Hakim Hayat
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin said his ministry is mulling the launch of a ‘Volunteers app,’ serving as a centralised platform to allow the public to see which non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and opportunities to volunteer for. This will allow NGOs to extend their reach to volunteers and network with others for collaboration.
The minister made these comments at the second session of the inaugural Youth Townhall themed ‘Meeting National Aspirations: Youth as Future Ready Agents of Change’ at the Youth Centre in the capital yesterday.
The event brought together leaders from both the public and private sectors, and advocates of youth movements to discuss matters revolving around the agenda of the youth in meeting national aspirations and their readiness in meeting national goals.
Sharing further on the app details, the minister said its features will include a ‘Volunteers Guideline’ to outline the rules and regulations for volunteers and volunteering organisations, helping raise awareness on what volunteers/organisations can/cannot do in organising volunteering events.
The minister heard and met the over 100 participants at the event, which was streamed online.
The session – facilitated by Young Professional; Advocate & Convener on Youth Development Fadli M Zaini and Co-Founder of Young Professionals Network Fatin binti Arifin – saw the attendance of leaders from the public and private organisations as well as NGOs, including Haji Mohammad Loqman Al Hakim bin Haji Hamdan; Nurul Hadina binti Haji Alias; Mohammad Ashmeer s/o Imtiaz Ahmad; Haji Abdul Mateen Bolkini bin Haji Ahmad; Muhd Amirul Syazmie bin Ibrahim and Charlotte Lim.
The panel discussed and delved into the current state of the NGOs and community leadership, and touched on how to develop more youth leaders.
Responses included how students can be exposed to community work and creating opportunities/platforms for youth outside Brunei-Muara District to participate.
Discussions also touched on NGOs’ role in national development and how to expand more discussions, how they can create a more conducive ecosystem to develop more youth leaders and grow the NGO community.
Recommendations included creating a centralised platform for everyone interested in volunteerism/community work to go to for information, roadshows, making use of social media and having NGO gatherings to increase networking.
The townhall, held in conjunction with National Youth Day 2020, was organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Young Professionals Network (YPN Brunei) and Creative Core BN.