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IN CONJUNCTION with the 20th Asean Youth Day Meeting (AYDM) and 9th Ten Accomplished Youth Organisations (TAYO) Asean Award, youth and youth groups from nine Asean countries yesterday took part in a sharing session held at the Silaturrahim Hall at the Youth Centre in the capital. Among the Asean youth who took part to deliver their presentation were from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Themed “Youth as an Agent of Change Towards Development of Community and World Peace”, the sharing session aimed to share experiences, network and build friendships as well as provide a view towards strengthening regional solidarity, stability and prosperity. AYDM highlights the various contributions and achievements of youth in the region towards Asean community building through a variety of platforms in…

THE 20th ASEAN Youth Day Meeting (AYDM) kicked off yesterday morning with a “sharing session” by the recipients of this year’s ASEAN Youth Award and Ten Accomplished Youth Organisations (TAYO) ASEAN Award. A total of 35 delegates from ASEAN countries respectively are currently in the country to attend AYDM which will run until October 11. Themed “Youth as an Agent of Change Towards Development of Community and World Peace”, the sharing session was held at the Youth Centre in the capital aimed for the awardees to share their experiences and inspiring other young people in making a difference in their community. The recipients for the ASEAN Youth Award and TAYO ASEAN Award for Brunei were Khairunnisa Ash’ari and Kumpulan Putra Seni (KPS). Khairunnisa, who is actively involved in Green Brunei,…

FOUR Bruneian youths yesterday departed for Beijing, China to address environmental issues at the International Youth Organisation Forum and Beijing Sister City Youth Camp. Rodziah Hj Adnan, Stephanie Yong, Mohd Khairullizan Mohd Yussof and Firdaus Ismail will participate in the forum and camp held from October 20 to 26. The youths are representatives from the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (JASTRE), Green Brunei and Beach Bunch. Rodziah, an officer at JASTRE’s Environmental Planning and Management Unit, said the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports extended its invitation to the department as environment will be one of the issues discussed during the forum. Firdaus from Green Brunei said the programme would benefit him in terms of knowledge sharing in aspects such as urban enviroment management and sustainability. He further said…

NON-governmental organisation Green Brunei is pushing for all schools to teach environmental education. Community Engagement Director Khairunnisa Ash’ari said the Ministry of Education should make sure recycling and waste management are incorporated into the school curriculum. In an interview yesterday, she said one of the ways youth can practise environment conservation as part of their lifestyle is when they are made aware from a young age. “For instance, if schools do not make it a culture for students to recycle, then it is more challenging to get the students to participate in green community activities.. “As a habit, students should be encouraged to switch off the lights and fans when not in use,” she added Although the Ministry of Education, through the Science, Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre, has…

GREEN Brunei is keen to strengthen its initiatives on environmental education and conservation next year. The initiatives include holding more green camps, school talks and encouraging more people to take part in tree-planting, said the non-profit organisation’s community engagement director Khairunnisa Ash’ari. She said through its activities this year, she realised there is great potential in engaging more young people. “So far, all our programmes have been short-term, and we want to look into having more long-term programmes which are sustainable,” she said. This year, it initiated two tree-planting activities in Bengkurong apart from other conservation activities. However, Khairunnisa said plans are under way to turn them into long-term programmes by having them more frequently. “We still have a lot to do in terms of reaching out to the community…

GREEN Brunei recently attended Singapore Power Shift, a kickstarter workshop aimed at building up climate knowledge as well as knowledge on how to run successful campaigns. The Bruneian non-profit organisation was represented by its Community Engagement Director Khairunnisa Ash’ari, with support from the British High Commission. Organised by global climate movement organisation 350.org, Singapore Power Shift was part of 350.org’s second phase of the Global Power Shift (which took place in Turkey last year). The two-day workshop saw participation from over 50 youth from Southeast Asian countries, and focused on topics relevant to climate change movements around the world. Participants were also exposed to a wide range of campaigning skills and techniques through case studies, which were presented by different non-government organisations within and outside Singapore. Five campaign proposals were…

Khairunnisa listened intently as the speaker went on about the harmful effects of carbon dioxide on the environment and what Singapore has been doing to slow down global warming.  It was just less than 12 hours ago that Khairunnisa flew in from Brunei to attend the Singapore Power Shift organised by 350 Singapore held over a span of two days.  350 Singapore was founded by Young NTUC in March 2010. Speaking with a glint in her eye, Khairunnisa shares her passion in creating sustainable development. “Right now in Brunei, the environmental impact is not so obvious, we know that the problems with the environment such as haze, and water pollution crosses geographic boundaries but Brunei don’t have these problems right now, however with all these new knowledge that I can…

GREEN thumbs went beyond their backyards yesterday as they participated in a mangrove planting activity that was held along the river banks of Sg Damuan. Organised by local non-government organisation Green Brunei, the event is supported by the Forestry Department, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and HSBC Brunei. A total of 39 participants — comprising members of the organiser as well as staff from the Forestry Department — planted 105 mangrove saplings and at the same time learn about the importance of the plants in the ecosystem. “Mangrove forests provide protection and shelter against extreme weather events such as floods,” shared Forestry Assistant and Head of Bukit Patoi Forest Recreational Park and Selirong Island Unit, Mohamad Rozizan Mohd Maslin to the participants at the planting site. At the same…

ONE hundred mangrove trees were planted along Sg Damuan, Bengkurong on Saturday by over 30 volunteers. The Mangrove Planting Project 2014 hopes to rehabilitate the area to restore the habitat for the wildlife at the river bank such as the proboscis monkeys. Aside from planting trees, the volunteers from Green Brunei, HSBC, educational institutions, the Forestry Department and general public, also collected trash on the river bank to be recycled. It was the second mangrove tree planting in Bengkurong organised by Green Brunei. “Last year, we planted 200 trees with the help of the Forestry Department together with participants of the ASEAN Young Professionals Volunteer Corps (AYPVC) Seminar. Both events were supported by HSBC Brunei. “Hopefully we will be able to engage more volunteers to take part in our future…