BANGI, Sept 21- Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar has urged Asean youth to actively participate in volunteerism and community programmes to enhance exchange of learning experiences, develop capacity, enhance cross-cultural understanding and forge a sense of regional identity.
He said the youth played important roles in maintaining peace and harmony in the region and should have a sence of concern for their neighbours, one of which was environment awareness.
He was speaking at the Grand Celebration of the Inaugural ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme themed, ‘Development of ASEAN Youth Eco-Leader through Volunteerism and Community Engagement’, at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in Bangi, Friday.
Also present were UKM vice-chancellor Tan Sri Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, deputy vice-chancellor (Industry and Community Partnerships) and ASEAN Youth Volunteers Programme executive director Prof Datuk Dr Saran Kaur Gill and David L. Carden of the United States Mission to ASEAN.
On the five-week Inaugural ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme – The ASEAN Youth Eco-Leaders programme which commenced on Aug 15, Khairy said the event was a realisation among the young people to work together and protect the environment.
The programme is in partnership with the ministry, ASEAN Secretariat and the United States Agency for International Development.
Participants in the programme were dispatched to four bio-diversity sites to work with local communities and implement environmental education and other sustainable initiatives.
The four bio-diversity sites were Mersing (Johor); Kampung Dew (Perak); Setiu (Terengganu) and Kuala Selangor Nature Park (Selangor).
The ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme is an instrument to create opportunities for ASEAN youth to work together by helping communities in the region, strengthening intercultural relationship and create a strong ASEAN indentity which is aligned with the Strategic Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2009-2015, in article 5 under the Sociocultural Community.
-BERNAMA
