1st INAUGURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT FESTIVAL 2017
(MRS. MALAYSIA & BORNEO INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL 2017)
Malaysia is moving forward towards empowering women to achieve gender equality in leadership and social innovation, a goal for 2030. It is time to realize Women Empowerment Festival and support women in rewriting their own destiny. Women is a huge work force that will shape Malaysia as a developed nation, an undeniable key to economic growth, political stability and social transformation.
Women Empowerment has become a significant topic of discussion in recent years. It is said that Women are the main driving force behind decades of growth & the way forward to empowering women to return to work and rise to the top. Countries in the region, that have done the most to tap women’s talents and capacities, have travelled furthest in many aspects of human development.
Entrepreneur and advocate for the empowerment of women,
June Yap, the Founder of
Shine From Within, who is also the organizer of the
1st Annual Women Empowerment Festival (WEF) and
National Director of Mrs. Malaysia & Borneo International Global 2017,
June Yap, once a struggling single parent herself, is passionate about helping women to become better prepared, skilled, independent and to follow their hopes and dreams. A firm believer of her own motto, the 6’Cs: “You have the
CHOICE, to take the
CHANCE or your life will never
CHANGE. Unlock your
COURAGE and your
CONFIDENCE and tell yourself that you
CAN, to
Shine From Within and Live Your Dreams.”
June Yap shared with a tears of joy,
SHINE FROM WITHIN have successfully launched the very
1st inaugural Women Empowerment Festival 2017 with a theme
“BE BOLD FOR A CHANGE”, which aims to bring together influential Malaysian professionals from the press/media, health, wellness and lifestyle, fashion, art, beauty, property and real estate, hospitality, and technology and finance industries to launch a powerful new platform.
WHY: Women Empowerment Festival 2017 (WEF)?
WEF platform aspires to attract and bring together successful women in business and in leadership to inspire and groom aspiring women who wishes to develop and change their lives. 1st Inaugural Women Empowerment Festival 2017 have appointed
2 Women Empowerment Festival Ambassadors and Mrs. Malaysia & Borneo International Global Ambassadors, and they are both successful women in their own respective industries - Datin Winnie Loo, the Founder of A Cut Above Group of Salons and Datin Jeanette Tambakau, the President of AMSPA, Association of Malaysian Spa and Founder of Jari Jari Spa and Academy in Kota Kinabalu. Also with support of several other strong women, Datuk Aminah Ambrose the President of SWEPA (Sabah Women Entrepreneurs & Professional Associations) and Puan Joanna Datuk Kitingan who is the Advisor of Women Empowerment Festival 2017.
WEF celebrates the healthy and balanced lifestyles among modern-day’s women, comprising of the perfect strike between Family, Career, and Personal. This brand new platform aims to appreciate every Women’s unique qualities & Empower women to return to work and rise to the top. WEF aspires to empower women by giving them opportunities to become agents of change within their communities and industries. Women Empowerment Festival hopes to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, develop confidence, courage, and independence and build a support network for women.
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| (From left) Kristin Kan (Miss Shine From Within 2017 ), Nicole Lau (Miss Shine From Within 2017 ambassador), Datuk Catherine Chan (Mrs Malaysia International Global 2017 Jade Queen ambassador), Yap, Loo, Mun Lai Choo (Mrs Malaysia International Global 2017 Charity Queen ambassador) and Sally Tan (Mrs Malaysia International Global 2017 Charity Queen ambassador). |
The 5 KEY ELEMENTS of Women Empowerment Festival (WEF)
1. Transformation: To empower women to unlock potentials and be the best versions of themselves,
2. Career: Nurturing and cultivating Entrepreneurship Mindset
3. Family ties: Building awareness and education to strengthen family ties of the community and
participants
4. Charity to Community: We place a strong emphasis on the importance of “Beauty InsideOut”
and aim to instill the term “Beauty with a Heart”, thereby, encouraging a “hands on”
approach in giving back to the community of under-priviledged group of women (single mothers)
5.
Culture & Tourism: Promoting the culture and tourism of Malaysia and Sabah.
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(From left) Florance Jeyanthy (Mrs Most Confident of the Year 2017), Shirley, Harine, Suganthi, Harjinder, Caseylina and Amanda.
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The 3 KEY ACTIVITIES within Women Empowerment Festival (WEF)
Firstly, 3 months transformative boot camp program. It is first of its kind, fresh and unique transformative contest that provides opportunities to all walks of Malaysian Married Woman, Divorced and/or Single Mothers to participate. The first batch of this unique 3 months boot camp program commenced in 1st September 2017, where a total of 16 participants who received multiple
Personal Development workshops every weekend, transformative learning journey for the selected finalists, where they were each given the opportunity to explore and experience extensive pageant activities, such as self development workshops (make up workshop, catwalk and posing, Public speaking and presentation skills), Fitness and Wellness workshops, entrepreneurship / business workshops and family enrichments activities and sharing by successful Women in Business from across industries.
Participants were required to participate in various
sponsors event & activities as well as visiting places that are planned according to the pageant itinerary. As for the
Socioentrepreneurship Charity Activity in collaboration with SWEPA ENRICHE 2.0 (Sabah Women Entrepreneurs & Professional Association), participants were required to come out with marketing plan, pitch to promote and sell the products produced by the under-privileged women in Sabah. With support of our Co-organizer SWEPA (Sabah Women Entrepreneurs Association), participants were very fortunate to experience a memorable journey of the greens, the sea, the cultural heritage and food during the
5 days 4 nights of Sabah Tourism, Cultural & Charity Visit, which was hosted by Shangri La Rasa Ria Resort & Spa and Zara’s Boutique Hotel.
The highlight of the 3 months transformative boot camp, is to select 4 winners to represent Malaysia and Borneo at an international pageant, Mrs. International Global 2017 that would be hosted in Kuala Lumpur in the end of January 2018, through
Preliminary Judging Round and
Final Judging Round during the Grand Finals Gala Dinner to assess their transformation and change at the end of the boot camp.
Secondly, In 2018, we will launch the Shine From Within TV: Women In Business and in Leadership Interview Series - a platform for successful Women in Business and in Leadership from across industries to share their personal journey of success to the top and how they balancing their career, family and personal time, to inspire all walks of Women, particularly single mothers, separated women and disadvantaged women.
Thirdly, in 2018, we will activate several Talk / Workshops (in partnership with other organizations), by inviting Successful Women of Substance (Entrepreneurs / CEOs) from various industries will be invited to share their personal journey success stories on how they balancing their career, family and personal time.
SWEPA as Co-organizer & Charity Partner for Women Empowerment Festival 2017
This year, we are delighted to have SWEPA (Sabah Women Entrepreneur & Professional Association) as the co-organizer as well as the charity partner for the Mrs. Malaysia & Borneo International 2017. SWEPA is currently led by the President, Datuk Aminah Ambrose, who is a very cheerful and inspiring woman.
In this collaboration, SWEPA has supported with providing their Secretariat as the official training venue for the finalists to receive their Bootcamp training during weekends. Topics covered were Mindset Change, Knowing Self and Other conducted by Miss June Yap, Journey to Entrepreneurship and Socio-Entrepreneurship conducted by Miss Mary Jim, the Founder of MJ by MUS as well as Datin Jeanette Tambakau, the Ambassador fo Women Empowerment Festival 2017 – Mrs. Malaysia & Borneo International Global 2017 and also the Co-Founder of Jari Jari Spa and Academy.
In the subsequent months in 2018, SWEPA will continue to support to identify and invite successful Women of Substance to participate in SHINE FROM WITHIN TV campaign, where we will be interviewing successful women in business and leadership role particularly on their entrepreneurship journey.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PRELIMINARY JUDGING ROUND
On the 29th Nov 2017, the Preliminary Judging Round was hosted at our Platinum Sponsor’s venue, Wisma Elken, Elysyle Beauty Training Center. The event marks the end of the transformative boot camp and is the precursor to the Grand Finals Judging Round. Contestants received a significant percentage of their final points and are judged based on 3 main categories.
The first category,
Corporate Image and Business Presentation Round. Includes, but not limited to, a public speaking and presentation, where contestants will present their startup business idea, a personal branding and image session, where contestants must “put their best foot forward” and create a stunning and lasting first impression wearing corporate wear sponsored by The MOD House, Heels sponsored by Moments and Clutch Bag sponsored by MJ By MUS.
The second category,
Fitness and Wellness Lifestyle Round. All 16 Finalist wearing sports wear sponsored by YOME Sportswear showcasing a group fitness routine followed by showcasing their individual fitness lifestyle routine, which, they have learned throughout the 3months boot camp, as well as explain to judges what they enjoyed most and why they enjoy it and what health benefits it provided them.
The third category,
Talent Round Competition. For finalist to showcase their hidden talents that are swept under the carpet during their day to day lives.
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| Very happy to have opportunity to attend the Grand Finals Gala Night |
“The goal of the prejudging event is to establish and provide a fair platform and fair opportunity for the 16 finalists to showcase their well rounded inner beauty such as confidence from within, goals in life, command in public speaking and speech, how they take control of their personal fitness and well-being in life and showcase their hidden talents and skills. In addition, the goal of prejudging was to prepare the contestants by giving them their first taste of what it will be like in front of a crowd of almost 500 people, including friends and family members, during the Grand Finals Gala night. They must quiet their nerves and use this as a valuable opportunity to take chances and learn from their mistakes, as well as, solicit feedback from the judges.
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| Meet up with Media & Bloggers Friends |
A panel of 16 judges, comprising of various industry experts, successful entrepreneurs and influential public figures provided feedback, shared their insights and passed on their knowledge today to the passionate contestants. Members of the media were also invited to witness this uniquely and fresh setup of how the Prejudging Round is organized to assess the inner beauty of each finalists. Our esteemed judges (alphabetical by last name) who was present to witness and contribute their assessment to identify the finalists who shines from within the most.
Datuk Aminah Ambrose - President of SWEPA
Dato Gavin Chan - Founder & Principal of Outcast Dance Studio
Datin Lea Chan - Director of Sirocco Hospitality Group
Venus Cheng - Founder & Fashion Designer of Niki Chong Vice President of Elken Global
Eevon Chua - Founder of YOME Sports Wear
Janet C Ginibun - Founder & Coach of Jazzercize
Puan Joanna Datuk Kitingan - Vice President of SWEPA
Phyliss Lai Nyok Pek - CEO of Pressto Asia Sdn Bhd
Datin Winnie Loo - Founder of A Cut Above Group of Salons
Ho Kok Loong - Founder & Designer of The MOD House
Datin Irene Pang - Vice President of Circle Holdings International
Datin Jeanette Tambakau - Founder of Jari Jari Spa of SWEPA
Deledda Tan - Founder, Malaysia of V Magic Malaysia
Charles Tee - Co-Founder & Coach of The Playground Fitness
June Yap announced with determination, “Most of the contestants have confided in me that the prejudge for them was terrifying, as some of the judges have been their role models for quite some time and that they were afraid that they might make mistakes. This is the power of having a panel of judges from various industries, there is bound to be overlap with the interests of the contestants,” For those not fortunate enough to have the honor to listen to the feedback provided by the judges, fret not. As part of the
Women Empowerment Festival key activities in 2018, we are targeting to interview the majority of the judges and publish on social media, so everyone can benefit from their experiences.
Check out our official facebook page
SHINE FROM WITHIN for photos and updates. To find out more about Women Empowerment Festival Program, you can email us at womenempowermentfestival@gmail.com or watsapp us at +6012-2163800.
For those not fortunate enough to have the honor to listen to the feedback provided by the judges, fret not. As part of the Women Empowerment Festival key activities in 2018, we are targeting to interview the majority of the judges and publish on social media, so everyone can benefit from their experiences.
GRAND FINALS JUDGING ROUND & CROWNING
On the 1st Dec 2017, Grand Finals Gala Dinner was held at HGH Galaxy Banquet Hall between 6.30pm to 1230am. “The goal of the Final Round Judging is to assess the inner and outer beauty combined through 3 categories of Judging.
The first category, National Costume and Self Introduction Speech. Participants were judged on the most creative national costume and their confidence in speech and elegant pesona. The second category, Shinju Pearls Showcase Catwalk Round. Participants we judged on their charismatic and elegant pesona and catwalk. The third category, Evening Gown and Sharing BOLD STORY TO CHANGE. Participants were judged on their elegance and poise as well as MOST old story on their personal journey of struggle and how they were bold to change.
Datuk Aminah - Ambrose President of SWEPA
Dr Wendy Liew - Founder Image Creator
Jeff Lu - Founder of JTL Empire
Niki Chong - Vice President of Elken Global
Puan Joanna Datuk Kitingan - Vice President of SWEPA
Phyliss Lai Nyok Pek - CEO of Pressto Asia Sdn Bhd
Datin Winnie Loo - Founder of A Cut Above Group of Salons
Datin Jeanette Tambakau - Founder of Jari Jari Spa of SWEPA
Michael Wang - Founder, Malaysia of V Magic Taiwan
Shobie Malani - Founder, MURFEST
Mun Lai Choo (Kai Ma) - Mrs. Malaysia International Global 2017 Charity Queen Ambassador
4 Newly crowned Grand Winners during the Grand Finals Charity Gala Dinner, and they are,
Mrs. Malaysia International Global 2017 Winner – 36 year old Miss Harine Rathipriya from
KL; Mrs. Borneo International Global 2017 Winner – 36 year old Miss Karen Lysa
Augustine from Sabah; Mrs. Malaysia International Global 2017 Winner – 47 year old Miss
Suganthi Namasivayam from KL; Classic Borneo International Global 2017 Winner –
Jennifer Chok Pin Lin from Sabah.
ABOUT SHINE FROM WITHIN:
Shine From Within (SFW J&J Holdings Sdn Bhd.) is the first and only coaching company
located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia focused on empowering women to be the best versions of
themselves by unlocking the courageous and confident you! Specializing in life and pageantry
coaching services, helping women from all walks of life, career, housewives, divorcees and
single moms, Shine From Within can help you get that promotion, win your next pageant, or just
have more confidence in yourself. Its Mission is to empower women to be the best versions of
themselves - to celebrate the many accomplishments of women - to support women involvement
in our communities and to advance the status of women.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER OF SHINE FROM WITHIN
After graduating with a degree in Bachelor in Business Administration majoring in Marketing, June began her career within the sales management, sales training & customer service environment for 8 years. The subsequent 6 years of her career, she moved on to focus on Human Resource, Talent Development & Talent Management, where she specializes to setting up and leading the training and development function of big corporations. Her experiences in HR further expands to organizational development, employee engagement and communication, talent and succession management, change management, recruitment and HR business partnering.
Due to her immense passion to deepen her knowledge and expertise in the area of training and talent development, she has pursued numerous Training & HR related certifications over the years. To name a few, she has certifications from the Chartered Institute of People Development (CIPD), UK as a certified trainer and a certified Learning and Development Practitioner, as well as from the American Society of Training & Development (ASTD) as a certified talent and competency management professional. She is also a certified HRDF trainer, certified MBTI trainer as well as a certified HR Outsourcing Professional.
June’s wealth of experiences comes from her 15 years of corporate background & her recent personal journey in an international pageant. June’s corporate experiences in various organizations across a myriad of industries includes insurance, pharmaceutical, healthcare, Business Processing Outsourcing for financial services, education, hospitality and automotive. June Yap has experience in both multinational and local conglomerates namely Prudential, Pfizer Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, The Westin KL (Starwood Group), Sunway Group Holdings, Taylor’s Education Group & Tan Chong Group.
In the recent 2 years, June have involved in Beauty & Pageantry industry. Graduating from a Catwalk Academy in Malaysia, she subsequently participated in an international acclaimed beauty pageant Mrs. Malaysia World 2015 & Mrs. World 2016. June was crowned Mrs Borneo World 2015/2016 title, where she represented Malaysia alongside 40 other international contestants at the 27th Annual Mrs. World 2016 Pageant held in Dongguan China, in March 2016. June was the first Malaysian to successfully make it to the Top 12 Finalists of Mrs. World 2016 & won the Best National Costume Award during this world acclaimed pageant.
Today, June Yap is the Founder & CEO of Shine From Within. She takes pride in being the First Life & Pageant Coach based in Malaysia. June is passionate in empowering women to be the best versions of themselves. As a Life Coach, she aspires to help woman to be more prepared, independent & empowered to live their hopes & dreams. As a Pageant Coach, she desire to help women to experience winning results not only at local or international pageant platform, but in their life beyond the stage. She aims to increase the standards of Malaysian Queens.
“Today, I am at the early stages of realizing my dream to empower women to be the best versions of themselves. I have embarked on a new journey and experience called entrepreneurship. I have given birth to my company named “Shine From Within” because my vision is to be the preferred women academy to offer Certified Women Empowerment Programs where the women will be recognized both locally & internationally,” she announces with determination.
POST GRAND FINALS CELEBRATION AND APPRECIATION PARTY
On the 13th Dec 2017, SHINE FROM WITHIN hosted a Post party Celebration at the FULLHOUSE Lifestyle Restaurant at Sunway Pyramid Mall, with aim to appreciate all the sponsors who made 1st inaugural WEF a reality, congratulate the winning queens, and also to crown several key titles. Some of the titles crowned as per below.
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| Ms. June Yap (right) crowning WEF ambassador Shirley. |
Mrs. Malaysia International Global 2017 Ambassador - 36 year old Miss Shirley Peter Sipojol; Mrs. Borneo International Global 2017 Ambassador - 31 year old Miss Madonna Wilfred; Classic Malaysia International Global 2017 Ambassador - 42 year old Miss Harjinder Kaur A/P Gagandhar Singh; Mrs. Malaysia International Global 2017 Ambassador - 41 year old Miss Caseylina Runin; Mrs. Shine From Within 2017 Ambassador – 32 year old Miss Alice Kudus from Sabah; Classic Shine From Within 2017 Ambassador, 47 year old Miss Amanda; Classic Shine From Within 2017 Ambassador, 42 year old Miss Sunitha A/P A.R. Subbaraman.
Several sponsors have chosen their preferred mothers to be the brand ambassador of their company. To name the selected winners, V Magic Malaysia Ambassador – Miss June Yap from KL and Miss Jennifer Chok from Sabah; Elysyle Spa Ambassador – Miss Madomna Wilfred from Sabah; Shinju Pearls Ambassador – Miss Caseylina from Sarawak; PRESSTO Asia Ambassador – Miss Suganthi Namasivayam; The MOD House Ambassador – Miss Florance Jeyanthy; Ultra Heroes Official Ambassador – Miss Amanda.
Substitles such as Mrs. Most Bold of the Year 2017 – 40 year old Miss Maleni Dewok from Sarawak; Mrs. Most Confident of the Year 2017 – 45 year old Florance Jeyanthy from KL; Mrs. Most Transformed Of The Year 2017 – 39 year old Miss Pressena from Johor Bahru; Mrs. Most Courageous Of The Year 2017 – 35 year old Ms. Khaty Milo from Sabah; Mrs. Most Charisma of The Year 2017 – 42 year old Miss Sunitha Subbaraman from KL. Having lifetime partner husband, who truly understand the importance of continuous development and improvement for their wives and just giving support means a lot to the wives who are participating in this 3 months transformative bootcamp. Women Empowerment Festival have identified two husbands who has shown love, support and encouragements in the transformative journey of their beloved wives. We have presented 2 award of The Most Supportive Husband of The Year 2017 to Mr. Suress Kumar - husband to 36 year old Miss Harine Rathipriya; and Mr. Satwant Singh Seran, husband to 42 year old Miss Harjinder Kaur.
APPRECIATING SPONSORS who made 1st WEF 2017 a Reality
The 1st inaugural Women Empowerment Festival 2017 would not have been a success, without the support by a host of sponsors namely DIAMOND SPONSOR: V Magic Malaysia, PLATINUM SPONSOR: Elken Global (Official Venue Partner for training and preliminary Judging / Official Wellness & Spa Partner) | Outcast Dance Studio (Official Venue sponsor for all Catwalk practices and performances during grand finals gala dinner) | Shangri La Rasa Ria Resort & Spa, Sabah (Official venue and accommodation partner) | Shinju Pearls (Official jewelleries sponsor); GOLD SPONSOR: Pressto Asia (Official Lifestyle Service Provider) | Reds Hotel (Official Hotel Accommodation Partner) | Circle International Holdings (Official Media Partner), Ultra Heroes Restaurant (Official F&B partner) | Moments (Official Catwalk Heels Partner) | The MOD House (Official Corporate Wear Partner). SILVER SPONSOR: Pinch Nails & Bakery (Official Manicure Partner) | Zell V Wellness Hub (Official Venue partner for Audition); OFFICIAL VENUE SPONSOR (IN KL): Wisma Elken (Bootcamp Trainings in Sept 2017 & Preliminary Judging Round) | 8 Conlay (Press Conference n 3rd Oct 2017) | Ultra Heroes Restaurant (Bootcamp Training in Sept 2017) | Fullhouse Restaurant Sunway Pyramid Mall (Post Grand Finals Party); OFFICIAL VENUE SPONSOR (FOR SABAH): Zara’s Boutique Hotel (Press Conference on 23 Oct 2017 and 2 nights stay during the Sabah Tourism, Cultural & Charity Visit) | Shangri La Rasa Ria Resort & Spa (Hosted 3 Days and 3Night for the Sabah Tourism, Cultural & Charity Trip)
Ms Janis Chong, the Managing
Director of Qui Production Group said, “We are delighted to collaborate with De
BEAUTY as we are certain that this partnership will elevate the pageant to
capture the hearts and minds of fellow Malaysians and give them the recognition
they truly deserve.” Ms Ann Q, the Executive Director of Qui Production Group
and Yang Xin Charity Organisation (YXCO) founder adds, “Ageless International Beauty Pageant isn’t just another pageant
– this pageant aims to inspire, motivate and cultivate strength for the modern
women through balancing family, career and societal obligations as well as
responsibilities. With the strength of the women representing ageless
international beauty pageant as an ambassador, it is hoped that it will
encourage and inspire the many friends and families to be more generous for charitable
causes.”
