Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), through Community for Brunei, held a youth health forum as part of events to commemorate World Health Day under the SME360 Sustainable Nation campaign.
The forum is a community building initiative aligned with BIBD’s support for addressing the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG3 – Good Health and
Well-Being.
The forum is a workshop focussed on school-aged youth, and is a collaboration between Community for Brunei, the Ministry of Health’s Health Promotion Centre and Jab Gym. It brought together youth from different schools and featured a professional boxer and fitness coach Sammy McNess.
McNess spent four years representing England and Great Britain, travelling the world fighting continental, world and Olympic champions. He had over 100 fights in total, 30 of them being international contests around the world.
The panel also featured figures in the local fitness industry, namely national and Olympic sprinter Firdaus Ar Rasyid, and a calisthenic and NASM-certified fitness coach with Jab Gym Brunei Alim Roslan.
The athletes covered a range of topics during the forum, such as how to get started as a national athlete or a coach in the fitness industry, the discipline and motivation required as a high- performing athlete as well as the ins and outs of the fitness industry.
According to BIBD’s Chief Marketing Officer Hajah Nurul Akmar binti Haji Mohd Jaafar, the youth health forum is part of BIBD’s efforts to empower youth by opening their minds to the different pathways open to them after school years.
“While we always emphasise the importance of education as the foundation to one’s life, there are a range of options available to youth these days after they complete their education, including professions in the fitness industry, and potentially becoming a professional athlete,” she said. “We hope that the inspiring and informative talks today will spark a conversation about future directions that our youth may want to explore.”
Apart from youth empowerment, the forum is also part of BIBD’s initiative under their sustainability framework in supporting the UN SDG by reducing one third of premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment by 2030, and to promote mental health and well-being.
“Under the SME360 Sustainable Nation campaign, and this forum specifically, we hope to encourage fitter families, a healthier lifestyle and overall physical and mental wellness as one of the key components of sustainability,” Hajah Nurul Akmar said.
The Sustainable Nation campaign is part of BIBD’s SME360 Series, and aims to foster the development of a wider community of eco-allies in the effort to move Brunei towards a circular economy.
