North American 12th Annual Youth Leadership Development Camp
Saigon Tex News
July 16th, 2009
- Len Duong literally means in Vietnamese “Embark on a new journey”.
Len Duong Camp, the 12th Annual North American Youth Leadership Development Camp, organized by the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association (VCSA), took place at Crieff Hill Community Retreat Center at Puslinch, Ontario, Canada from July 3 to July 6, 2009. This year marked the 12th anniversary of camp Len Duong program and also the very first time the camp was taken out of the United States to be delivered in a camp site west of Toronto, Canada. The theme this year was “Leadership Beyond Borders – Energize the Passion and Seize the Opportunities” and its Vietnamese theme is to learn about the Vietnam geography and history.
Len Duong 2009 had more than 200 campers and staff coming from 10 US states and 4 Canadian provinces (Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec). The camp organizing committee comprises of more than 50 members, half of which are Canadians and the other half are from the States.
Camp 2009 opening ceremony
Len Duong 2009 Camp program
Friday, July 3, 2009:
Campers were transported to the campsite for registration throughout the day. From 7 pm to midnight, there was a diner, sport games, and ice-breaking sessions to allow campers to mingle with each other. Each camper also had to solve a riddle and found his/her camp team mates in 12 teams bearing the names of 12 different towns or cities in Vietnam, which will help campers to learn about Vietnamese geography.
Saturday, July 4, 2009:
After morning exercise and breakfast, all campers attended the Opening Ceremony and listened to the Keynote speech by Ms. Mina Trang Nguyen, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Business Affairs. She delivered an excellent keynote speech on goal setting, living one’s life with passion and leadership.
All teams then had the chance to know each other and had some team activities afterward. The twelve counsellors were assigned to 12 teams to work with the team throughout the weekend as advisors and supporters.
After lunch, campers chose to attend one of four 2 hour concurrent leadership workshops:
