THE three-day youth seminar on the Heart of Borneo (HOB) concluded recently with a project pitching and certificate presentation at the Kampong Ayer Cultural and Tourism Gallery.
Twenty-nine youth participants from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesian and Malaysia took part in the event which aims to increase understanding of the Heart of Borneo Initiative and empower them to be the next-generation leaders in promoting sustainable development, a press release said.
Six project ideas were pitched by the teams, which include Eco Camp, the privatisation of the Meragang Biodiversity Centre and the Green Elixir.
Over the three-day event, the participants took part in a forum titled ‘Empowering Youth in the Heart of Borneo: How Can Youth Take Action’, delivered by Dr Henry Chan, Leader of the Heart of Borneo Initiative, WWF Malaysia and WWF Indonesia; Mahmud Yussof, CEO of the Heart of Borneo Centre Brunei Darussalam; Fahim Ibrahim, Vice President of BruWILD; and Jeffery Ong, Farm Manager of the Food Jungle.
This was followed by a session on Climate Change and Sustainability which was facilitated by Khairunnisa Ash’ari, the Co-Founder and Community Engagement Director of Green Brunei. The participants also had a ‘green’ debate over the benefits of ecotourism.
On the second day, the participants visited the Tropical Biodiversity Centre where they were briefed on the various rainforest types in Brunei and went for a 30-minute jungle trek behind the centre to learn about the various properties and benefits of the plants.
This was followed by a visit to the Eko Kampong Cuisine in Lamunin, a visit to the Marine Biodiversity Centre where the participants learned about the importance of marine biodiversity and finally a beach clean-up.
The event was organised by Green Brunei in partnership with the Heart of Borneo Centre, and supported by Progresif Cellular, MOC Sdn Bhd, Tien Sing Vegetarian Restaurant, Rentokil Initial, Ajwa Kitchen and Riza Printing.
Source: Borneo Bulletin