ASEAN YOUTH FORUM ON INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY

TEXT SPEECH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR LABUAN YB DATUK YUSSOF MAHAL AT A DINNER IN CONJUNCTION WITH ASEAN YOUTH FORUM
ON INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY
ON 17TH APRIL 2011 TIARA HOTEL, FT LABUAN
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Bismillahirahmanirrahim…
Good Morning, Salam Sejahtera and Salam 1Malaysia

YB Datuk Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation

Dr Raslan Ahmad
Yayasan Innovasi Malaysia (YIM) chief executive officer

Khairun Nisa
Co-founder of Malaysia Youth Climate Justice Network

Kal Joffres
Tandem Fund chief operating officer

Participants from Asean countries of China, Japan and South Korea and Malaysia. Welcome to Federal Territory of Labuan. As Member of Parliament for Labuan, it is my great pleasure to receive you all to my constituency. It is a great honor, indeed, to have you all here on our beautiful island. I was made to understand about 100 participants from Asean countries, have confirmed to participate in the three-day Asean Youth Forum on Innovation and Creativity (AYFIC) 2011 to be held here, starting tomorrow.
The forum I believe is able to be a platform of promoting Malaysia as a hub for innovation and creativity among youths, a platform for them to share their insights in this issue, thus promoting better understanding and collaboration among Asean youths. With a theme of 'Youth and Innovation as Agent of Change', the forum is aimed at enabling young participants to share their insight on innovation and creativity and produce new ideas that could bring positive impact to the world.

The idea of the AYF is to bring together college and university students and young people from all over the Asian region to an international convention to meet with other youth and educators and Ouprovide them a venue where they could share their ideas, views and knowledge on culture, language, leadership and social and global issues and also learn from others.

Notably, since its inception, AYF has been focused to the following objectives:
  • Allow the participants to learn and understand each other’s basic language and to put emphasis on the use of the English language as an important (international) language and tool for communication in order to properly convey one’s ideas to another.
  • Bring together the youth of Asia to an exchange opportunity to learn about each other’s culture, values, perceptions and history in order to bridge cultural gap and foster an environment of awareness, understanding and tolerance amidst differences.
  • Provide a venue for the participants to freely discuss specific social and global issues that concern the youth in Asia today and understand how it affects them
  • Provide the participants the opportunity and venue to plan for a solution which can be applied in their communities upon return home to resolve their chosen concern issue.
  • Provide the participants training on business-life skills and help them prepare to become responsible global citizens and international leaders.

Ladies and gentlemen,
While looking through various reports, studies, books and other secondary sources – all of which offer a variety of insights related to the interests, needs and experiences of young people, a clear research gap became evident. Much of the research that exists on young people does not involve a global perspective, and often focuses on youth in the context of consumers in order to support business decisions, or youth who are ‘at risk’ and are a segment of the population vulnerable to a variety of social problems.

Rarely are youth examined in the context of having the potential to be agents of change, problem-solvers, or leaders of the information society. In addition, major studies do not involve youth in the process of survey design, which can affect the potential bias of the research.In trying to examine if and how the role of young people has changed as a result of technology, the need for a unique study involving youth leaders and influencers from around the world who have access to technology became clear.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In order to gain a deeper understanding of how the role of young people is currently perceived and how it has changed over the last 100 years, a survey was designed to explore the roles and the importance of involvement of youth various issues and this includes… How is ‘youth’ defined?What are key differences between the perceptions of youth verses perceptions of adults? Issue of touch on participation of youth in Decision-Making process.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are fully aware, how important is it for young people to be involved in decision-making?What is the current perceived level of youth participation in decision-making on local, national and global levels?

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Youth Are Becoming More Engaged as Key Stakeholders
When key stakeholders are brought together to share a vision for the future, it is critical to recognize that although most young people are unable to formally represent a business, government or non-profit institution as a key stakeholder, they do have the largest stake in the future and can often help to revive and refresh various perspectives being shared.
“Youth participation often requires changes in the way adults perceive and deal with adolescents, since the rights of young people and their capacities to make decisions for themselves are often unrecognized and undervalued.”

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Increasingly, institutions are recognizing the importance of bringing the voices of young people to the forefront.On a global level, there are numerous summits that have brought together various leaders and decision-makers and have included young people as a key stakeholder or ‘major group’.

According to Agenda 21 (Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment), involving each of the major groups in the decision-making process was recognized as being a “fundamental prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development.

We are in agreement that this must be an inclusive process, involving all the major groups and Governments. It is high time to promote and support youth participation in programmes and activities relating to sustainable development through, for example, supporting local youth councils or their equivalent, and by encouraging their establishment where they do not.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is a need to increase awareness and trust in political process, while also validating and supporting other forms of civic participation. There are a growing number of regional, national, and local youth councils and networks sprouting up due to interest, support, and demand.Increasingly, different youth councils are strengthening their efforts through forging more partnerships and raising their profile.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Before I end my speech, once again, I would like to express my sincere gratification and welcome all of you to Federal Territory of Labuan. Hope your visit today would not be the first and the last … but to continue your journey here. I hope you will enjoy your stay here. Thank you very much… may the forum tomorrow achieve its objective of 'Youth and Innovation as Agent of Change'.

Tiada ulasan:

Catat Ulasan