Over 500 youths recently attended the 5th Edition of Youth Town Hall at The Prime Minister’s Office organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the Young Professionals Network (YPN) Brunei and supported by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA).
The Youth Town Hall Brunei is a platform set up in 2020, in conjunction with National Youth Day to inculcate a solution-driven, forward-thinking mindset and collaborative youth community who are passionate about contributing to our national development by providing youth the opportunity to interact with our Ministers and Senior officials.
The 5th Edition themed, ‘Rising Up for National Development’ saw dialogue with Minister of Home Affairs Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Haji Ahmaddin Haji Abdul Rahman and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Haji Nazmi Haji Mohamad, moderated by Head of Media and Mentorship WeCan of the Young Professionals Network Nadia Aji.
The discussion centres on how the level of development that Brunei aspires to achieve requires unprecedented levels of cooperation and collaboration between public, private and community sectors to build a nation that is both agile and resilient, especially against the backdrop of uncertain global times.
With a strong young, well-educated and diverse talent, Brunei can indeed attain the goals of Wawasan 2035 (Vision 2035) and become a nation of great innovation and opportunities. However, to achieve this great feat, young people need to be willing to rise up to the demands of development across various levels including at school, and work and take proactive involvement at the grassroots community level be it through NGO, Kampong amongst others.
During the town hall session, various topics were discussed including grassroots leadership, the role of youths in taking active participation in national development, the issue of racism in Brunei, and local capacity to develop food security among others.
YB Dato Haji Ahmaddin’s advised the youth to develop the right mindset, attitude and skills to contribute effectively to national development. He also shared that to become future leaders, youth need to be able to fulfil the prerequisites to lead well and to work collaboratively together to realise the whole of nation development.
On the other hand, YB Dato Haji Nazmi also shared his aspirations for our youth to develop resilience, about upholding the Bruneian identity including ensuring information sharing is accurate and constructive. The minister added there are various efforts by different ministries including MCYS to develop opportunities for the differently abled community or OKU. Yang Berhormat Dato also hopes for the youth contribution to be maintained beyond.
Various other topics were discussed throughout the two hours town hall session. Youth are also advised to understand Dasar Belia Negara.
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
