YED 2016

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NEA hosted the ASEAN Plus Three Youth Environment Forum (AYEF) in Singapore for the first time from 8 to 10 April 2016, in conjunction with Youth for the Environment Day (YED). The AYEF brought together over 150 youths from ASEAN countries and China to help shape tomorrow’s environmentally sustainable cities. The event was supported by various youth volunteers, including a Youth Planning Team and students from Commonwealth Secondary School and ITE College East, as well as community partners South West Community Development Council and Yuhua Grassroots Organisations.

The theme for AYEF 2016, “Imagine. Create. Change”, recognises that youths play a pivotal role in shaping ASEAN regional co-operation in the years ahead, and aims to develop future leaders who will champion environmental ownership and care for the environment. The youth delegates, aged between 15 and 25 years old, participated in training workshops, an experiential learning trail, field trips, a dialogue with Minister Mr Masagos Zulkifli and keynote presentations on waste minimisation initiatives from three speakers representing the youth, corporate and community sectors. These activities equipped the youth delegates with the tools to develop meaningful projects to tackle environmental issues, which they can then carry out in their home countries, schools, or communities.

Social media updates throughout the three days were posted on @be_ecowithme.

Delegates participated in an introductory Design Thinking workshop to understand the users (e.g. the residents) and create prototypes that were relevant to their local communities.

The environmental experiential learning trail in Yuhua explored waste minimisation initiatives and demonstrated how Design Thinking tools could be used to create solutions.

DSC_2857 (2) During the plenary, participants engaged in a dialogue with: (from left) Dr Angela Lee, Head of Sustainability for IKEA Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, Mr Ong Soo San, Director, Waste & Resource Management Department, NEA, Minister Masagos Zulkifli, Mr Low Min Chye, Vice-Chairman of the South West CDC Environment Functional Committee, Ms Amal Afifah Rusali, Chairperson of the Brunei Environmental Youth Envoys and Mr Kenneth Wong, Chairman, Kampong Chai Chee CC Youth Executive Committee.

A009-1 Delegates presented their solutions to Mr Khoo Seow Poh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NEA, at the farewell dinner.

hardhat Delegates visited the Tuas South Incineration Plant and the ENVision Gallery to understand Singapore’s environmental challenges and the systems that we have put in place to address them.

Delegates were taken on a tour of the Marina Bay area, where they had a chance to network with each other and learn about Singapore’s clean and green story, such as the Singapore River clean-up and green buildings