The advancement of youth development at the national level as well as knowledge and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation among Commonwealth member countries were highlighted at the Youth Leaders Conference and Senior Officials Meeting of the Commonwealth Asia Region between April 22 and 25 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Permanent Secretary (Youth) at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Haji Zakaria bin Haji Serudin, Commonwealth’s senior officers and those involved in youth development attended the meeting.
The summit an initiative of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the British Council, and the Commonwealth Youth Council, was chaired by Deputy Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme at Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office Dr Muhammad Ali Malik, convened in parallel with the Commonwealth Asia Regional Youth Leaders Summit.
The summit also featured a discussion on the development and progress in Asia on the joint statement for the 10th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting (10th CYMM), the Marlborough House Declaration and to provide an opportunity for senior officials to engage with youth leaders and take note of the establishment of the Asia Regional Youth Platform, agreed during the Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting last year.
The meeting also highlighted the decision of the Commonwealth Asia Youth Leaders Conference on the establishment of a Commonwealth Asia Youth Alliance (CAYA), aims to empower youth in the region and provide a platform for Asian youth leaders in the Asia region to network, discuss youth development issues, and collaborate and submit proposals for consideration at the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Director of Youth and Sports Development at the MCYS Zainab binti Haji Morshidi, three national youth representatives and a youth leader from the Brunei Youth Council accompanied the permanent secretary. – Azlan Othman
