Lyna Mohamad & Azlan Othman
Twenty-seven youth from the Tutong Youth Movement (IMPAK) and mosque youth in Pekan Tutong completed an information literacy programme, marked by a closing ceremony at the Information Department, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Berakas on Thursday.
Acting Director of Information, Siti Bismi Nuruliman binti Haji Emzah presented certificates of participation to the youth.
Prior to the ceremony, participants attended a briefing on ‘Volunteers Movement Development in Brunei Darussalam’ by Chief Operations Officer of Youth Volunteers, Youth and Sports Department, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Muhammad Amirul Syazmie bin Ibrahim.
He explained the work and principles as a volunteer including directly strengthening friendships, helping the community, gaining experience and knowledge and filling their free time beneficially.
This was followed with a talk on ‘The Beauty of Sign Language’ by Dunstan Chua Siew Fah from the National Association for the Hearing Impaired (OKP) Association, which aimed to raise awareness on the concept of inclusivity (learning sign language) with the OKP on sign language.
He also shared that sign language in the Sultanate is different from abroad from a cultural point of view. Participants were also introduced to the alphabets and numbers and were then given exercises and activities.
The briefing session concluded with a talk on cyber crime by cyber security awareness trainer from Cyber Security Brunei Siti Nor Izuana binti Ayob, who touched on the sharing of detailed personal information online that can be used by cybercriminals to commit organised crime.
Participants were also exposed to issues related to cybercrime and the use of social media to raise public awareness on the dangers of social media technology abuse, such as cyberbullying, online fraud, scamming, phishing and extortion.
Prior to the certificate presentation, participants visited the Lentera Makmur Gallery and the Pelita Brunei Division of the Information Department.
The previous day, the participants attended a briefing on the ‘National Youth Policy and Strategy 2035’ by Muhammad Amirul Syazmie.
The second talk on ‘Enhancing Your Skills and Abilities with SkillsPlus And SPIN Programmes’ by Acting Grade II Special Duties Officer from Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC) Siti Nurbazilah binti Haji Mohd Noor highlighted initiatives on the provision of financing assistance to eligible job seekers, i-Ready apprenticeship and private sector workforce including freelancers to re-train and upgrade their skills through lifelong learning courses.
She also shared courses offered at SkillsPlus and the guidelines for registration.
The participants were also briefed on ‘Upholding Bruneian identity in living in a Community’ by the Assistant Chief of Adat Istiadat Negara Haji Abdul Manaf @ Muhammad Zulfikri bin Haji Japar.
Siti Bismi Nuruliman, Acting Deputy Director of Information Sastra Sarini binti Haji Julaini, as the chairperson of the programme, heads of mukims and villages were also present.
The programme’s objectives were to produce visionary youth with a strong national identity and love for the religion, the people and the nation while instilling a sense of responsibility towards realising Brunei Vision 2035.