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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2017 Events 42 MAPFRE MSV Life staff members climb the Kilimanjaro Keane Cassar and Nathan Mercieca, two employees of MAPFRE MSV Life plc, were part of a group of 18 individuals coming from all walks of life who, this year, at- tempted to climb Kilimanjaro. The climb forms part of the yearly event, this year known as The Browns Kilimanjaro Challenge. This initiative started 12 years ago and so far has given the opportunity to around 100 members to challenge the ele- ments and attempt to make it to the peak of the highest mountain in Africa. Standing at 5,895 metres above sea level, Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing mountain in the world with weather ranging from tropical heat to freezing temperatures. Nathan Mercieca said the training and determination required to achieve such a goal made him realise that life's greatest competitor is not the person standing next to you, but the one inside your head. "This challenge helped me renew my perspective of life and positively changed my approach and resolve in everything I do," he said. Commenting on the moment when the group reached the peak, Keane Cassar said: "The mantra on the mountain is 'pole pole' which translates to 'slowly slowly'. It quick- ly becomes your life on the mountain and I think we can all learn from this. Also, the fact that, with one slow step after another you can reach the top of a mountain teaches you much more than you would have ex- pected. "Perhaps more impressive than the moun- tain was Ethiopia. We are all aware of such poverty, but being there is a completely dif- ferent story. We have no idea just how lucky we are." Both Cassar and Mercieca thanked MAP- FRE MSV Life, one of the main sponsors of the event, for their support. The challenge this year helped raise €65,000 to fund a Kindergarten in a very remote village in Ethiopia. The project was named after Chris Criminale who was part of Kilimanjaro Challenge 8 and who sadly passed away in December 2015. Since its inception, Kilimanjaro Challenge Malta has managed to raise over €600,000 for 10 different projects such as schools, clinics and flour mills. Kilimanjaro Chal- lenge Malta works in collaboration with Moviment Gesu fil-Proxxmu, headed by Fr Gorg Grima. Staff development programmes at Vassallo Builders Vassallo Builders Ltd has embarked on an intensive staff development pro- gramme comprising different intiatives and spread over a number of months. The company, set up more than 70 years ago and considered one of the most expe- rienced construction companies in Mal- ta, held various staff development ini- tiatives aimed development of employees both as individuals as well at team level. A number of the company's managers followed a year-long programme called APEX. The programme was delivered and coordinated by Think Talent, one of the group's training partners. APEX is a leadership development pro- gramme that combines parallel coaching and individual personality profiling. It is aimed towards addressing areas of lead- ership, business and management devel- opment required by middle management positions. In addition to this training, the compa- ny held a seminar titled "Creating a High Performance Culture" addressed by the company's Chairman, CEO and deputy CEO with a special presentation by mo- tivational speaker Nathan Farrugia. Staff members with different responsibilities from managers to supervisors, from re- ceptionists to cleaners participated in the seminar. The session also included practical team exercises. During the seminar the company's top management also shared with participants the company's finan- cial results for last year as well as its vi- sion for the coming years. To top it all, a team-building event was held at Għajn Tuffieħa Camp in col- laboration with the St Aloysious Col- lege Scout Group. During this session, employees were divided into four teams with various games and tasks assigned within set timeframes. All games in- volved teamwork from scavenger hunts to building bridges, cooking and other interesting activities. The event turned out to be a great suc- cess with all participants enjoying a fun- filled afternoon with all their colleagues in a relaxed environment. Still time to apply for Malta's Entrepreneur of the Year award Nominations for EY Malta's first edi- tion of the Entrepreneur of the Year will close on 20 February 2017. The Maltese winner will be announced in March and will join a group over 120 entrepreneurs from around the world in Monaco in June to compete for EY's World Entre- preneur of the Year award. The event is considered to be one of the most prestigious networking events in the world. Some of the world's key businessmen and women will participate in the EY World Entrepreneur of the year event in Monaco. Key speakers will include Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, Dan Schul- man, President and CEO of PayPal and Amal Clooney, International Human Rights Attorney. For the first time, Maltese entrepre- neurs will have a unique chance to com- pete and represent their country at this global competition. The finals of the awards are now widely recognised as the benchmark for identifying the best up and coming entrepreneurs in the world. Successful participants will possess and embrace an entrepreneurial spirit and vision, solid financial performance, innovation, strategic direction, sustain- ability and growth in employee num- bers, industry and community impact as well as personal integrity. Prospective applicants need to com- plete an online application form found on www.eoymalta.com. Shortly after- wards a member of EY Malta team will be in touch to schedule an interview to obtain more background about the company. The interview summary will be passed on to a panel of independent judges for review. Once again, the EY team will be in touch if the company successfully moves on to the next and final stage – a presentation in front of the judging panel. The winner will then be announced during a gala event mid-March and flown to Monaco in June, all expenses paid. EY's Entrepreneur of the Year Malta is sponsored by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c and supported by the Malta Stock Exchange and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry. 'Life's greatest competitor is not the person standing next to you, but the one inside your head' - Nathan Mercieca, MAPFRE MSV Life Team-building exercises including scavenger hunts, bridge building and cooking were organised for Vassallo Builders staff 'An eye-opener is the fact that actually 'with one slow step after another you reach the top of a mountain' - Keane Cassar, MAPFRE MSV Life