SDG summit to empower and inspire youths

THE Malaysian Youth SDG Summit 2022, held today at the International Youth Centre in Cheras, hopes to empower local youth through an exciting session of knowledge and idea-sharing related to sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPGM) will hold the one-day summit from 8.30am to 4.30pm at the International Youth Centre (IYC) and online via the Zoom platform.

Carrying the theme of 'Localizing SDGs', the summit is co-organised by the IYC and supported by the United Nations as well as the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS).

It featured 13 speakers aged between 13 and 30, and showcased local activism projects and best practice stories to bring change to the country.

The one-day event will also serve as a platform to enable young local SDG practitioners to meet with like-minded people as well as industry peers.

Summit director Zoel Ng said that the event would be held via hybrid format to accommodate both local and international audience participation, and featured a sign-language interpreter to ensure no audience is left behind. 

She told New Straits Times that the chosen theme represents a hope of empowering youth, especially in gaining a deeper understanding of local issues through ideas and knowledge-sharing sessions.

"The theme represents more than just the big concept of SDG or policies theory from up-to-down development, but we're touching on the whole concept of SDG, from bottom-to-top.

"This means involving activists who have been on the ground, helping change people's lives and getting them to speak of their experience at this year's summit," she said.

Ng said the idea behind organising the summit came when the committee tapped into local talents and looked to empower more youth by giving these activists a platform for knowledge sharing, especially those who have conducted their research from as early as 15 years old.

"Malaysia is filled with talents and these locally-grown activists have something to show the public, especially with what they can do to help make our country a better place.

"Thus, came the idea of organising this summit on both a national and international stage. It was done online last year, but we're doing it via a hybrid format this year," Ng said.

Previously, the summit featured 49 speakers, 70 per cent of them aged 30 and below.

"This year, we've received 49 applications for speakers ranging from award winners to TedX speakers to speak at this summit.

"But this year, we had to choose 13 speakers as it is only a one-day event," she said.

IYC director Dr Mohamed Maliki Mohamed Rapiee said the summit carries the torch of the ministry's support in empowering Malaysian youth towards becoming more aware of SDG-based issues.

"We are in the era of the last decade of action, and this is the time we need to show our commitment and real action in bringing change to the country.

"The speakers chosen for the summit will show a lot of things we can learn from the youth. They have been on the ground as young as 13 years old, taking the initiative to bring change to the country.

"These local, youth SDG practitioners, want to talk about the real issues which range from planet prosperity, the environment, floods to river pollution and we hope this would enlighten more youth to be aware of what's going on, and take action in caring for our environment," he said.

Mohamed Maliki said the ministry, through IYC, is also looking to empower more youth in realising their own abilities and giving them the resources to help make the world a better place. "There's no such thing as too small of an effort. Even small things could lead to big, good things.

"IYC is also using the opportunity to showcase our own programmes, such as the Malaysian Humanitarian Movement (MHM) or the rainwater harvesting we've been conducting for a long time.

"This is to show the public that we have a centre that serves as an SDG hub, where they can also come and join our events or learn anything related to SDG."

Moving forward, he said it was of utmost importance to invest in the younger generation.

"This is also why we have started a school programme called 'Sekolah SDG', in cooperation with the Education Ministry, to teach school students about SDG.

"I believe this is one of the ways for our young to start doing more for their environment in the early stages, and continue when they pursue their studies at the tertiary level.

"It is our biggest hope that this summit could empower more youth to gain a deeper understanding of SDG, and take steps into making the world a better place," he said.

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