bahrain. For an audience of over 200 young people, the panel discussion featured interviews with all three personalities followed by individual question and answer sessions from the audience.