138 from 10 countries participate in Asia Youth Leadership Assemblage

KOTA KINABALU: A total of 138 participants from 10 countries participated in the Asia Youth Leadership Assemblage (AYLA) 2021 organised by the Student Representative Council (MPP) of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) recently.

AYLA 2021 director Low Yee Teng said the two-day program focused on developing competitiveness, innovation, intelligence and time management skills to produce young leaders across the Asian continent.

“It is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDGs) introduced by the United Nations (UN).

Discussed were the goals of SDG 4, namely Quality Education, SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Action on Climate), SDG 14 (Indoor Living Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 17 (Cooperation for Goals),” he said in a statement.

According to Low Yee Teng, the program was held online through the Zoom application involving 18 universities in Asia.

“Among the participating countries include China, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Cambodia, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Pakistan and Brunei.

“AYLA 2021 also features an invited facilitator from the Commonwealth Youth Council of the Asian Regional Delegates, Archana Vijai Kumar, to test the personality of youth leaders.

“We also invited the CEO of American company, Empowered Living Intentionally Forward Everyday (L.I.F.E), Kenneth Antoine, to discuss the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats,” he explained.

The opening ceremony was officiated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student and Alumni Affairs) of UMS Assoc Prof Dr Raman Noordin.

In his speech, he stressed that the youth are the future leaders who will shape the world’s future.

“Therefore, the development of their skills is essential to produce great leaders. Problemsolving, interpersonal skills and leadership skills need to be polished and aligned to create global leaders.

“Well done, and congratulations on organising AYLA 2021. I am with all the leaders in this event because of their willingness, dedication and desire to learn something new,” he said.

With the theme ‘Future on Us’, the program was held in collaboration with the Department of Student Affairs, UMS and strategic partner RAKUN.