Events & News

The 2025 edition of the Inclusive Leadership Programme (iLEAP) brought together 37 young leaders from Malaysia and the region for three inspiring days from 20 to 22 December. This year’s cohort included 7 international participants from Chinese Taipei and Singapore, as well as 6 participants from the disabled community, reflecting iLEAP’s commitment to inclusive leadership in practice.

The programme opened with special messages from the President of United Through Sports (UTS) and the President and Managing Director of Special Olympics Asia Pacific, setting a strong tone centred on inclusion, equality, and the power of sport to create positive change. This year also marked an important milestone with the launch of a new partnership between MOiAS and UTS, which included the presence of a UTS Ambassador at iLEAP.

A key highlight of this year’s edition was the strengthened focus on safeguarding, delivered through a comprehensive framework in collaboration with IGNITX. Through interactive discussions, scenario-based learning, and clear reporting pathways, participants were encouraged to understand boundaries, speak up, and recognise safeguarding as a shared responsibility in leadership.

Across the three days, participants engaged in sessions aligned with iLEAP’s four core modules — Social Competency, Sport Values, Healthy Living, and Life Skills — with a strong emphasis on active participation. This included an introduction to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), exploring how sport and youth leadership can contribute to wider social and environmental impact.

Among the most memorable sessions was Shafizal Shahidan’s social competency workshop, a long-standing favourite that equipped participants with practical tools to communicate, interact, and build meaningful connections. The Life Skills session by Daniel Lee brought energy and perspective through lived experience, using interactive activities to challenge participants to reflect on resilience, mindset, and personal ownership.

Learning extended beyond the classroom with a visit to the Discover Muay Thai (DMT) gym, where participants had the chance to sweat it out during an introductory Muay Thai session — for many, their first experience of the sport. Sustainability was highlighted through WWF-Malaysia’s session on sea turtle conservation, delivered through storytelling, puzzles, and quizzes that made learning engaging and accessible.

Participants were also inspired during Noraseela Mohd Khalid’s session by a special appearance from Aruwin Salehhuddin, whose journey towards the Winter Olympics encouraged participants to pursue bold and unconventional paths.

The programme concluded with a celebratory closing ceremony attended by representatives from the National Sports Council Safe Sport Department, featuring participant performances, including a special Indigenous song performed by participants from Chinese Taipei.

The 2025 edition of iLEAP reaffirmed MOiAS’s commitment to nurturing values-driven, inclusive young leaders, grounded in empathy, courage, and purpose.

The Malaysian Olympism in Action Society (MOiAS) has formalised a strategic partnership with United Through Sports (UTS), marking an important milestone in advancing youth leadership, inclusion and Olympism through sport.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 23 November 2025 during the opening conference of the UTS World Children’s Festival 2025 in Kuala Lumpur. The agreement was signed by Stephan Fox, President of United Through Sports, and Noraseela Khalid OLY, President of MOiAS, bringing together two organisations that share a strong commitment to empowering young people through sport-based education and values.

Through this collaboration, MOiAS and UTS will work closely to expand meaningful youth participation, strengthen leadership and educational pathways, and champion inclusion and equality across local and international initiatives. The partnership also opens doors for greater cross-border collaboration, enabling young leaders to engage in global platforms that use sport as a catalyst for social impact.

This partnership reflects MOiAS’s ongoing efforts to build strategic alliances that amplify its mission and create long-term opportunities for youth development in Malaysia and beyond.

👉 Read the full article on the United Through Sports website here: https://uts.sport/%ef%bb%bfhistoric-signing-of-mou-between-united-through-sports-and-moias-to-promote-inclusion-and-empower-youth/

The Malaysian Olympism in Action Society (MOiAS) has announced a new partnership with international sport event management company IGNITX to introduce Malaysia’s first leadership programme with a fully integrated safeguarding system through the iLEAP Leadership Program 2025.

Founded in 2021, iLEAP has grown into MOiAS’s flagship youth leadership initiative, empowering young people — both abled and differently abled — through education grounded in sport, values, and inclusion. With participants from across Malaysia and the region, the programme continues to evolve as a platform for responsible, values-based leadership.

This partnership comes at a critical moment, as Malaysia faces a worrying rise in bullying and transgressive behaviour among school-aged children. By embedding safeguarding into every layer of iLEAP — from awareness and training to reporting and event-time protection — MOiAS aims to model how prevention and protection can become a cultural norm rather than a reactive measure.

Through this collaboration with IGNITX, MOiAS brings international safeguarding experience into a local youth leadership context, reinforcing its belief that effective leadership begins with care.

👉 Read the full article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/moias-ignitx-join-forces-build-safer-future-young-leaders-moias-vzvfc