About The Program
A life changing journey for leaders of tomorrow. Our guests will tour five beautiful cities with rich history and lessons from Makkah to Medina, Amman (TBC), Istanbul & Doha.
Estimated travel dates are from the 15th of January to the 2nd of February 2025*.
* Dates are tentative and will be confirmed closer to the time of travel.
Objective
In February 2015, Human Appeal Australia marked a new era of leaders to emerge from the Muslim community within Australia. We initiated a new program that aimed to create a group of remarkable leaders that would have a positive impact on the world and change it for the better. The Aspiring Leaders Tour was born.
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Background
Every year a group of 30 youth are selected from different cities in Australia to go on a trip of a lifetime. The tour begins with a visit to the Holy city of Mecca with the purpose of performing Umrah. They then depart to Medina, also known as the city of light, where they visit the resting place of the beloved Prophet (pbuh) in Masjid Al Nabawi. The group also visits several museums and places of historical significance in both holy cities.
After recharging spiritually and emotionally at Islam’s Holiest places, the group then travels to the city of Amman in Jordan. There they visit the historical ruins at Jerash, Um Qais and other historical landmarks. Next, they head to the Jordanian-Syrian border where they distribute aid to Syrian refugees and learn first-hand of the harsh conditions that the refugees experience on a daily basis. This is followed by a visit to Human Appeal’s orphanage centre in Amman where they meet orphans sponsored by the generous donors of Human Appeal.
The third destination of the tour is Istanbul, visiting the famous Fatih mosque, followed by Topkapi museum, Sultan Ahmet and other significant places. In Istanbul the youth leaders learn about the importance of understanding the cultural interaction of Europe and Asia as well as the rich Ottoman history.
The tour’s final destination is Doha, Qatar, where participants will be able to meet with some of the most influential leaders in various sectors. This is complimented with visits to some of the most historically & culturally rich museums in the Gulf region.
Your Mentors
Bashar Al-Jamal
Director – HA Australia
ali Kadir
State Manager – HA SA
Omar al-jamal
Marketing Specialist
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Travel dates
The group will depart on the 15thth of January and return on the 2nd of February 2025 (dates are tentative and will be confirmed closer to the time of travel.)
Application deadline
The deadline for applications to be submitted is 11:59pm Sunday the 3rd November 2024.
Application process
There are two parts to your application. Due to the high number of applications we receive each year, we require that applicants complete the following before the deadline:
Part 1 – Your Application Video
Applicants must record a 2-minute video introducing themselves and addressing a number of questions. For details on what to include and how to upload your video, please refer to the question ‘What should the video cover?’ below.
Part 2 – Your Online Application
An online application form must be completed along with the required documentation.
The application form cannot be saved to continue later, so if you need to return to the form, we suggest that you create an offline copy of your answers in case you are interrupted whilst completing your application.
You will receive a confirmation email when you submit your application form. If you do not receive this email, please check your spam folder. If not there, please get in contact with us as you may have provided an incorrect email address.
Selection criteria
You are invited to apply for this life-changing opportunity if you fulfil the following essential criteria:
- Muslim male aged 19-23 years
- Australian citizen living in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane or Perth
- Enrolled in a university degree course or graduated with a university degree
- Involved in a volunteer community service
- Have a valid Australian passport with at least 9 months before expiry
- Character reference attesting to being a Muslim of dignified, respectable and well-mannered personality signed by a mosque Imam or equivalent.
- Fit and healthy (and non-smoking)
- No serious medical conditions limiting travel by air, land and sea
- Willing to undertake a National Police Check
Comments required
Successful applicants are expected, upon acceptance of offer, to:
- Pay a $1000 non-refundable administration fee
- Purchase comprehensive travel insurance for the trip
- Agree to raise $7500 over 12 months through any of Human Appeal Australia’s fundraising projects
- Pay for all required visas, incidentals and personal needs
- Take the required vaccinations for travel
- Purchase ihraam clothing for Umrah.
Purchase ihraam clothing for Umrah
Selection and offer
Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be informed of the selection results via email. Please ensure that ‘[email protected]’ is added to your email providers “Safe Sender” list so that your email does not end up in your spam folder.
Successful applicants will be invited for an interview via online meeting. Once selected, the selected applicants will receive an offer, which they must formally accept and pay an administration fee of $1000.
Applications that do not include a two-minute application video nor proof of payment of your application fee will not be considered. The selection results will also be announced on our social media channels. Follow us to keep up to date
What should the video cover?
The video should be no longer than two minutes (plus/minus five seconds). Videos longer than that will not be considered. Briefly introduce yourself and address the following questions:
- What big issues are you concerned or passionate about? (For example, health, education, environment, peace, human rights, etc.)
- What do you do about the above issues in terms of activism/campaigning/advocacy/community work/entrepreneurship/volunteering?
- How do you think this creates a positive impact on your community?
- What are your future plans relating to your community work?
Why are you interested in the Aspiring Leadership Umrah Tour?
Editing and producing the video
If you would like to edit your video from more than one take, or add captions, photos or other materials, you are welcome to do so. However, a well delivered, single-take video of you speaking directly to the camera is just as likely to impress as we are more interested in what you are saying.
Videos do not have to be recorded with expensive, high quality equipment either. A recording on your cell phone or webcam is just as good.
Keep in mind: the larger your video file is, the longer it will take to upload. Therefore we would suggest that you create it in a resolution no higher than 640×480. Most video editors allow you to choose a resolution for the video you’re creating.
Tips for making the video
- Ensure that your video is 2-minutes long (plus/minus 5 seconds)
- Think about writing down your answers beforehand, so that you have time to think about what you would like to say. The average person speaks between 130 and 200 words a minute, let that guide you.
- Please ensure that you record your video somewhere quiet, so that we can clearly hear what you are saying. This is often best done indoors to avoid the ambient noise of the outdoors such as wind, traffic etc. If you would like to record outside, consider using a microphone.
- Keep your answers clear and concise, avoiding jargon, so that we can clearly grasp what it is that you do.
- Breathe and relax, it will all be okay! Remember, you are speaking to a real team of people behind the lens, who have all been where you are now.
- Rather than stopping the recording every time something goes wrong during filming, keep going and perhaps answer the questions two or three times in a row; then choose the best version. Most computers nowadays have simple video editing software installed (e.g. Windows Movie Maker or iMovie). There are also free editing software available online. These makes it easy to choose the best take.
- Please do not add music to your video in editing, it makes it difficult to clearly hear what you are saying.
- The larger your video file is, the longer it will take to upload. Therefore, we would suggest that you create it in a resolution no higher than 640×480 as high-resolution videos are big file sizes. Most video editors allow you to choose a resolution for the video you’re creating.
Uploading my video
When you fill out your application form, you will be asked to provide a direct link to your video. Once uploaded, ensure that you copy/paste the link into the required field in your application form.
Please DO NOT send your video as an e-mail attachment.
You can use one of the following options to upload your video:
1. YouTube.
For instructions, refer to: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57407
When you upload your video, you can make it Public (which means that anyone can see it and search YouTube for it), Unlisted (the video doesn’t show up in a search, but anyone who is given the link can view it) or Private (only YouTube users specified by you can view the video). It is up to you whether you want to make your video public or unlisted. We will not be able to view videos set to Private!
2. Google Drive
For instructions, refer to: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2424368
When you upload your video to Google drive, right click and select “Get shareable link”, turn link sharing on, make sure you set the sharing settings to ‘anyone with the link can view’, copy and paste the link to your application form. We will not be able to view videos that are not set to ‘anyone with the link can view’!
3. Vimeo
For instructions, refer to: https://photofocus.com/video/how-to-post-your-video-to-vimeo/
When using vimeo ensure to set the privacy setting to ‘Anyone’ so that our team may view the video.
4. Other options
If you are not able to use any of the above options, and as a last resort, you upload your video using one of the following file-sharing services, and share it with us at [email protected]:
Still having trouble, what can I do?
If you are unable to upload your video using one of the four available sharing options, please try a different secure service.
If none of the four options works, please contact us.