THE opening ceremony of the first Heart of Borneo (HoB) Youth Seminar was held yesterday at the Youth Centre in Bandar Seri Begawan.
About 31 participants from Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia will be taking part in the three-day seminar to discuss the various challenges and opportunities for the HoB in promoting sustainable development through ideas.
With the theme ‘Empowering Youth Leaders for Sustainable Development’, the seminar’s objectives include to develop an understanding of the Heart of Borneo Initiative amongst youths, as well as to identify potential areas to develop the economy.
Moreover, youths are encouraged to take on leadership as a way to promote the HoB and ensuring sustainable development of their countries.
The opening ceremony’s guest of honour was Wardi bin Haji Mohammad Ali, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Tourism) at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism.
The keynote speech, presented by Dr Henry Chan, Leader of the Heart of Borneo Initiative, WWF Malaysia and WWF Indonesia, was entitled ‘The Role of Heart of Borneo in Tackling Climate Change: Opportunities and Challenges’.
This was followed by a forum on ‘Empowering Youths in the Heart of Borneo: How Can Youths Take Action’.
The panel comprised of Mahmud Yussof, CEO of the HoB Centre; Dr Henry Chan; Fahim Ibrahim, the Vice President of BruWILD and Head of Botanical Section; and Jeffery Ong, Farm Manager of the Food Jungle.
The programme was moderated by Khairunnisa Ash’ari, the co-founder and Community Engagement Director of Green Brunei.
During the three-day event, participants will be involved in various activities that include group discussions, project-pitching, beach clean-up and some trekking.
Additionally, they will also visit the Tropical Biodiversity Centre in Sungai Liang, Marine Biodiversity Centre in Meragang, Eko Kampong Cuisine in Lamunin, and Kampong Ayer Tourism and Cultural Gallery.
The seminar was organised by Green Brunei with the support of Progresif Cellular, MOC Sdn Bhd, Tien Hsing Vegetarian Restaurant, Rentokil Initial and Ajwa Kitchen.
Source: Borneo Bulletin