2022/2023 Report
Hello everyone! Welcome to the GYLN PLLC 2023 journal. We are the GYLN Peter Lougheed Leadership College (PLLC) chapter located in Edmonton, Canada and we are delighted to present our annual summary report, a reflection of the incredible journey we have embarked upon together over the past year. With utmost humility and gratitude, we share our collective efforts with the unwavering support from the Sunwah organization that has propelled our chapter forward.
Student Clubs Fair
Our table at the University of Alberta Winter Clubs Fair was a huge success! Before the end of the day, we had already given out all of our brochures to interested students. These brochures included a QR code to access the application form for Project Lead and VP Events, as well as a general volunteer application form! Sharen, Natasha, Vishwa, and Susana managed the booth and did an excellent job encouraging passersby to join GYLN.
Hybrid Meeting on Environmental Innovation & Green Technology
On September 27th, 2022, our GYLN PLLC representatives (Natalie, Christy, and Harveen) attended the hybrid meeting on Environmental Innovation & Green Technology hosted by the China Insituate and Sunwah Foundation! We met Jackson Choi (Director of Sunwah Group), Betty Chan (Director of International Relations, Sunwah Foundation), and the GYLN Ho Chi Minh City Chapter members who won the environmental project – “I CAN”. We learned about the different sustainability technologies and research at universities in Hong Kong, Canada, and Vietnam through the presentations delivered by Truong Ngoc Kiem (Vice Director of the Cooperation and Development Department, Secretary of VNU Youth Union) and various professors. It was an inspiring experience to listen to the sustainability innovations around the world, watch professors deliver presentations, connect with delegations as the host of Canada, and chat with the friendly China Insitute staff who worked hard behind the scenes to organize the event.
Fun Fact: Did you know we are featured on China Insitute’s news website?https://www.ualberta.ca/china-institute/news/the-latest/2022/october/sunwah_delegation.html
Following the Hybrid Meeting, the China Institute and Sunwah Foundation hosted an Evening Dinner Party at the Upper Crust Cafe. Our GYLN PLLC representatives had the chance to connect with the amazing Foundation Leaders and the Vietnamese Chapter! Part of our Foundation’s mission is to strive to build networking among young leaders and sharpen social and professional skills, which shone through our GLYN PLLC Team! Our leaders had the opportunity to connect with many people from other Foundations such as Miss Eve, who is part of the Vietnamese Chapter, and got a chance to learn more about her work in Sustainability Awareness and ongoing projects. From the GLYN PLLC, we want to give a huge appreciation to the China Institute and Sunwah Foundation for visiting Edmonton and connecting with us and we hope to connect with them again in person soon!
As the holiday season approached, GYLN PLLC hosted its annual winter holiday team celebration! This holiday team social merged with our team onboarding event this year to welcome our 10 new members while celebrating all the hard work our team has done this past year. This event included a leadership activity called: “Colours”. Colours was a leadership activity that allowed individuals to realize their leadership strengths and weaknesses by identifying with one of the four leadership colours. This activity also highlighted how to work best with people who have different leadership styles and how to bring out the strengths of others. It was then followed by a series of team-building games and board games which would foster great opportunities for conversation after our leadership activity. In addition to the activities on Nov 27th, we ask members to share their IDs with all members on our Discord server. Sharing IDs with their pictures and fun facts promoted our Discord server’s livelihood and prepared members’ comfort with socializing at the in-person event. With the holiday celebration, members were able to become familiar with their team members and the goals of our chapter
View our presentation here:
https://www.canva.com/design/DAFMD2Q3FYs/aA-ZWqDiBtifW8-R2ZGJHQ/view?utm_content=DA FMD2Q3FYs&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink
Take a Bite: Food Drive, Recipe + Video, Fun Fact
During the Summer, our Projects Committee worked on the ‘Take A Bite’ initiative which focused on food shortage and raising awareness for proper nutrition. They posted informative posts on our social media highlighting how dire the food shortage crisis is and how to combat it. Furthermore, they posted their own favorite recipes and easy meals for students to try making at home. As a part of the initiative, they reached out to the community and asked for food and bottle donations to give back to the Campus Food Bank. They designed flyers, personally handed them out, and collected donations all through Summer. They received around 5 (very heavy!) bags of food donations and used the money from the bottle donations to get more groceries for the Campus Food Bank! Overall, we would call this a pretty nice run for the Project Team!
Take a Bite of Locals Silent Auction on Instagram
As a sequel to the Take a Bite project, the Public Relations Committee organized a silent auction on Instagram where all generous bids will build homes, inspire hope, and create a brighter future in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. With the generosity of our participants and collaboration with local organizations, we donated a total of $126.25 to Habitat for Humanity (@habitatedm) which works hard to provide affordable homeownership to YEG families! Thank you to all of our sponsors and participants for your support and donations!
Special appreciation to our sponsors listed below (in no particular order): @stoney_beads; @leopoldstavern; @replenish.zerowaste; @alpineemberco; @wishingstarpublishing
Chillato with GYLN PLLC
In light of the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the resulting restrictions that have made connecting and gathering difficult, the PLLC Chapter of GYLN organized its first get-together since the Winter semester. This special event aims to warmly welcome the new formation of the competition team while reuniting and reestablishing connections among existing chapter members.
Beginning with a refreshing gelato treat at La Carraia Gelaterie Cafe to beat the summer heat. Following this delightful indulgence, we continued our gathering at Board N Brew for a delightful session of socializing and fun.
A Day in the Life of GYLN PLLC members
Have you ever wanted to get to know the executive members more? No need to wonder further. The PR Committee members (Natalie, Sarah, Vishwa, and Emily) took turns taking over the Instagram and Facebook page with our A Day in the Life of Executive Members project.
Head to our Instagram page (@pllc.gyln) now to watch the interactive story highlights and fill in the blanks below:
- Sarah is part of a band called “ ”.
- Vishwa had , , on her plate.
- Emily took a video of (number) puppies playing.
- Natalie played with her friends on Halloween
To increase our public visibility, we also launched a GYLN PLLC LinkedIn Page! Follow us here:
https://ca.linkedin.com/company/global-young-leaders-network-peter-lougheed-leadership-colle ge-chapter?trk=public_post_feed-actor-name
Competition Team
The PLLC Chapter of GYLN participated in the 2023 GYLN Year of Innovation Competition with the idea of an app development project named Recipe Story. The competition team consists of Natalie Kwok, Justin Kan, and Sarah Woodbridge.
Recipe Story is a mobile app for international users to post personal and cultural recipes. Picture a social media app; yet for recipes and stories!
Users can share recipes by posting pictures, sending texts, and filming short videos. Moreover, users can create their personalized avatars and author pages, as well as react with others through the comment, share, and direct messaging features. For recipe collectors, there is an option to save individual recipes to a personal Liked Recipe list.
You can read our proposal via this link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zud9TAr6aiyksmnXQWD2vrJ99-tYxC9B/view?usp=sharing
Goodbye and a Little Teaser Time
New year comes with new projects and resolutions! In 2024, the executive teams are working hard to register GYLN PLLC as a student group of the University of Alberta Student Union. With the registration completed, the chapter will have future opportunities to promote event and project engagements with the University of Alberta (UofA) community. Registering as an official student group under the UASU will allow us to publish events and recruitment advertisements via their communication channels, participate in the annual Fall and Winter Clubs Fair, utilize UofA spaces, and other privileges in place that would benefit our outreach. We will also recruit new members to join our chapter soon!
A teaser of a project by the Public Relations Committee:
What is GYLN PLLC? A question interested applicant asks. As one of our goals this year, we aim to promote our public visibility on our social media. To achieve this goal, we will create a video featuring members and Betty Chan (Director of International Relations, Sunwah Foundation).
The Project Committee is also engaging with the community and working on a mental health fundraiser. The members coordinated Bottle Drives and Grocery Runs in Edmonton.
Thank you for reading about our 2022-2023 year journal. Keep in touch with our social media for updates on future exciting projects that work towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and service to the communities we are a part of!
Instagram: @pllc.gyln
Facebook: @pllc.gyln
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-young-leaders-network-peter-lougheed-leadership-co llege-chapter/?viewAsMember=true
Wix Website: https://pllcgyln.wixsite.com/gyln
Written by Natalie Kwok and Sharen Anna Manuel
Co-Chairs of GYLN PLLC