BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Two hundred youth will participate in the Brunei Young Leaders Convention (BYLC) over the next two days, a platform aimed at developing projects and initiatives that contribute to national development.
At the opening of the convention on Tuesday, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, YB Dato Seri Setia Hj Awang Abdul Mokti Hj Mohammad Daud, said young people must be actively involved in policy-making.
“The government will always be open to accepting ideas from the youth. Youth need to be proactive, positive and creative in line with the Industrial Revolution 4.0,” he said.
“Change and transformation is a must in striving towards becoming a developed and dynamic country. If the youth have the vision, they will surely guarantee the country’s future prosperity and development.”
During the three-day event, the participants aged 18 to 40 will take part in a series of leadership sessions with BYLC alumni and 45 mentors who have been selected for their contributions to the fields of entrepreneurship, education, health and social affairs.
A Youth Pavilion has also been set up to showcase youth-led projects and initiatives such as Green Brunei, Global Shapers BSB and the 2035 vision secretariat.
Legislative Council member YB Iswandy Ahmad, chairman of BYLC, said the committee has set a three-year timeline to gauge the progress and results of the leadership forum.
The annual convention was established last year with the aim of creating a platform for Bruneian youth to play an active role in the country’s Vision 2035 goals, namely to create highly-educated, skilled and accomplished people; high quality of life and a dynamic and sustainable economy.
He said: “We do not see the purpose of doing BYLC just for a year. Last year’s convention was the kickstarter. This year, we have seen some progress as many of the BYLC alumni have initiated their own projects, which we will showcase [as part of the convention]. We also see more involvement and support from government agencies as part of the ‘whole of nation approach’.”
“After the year 2020, we will see whether we need BYLC 2.0, because we don’t want to do business-as usual, with every year featuring the same thing. We can talk about the same vision every year, but the more important thing is the action rather than just the content,” he added.
The annual convention is co-organised by three social enterprises — Perspective Insan, Al-Huffaz Management and Generasi Bekarih.
The Scoop is the media partner for the Brunei Young Leaders Convention 2019.