Preparing future leaders to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

With the aim of providing a clearer understanding of how higher learning institutions can play a role in encouraging youths to work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as implementing the New Urban Agenda (NUA), the Department of Student Affairs (DSA) and the Department of Soft Skills Competency (DSSC) organised the fourth International Youth Development Virtual Conference (IYDVC) 2021 from 6 to 7 November 2021 via Zoom and Facebook Live. The conference was also co-organised and supported by IOI Properties Group Berhad.

The virtual conference, which was held for the second time, saw more than 370 participants, including 202 international participants from Brunei, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan. The event also saw participants from IOI Properties Group Berhad, Global Environment Centre, H&C Heritage Services Sdn Bhd, WWF Malaysia, Zero Waste Malaysia, Urbanice Malaysia and Sekitar Kita.

The theme of the conference was ‘The Role and Participatory of Youth in Building Sustainable Cities’. A competition, related to SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, was also opened to student participants from local and overseas universities, specifically in the Asia Pacific region. The title of the competition was “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Impact Competition 2021: Participation of Youths in Building Sustainable Cities”.  A total of five shortlisted groups were invited to present their projects on the second day of the conference.

Present at the IYDVC’s opening ceremony were UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat, General Manager of Group Corporate Communication and Sustainability of IOI Properties Group Berhad Kristine Ng, UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations-cum-Organising Chairperson Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, Keynote Speaker-cum-Sunway University Jeffrey Cheah Institute of Southeast Asia and Jeffrey Sachs Center of Sustainable Development President Prof Dato’ Dr Woo Wing Thye, sponsors, forum panellists, guest speakers and participants.

During the opening ceremony, Prof Ewe highlighted that UTAR has always believed in providing community engagement and enriching activities for students and the public community. He said, “This conference is very relevant in the current context of changes around the world because of the pandemic. People are now more aware of their health, safety, community and the environment. They think more about sustainability, their future and their lifestyle.”

He added, “Through this conference, I hope participants will be able to identify the future skills needed, and hopefully discuss solutions to problems that will reflect long-term sustainability. I also hope that these international participants will bring in fresh perspectives and ideas for a more enriching conference experience.”

On behalf of IOI Properties Group Berhad, Kristine Ng said, “IOI Group believes that investment in youth development could bring benefit to society. We have cooperated with UTAR for many years in various activities and campaigns. Youths are the leaders of tomorrow. I hope this conference could shed light on how to create a sustainable city and community. As we continue to develop a good and comfortable environment to stay, we also hope to unite the youths and provide them with a platform to learn and grow. I believe that youths are the hope to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the future.”

The conference began with Prof Woo’s keynote address titled “Entrenching Sustainable Development Malaysia: The Required Hardware, Software, and Power Supply’. In his address, he said, “To attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) or industry from other countries, the quality of education in Malaysia has to be improved. Apart from educating youths to become talented people in using technology, we also have to encourage them to work and contribute to the nation instead of searching for development in other countries. For instance, if we have enough IT professionals, we can allow international IT companies to invest in Malaysia and we will be well prepared for it.”

Following was a keynote forum titled “Leading through Advocacy, Policy Making and Partnership for Sustainable Cities”. The forum saw Dr Azmizam Abdul Rashid from Urbanice Malaysia, Dr Leong Kar Yen from Tamkang University Department of Global Politics and Economics, and Dr Munirah Alatas from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities sharing insights on how to make the cities and community more sustainable. The forum was moderated by UTAR Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) Dr Charanjit Kaur Darshan Singh.

To provide participants a well-rounded view of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and spur discussions, another keynote address was given on the second day of the conference. The keynote address titled “Reinvigorating the role of Universities for Sustainable Urban Development” was delivered by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies Director Prof Dato’ Dr Aileen Tan Shau Hwai. Among the highlights of the conference was the second keynote forum titled “Action-oriented of Young Leaders and Real-Life Solutions in Cities”. The forum was delivered by four key panellists, namely Universiti Malaya (UM) Water Warriors Affan Nasaruddin, Low Shao-Lyn from Eats, Shoots and Roots and Jasreel Lim You Jin from Zero Waste Malaysia.The forum was moderated by UTAR FCI lecturer Zachary Roland A.F. Anthony.

Throughout the conference, participants were able to gain knowledge from the erudite speakers and trainers during the different talks and workshops. Parallel workshops such as “Let’s Take a "Brake" - Urban Energy Transition” by CSO-SDG Alliance member Joyline Chai, “The Roles of Town Planner in Sustainable Urban Development” by Malaysia Institute of Planner Vice President Datin TPr Hjh Noraida Saludin, “Youth’s Voice in Building Sustainable Communities” by Penang Women’s Development Corporation Chief Executive Officer and Interim Head of Department Ong Bee Leng, and “Future Jobs & Adapting into Hybrid Work Cultures” by Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) Economic Prosperity Vice President Prakash Nagarajan were also held with the purpose of providing hands-on development for the participants.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Impact Competition 2021

In conjunction with IYDVC 2021, the SDGs Impact Competition 2021 was also organised to showcase the participation and contributions of university students towards building sustainable cities and communities. Themed ‘Participation of Youths in Building Sustainable Cities’, the competition aimed to provide a platform for student participants to share their past projects as well as to inspire and encourage others to play their role and contribute to building sustainable cities in relation to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). All the participants were required to target at least two SDGs for their projects, with SDG 11 being the main target.

The projects were evaluated by UTAR Division of Community and International Networking (DCInterNet) Director Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn, IOI Properties Group Berhad Group Corporate Communication and Sustainability General Manager Kristine Ng and World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia Climate Adaptation Coordinator Kelvin Diong.

The results of the competition are as follows:

The Champion team consisted of students from Suranaree University of Technology Thailand, namely Thikhamporn Omthuean (team leader), Pimpawan Mapsap, Suchiraya Klaichaiyaphum, Paweenuch Nakdee and Tanitta Suangdon. Their project was titled “Electronic bin: Fun Waste Disposal at Khao Yai National Park”.

Students from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, namely Reno Tiara Putri (team leader), Muhammad Faishal Nugraha, Yudhistyra Nugraha, Arva Levinia Rinaldi and Raudya Kalifa Jihad won first runner-up for their project titled “The Role of Youth in KangPisMan and Buruan Sae for Sustainable City Post Pandemic”.

Two students from National Taipei University of Technology, Nguyen Minh Khoa and David Liao Wen Huang were awarded second runner-up for their project titled “Simulation and Development of Zinc- Air Fuel Cell for Sustainable Energy Storage System and Hybrid Power Application”.

The consolation prizes were won by two groups from UTAR. The “Orang Asli Project 5.0” was presented by UTAR students Tan Ching Erl (team leader) and Lim Xin Hui, while the second project titled “Chicken Coop Project” was presented by Sie Shwu Yuen.

At the closing ceremony, Organising Chairperson Prof Choong enthused, “Many are still left in the dark and some are not even able to access the opportunity to make their cities and communities sustainable. As the voice of our future generation, I hope you have taken advantage of this conference and use your voice to spread this awareness to a wider group so more can join in the planning and actions that are necessary to speed up and realise this vision.”