A term to introduce today is YOUNGO. What’s come across your mind now? Young, energetic, ambition, etc. Yes, you are RIGHT. YOUNGO = YOUTH + NGO. It is a youth non-government organisation comprises of youth all around the world to raise their voices towards climate change.
Youth, leaders of tomorrow. YOUNGO realised the importance of urging world leaders to ACT NOW against climate change. In fact, youth have been actively involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since COP 5 in Bonn. It was indeed a breakthrough for YOUNGO to involve in plenary and high level segment of a COP/CMP.
Youth rise, speak up and hand in hand together to secure a safer and better environment for present and future generation.It is an empowerment.
Check it out, video of YOUNGO as below. Together with YOUNGO, count down to the much anticipated COP21 with only 11 days to go. Stay with Malaysian Youth Delegation through the journey of COP21.
Greetings Beautiful People who come by to read this website,
It’s just twelve more days before the significant COP21 is bound to take place in Paris.
All youth delegates as well as people working with PowerShift Malaysia are very excited about this.
Very excited, indeed. How about you?
Personally, I see COP21 just like how I see the final public examinations that I had to take in certain academic years. If you’re familiar with Malaysian public education system, then you’d know SPM, STPM, etc.
As a student, we took notes in class, did our homework and be prepared as well as we could before we sit for the examinations. For COP21, it is terribly similar.
We observe what is happening to the earth, it’s climate and the effects. Just like a student, we spent a lot of time to learn and explore our subjects in order to better grasp the concept about it.That is why many countries took the effort to prepare an international agreement prior to the UNFCCC COP21 called the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).
As you are reading this, I am sure your curiosity is bubbling within you, so why not click at this link to take a look at all the INDCs submitted by all the “good students” of the world.
Remember, the INDCs will largely determine whether the world achieves an ambitious 2015 agreement in COP21 !
It was Deepavali. What’s more meaningful than spending the day strolling around Brickfields KL to experience the atmosphere of a Deepavali celebration. Let’s pretend to be tourists for a day to find out more about the Indian culture in Malaysian. I wonder how it is celebrated in KL?
Like a tourist, I asked for directions. It took me quite some time to figure out the location of the bazaar. This bazaar was organised by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). You can see the PM’s image in the backdrop of the stage. The caterer was serving lunch for FREE. I am not sure if it is just during celebrations or because elections is around the corner.
I was disappointed with the use of polystyrene to serve lunch. I thought DBKL would be “GREEN”, banning polystyrene. The reality was not the same as I thought. Much more awareness is needed. Actions show more than words.
When I was about to enjoy my lunch, the emcee announced that our PM Najib is going to arrive at any moment. People were standing up to welcome our PM. Suddenly, an important message came across my mind.
Am I supposed to hand over the Malaysian Youth Statement on Climate Change to the PM as I will be meeting him in person? Our group is facing difficulties in approaching the PM office to hand over the statement. This will be a great opportunity!
Quickly, I WhatsApp-ed the MYD group at 12.58pm to asked for anyone who can come over to BAC, KL. The responses I get within a minute were: OMG pass the statement, please pass him the statement.
It was all spontaneous, and I felt so unprepared. How could I find a printing shop with internet connection during a public holiday. Time was ticking. I just saw PM walked pass in front of me, greeting people as he walked by. Without delay, I finished my lunch, (no food is allowed to be wasted in any circumstances). I ran and walked in between to search for a photocopying shop. I asked the receptionist in Signature Hotel. He replied: “Not sure if it is open today, the shop is located after Chapatthi restaurant.”
I then spotted Pod’s Café http://podsbackpacker.com/ on my way, the place where we had our first MYD meeting. Might as well as just gave it a try. I asked the person who sat in front of the computer: do you provide any printing service here? To my surprise, he said yes, RM1 per piece. It took me a while to search, download and print the Statement. Meanwhile, I got to know Mr. Singh. I explained briefly to him what I was doing and why it was so important to hand over the Statement. He was so supportive and did not charge me for the printing.
It was drizzling when I left Pod’s Café. Running while holding the printed statement like a scroll, I was hoping that the PM hasn’t left the celebration. I was so relieved when I saw the PM still sitting at the VIP area. He had a large force of security surrounding him. It was impossible to make my way through the security and VIP seats. So I found a strategic location, sat down and wait.
After a while, the MC announced “Thank you YAB Najib for his arrival…”, and in that moment I turned around, the PM was heading in my direction. I quickly stood up, shaked his hand, wished him HAPPY DEEPAVALI and said: “This is the Malaysian Youth”. I only managed to say 6 words before I passed the Malaysian Youth Statement on Climate Change to him. It was an unbelievable achievement. Our statement was in the PM’s hand. Hopefully, he will read it at the end of the day. By that time, my body was finding time to adjust back to normal because it all happened in a blink of an eye.
WhatApps-ed the good news to MYD team at 1.37pm. After that, I went back to pod’s café to thank Mr. Singh for his kind assistance. It turned out that Hari Deepavali 2015 is more than just a celebration to me. This will mark the importance of the PM listening to the voices of the youth in addressing the issues of climate change. The future is already at risk even if we act now and fight for a better future. For your information, this year’s 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) is a conference where world leaders will come together for an agreement to reduce global temperature rise by 2 degree celcious. http://unfccc.int/meetings/paris_nov_2015/meeting/8926.php
On the next day, I received a message from my teammate as below:
MYD survived ASEAN Power Shift. We had grown tremendously throughout the past 3 days. Policy track was no child’s play. It was a bitch, and still is. We listened, we struggled, we argued, but we eventually compromised.
MYD Family after many tribulations
It was amazing how things worked out within the MYD team. Adding to the fact that nine of us (MYD) did not know each other prior to the conference. We got lost, we fell, we questioned, but we reintegrated. It was exciting to see how our passion to stop climate change drove us through these challenges working together.
Other delegates may perceived us as strong and well prepared, but we are still learning and fragile human too. Our team almost broke down and scattered by the second night.
Despite all the cracks and disagreement within the team, we moved on, as a team. We knew that it is not only about the paper, it is the people, the bond that existed. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t the best result we expected, but the process was priceless.
Team meeting over tea time
It was those little moment that mattered. Waking up early for shrub planting, staying up for endless meetings and homework deadlines, hanging out at Floor 14 and food courts, short interviews with other ASEAN delegates and participants, photo shooting all the time.
It was the little element added by each members that counted. Adrian, the demanding mentor; Amalen, the joker plus shameless promoter; Emily, the happy-go-lucky optimist; Jolene, the green beauty pageant; Merryn, the epic quote-producer; Rachel, the pure and innocent paper; Roxanne, the powerful and ambitious artist; Shak, the fun-seeking explorer ;Thomas, the back office fighter; Wanji, the funny conservation biologist.
APS was short and sweet. It gave us many new insights, new expectations and new motivation. It taught us how to be open-minded by placing ourselves in the shoes of others. It taught us to hold on to our stand and beliefs. It taught us the power of people, power of collaboration, power of synchronization.
Our MYD’s journey does not stop here, in fact, it just began. We are still fighting hard to get on the road to Paris. Just like APS, it will not be easy for sure. But it will be priceless.
#MYD15 – Malaysian Youth Delegation – Malaysian youth climate movement at international United Nations climate conferences, UNFCCC, participants will be mentored and hold engagements with various climate expert bodies and dialogue with Malaysian policy makers and negotiators.
#ASEANPOWERSHIFT – A conference gathering youths from 10 ASEAN countries with the focus on finding pragmatic and possible solutions to tackle climate change and empower youths with creative skills and knowledge to initiate their own actions.
Being in the policy track removed layers and layers of presumptions that I had. I see, feel, and understand better the importance of youth coming together in creating action, because the existence of this group in bridging the gap of those suffering and those who are fighting for a stand.
Merryn Chong in action
While delegates were busy fighting to make a stand for respective countries, some were unable to make their voices heard which are often those who are most affected by climate change. In fact, there are also those in the room who could not voice out their opinion because of a lower proficiency in English. It suddenly came to me that aside from differences in nationality, there are so many other social problems and political issues inter-connected in this bigger picture that makes finding a solution for climate change even harder and complex.
I particularly like the metaphor “culture as an onion.” Onions, like cultures, come in different shapes and varieties; the color of the core permeates each layer. If one is not skilled at slicing and peeling an onion, it can cause eye irritation and bring tears to the eye. Similarly, when crossing borders and cultures, we must learn the skills of bridging culture and become culturally sensitive in order to better facilitate negotiation. I must admit that this “eye irritation” did happen during our discussion and meetings. The entire policy track negotiation was not an easy process, even when we acknowledge the different parties’ interests and concerns.
During the short duration of this conference, it has opened up my eyes to more climate change issues and solutions going on in ASEAN region. There is definitely still a lot more for me to learn and improve in this aspect. I often feel handicapped in formulating a statement because there are so many aspects that inter-links with the topic discussed, which I still lack sufficient understanding.
We learned to listen and see things from a different set of eyes – Merryn
When I look back, one heart warming thing is is, I think I have found a new family, a family who consist of brothers and sisters from different parts of Malaysia that shares the same passion and vision. They have given me constructive criticism, support and advice before and throughout the entire ASEAN Power Shift in Singapore. I am grateful for the people I met, the knowledge gained in knowledge track, the invaluable experience in policy negotiation, the homework assigned that pushed me in getting interviews done, and the late night meetings that bond us closer together. These three days has definitely opened my eyes to greater possibilities in the future.
#MYD15 – Malaysian Youth Delegation – Malaysian youth climate movement at international United Nations climate conferences, UNFCCC, participants will be mentored and hold engagements with various climate expert bodies and dialogue with Malaysian policy makers and negotiators.
#ASEANPOWERSHIFT – A conference gathering youths from 10 ASEAN countries with the focus on finding pragmatic and possible solutions to tackle climate change and empower youths with creative skills and knowledge to initiate their own actions.
The last three days flew by so quickly. I somehow wish that we could have had more time to spend with each other, among ourselves (MYD) as well as the other delegates from other ASEAN countries. As I reflect upon the days spent at APS, I am not sure if I achieved the things that I am supposed to achieve.
From left : Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Laos, Thailand.
To begin, the organizer gave away very little in regards to the activities that awaited the delegates in policy track. All we knew that we had to prepare a National Position Paper. However, the purpose of the gathered data was very much unknown. Another reason is because I tend to not place expectation on things simply to avoid having disappointment. Therefore, if I went there without having an idea what I am set out to achieve, it was difficult to say that I managed to achieve something at the end of the APS.
Despite having said that, into the second day of the conference, I decided for myself to give collaboration to complete the Position Paper. Although I noticed many limitations that underline the Position Paper, such as, the time constrain, language barrier, imbalance participation from the ten countries, lack of necessary knowledge and skills, I disagree with not putting the effort to contribute to the entire discussion and have a negative and pessimistic view about the Position Paper that we tried to produce. To me, not only it would be very discouraging to the enthusiastic vibe that was felt within the room filled with passionate delegates, it may be a loss of an opportunity to learn something during the process.
Then again, some can disagree to my perception whereby since the Position Paper would not be a success (which may be defined as not representative of all youths in 10 countries, not substantial, not contextual…), perhaps the focus should have been driven towards building strong network with other delegates, finding possible collaboration in future projects, understanding each other’s situation.
Team Malaysia and MYD
In the end, due to limited time, we were not successful in producing a proper position paper. But something that we were able to achieve was the have a rather strong Preamble which some say is the most important part of the whole position paper. Although it was not a huge success, I still feel that I did achieve something.
I not only learned about the process of making policies (perhaps not exactly like the actual thing), but through the process of coming up the various policies, I learned about the situation and problems faced by my neighbouring countries in the region. It was truly an enlightening experience for me.
Most importantly, this experience allowed me to get to know my MYD members, to agree and disagree, to work together despite our differences. This was not something I set out to do, but I still eventually did, which is very valuable. Even though I cannot list down everything that I have learned from APS, but I believe that I have unconsciously learned many things, which I will realize in the future. At the moment, I know that I my network have now crossed borders.
To end my reflection, it may be important to know what you are about to do in order to set a clear purpose and target to achieve, but sometimes embracing the unknown can be just as precious for it is filled with surprises. Most of the time, we gain something valuable beyond what we initially set out to do.
#MYD15 – Malaysian Youth Delegation – Malaysian youth climate movement at international United Nations climate conferences, UNFCCC, participants will be mentored and hold engagements with various climate expert bodies and dialogue with Malaysian policy makers and negotiators.
#ASEANPOWERSHIFT – A conference gathering youths from 10 ASEAN countries with the focus on finding pragmatic and possible solutions to tackle climate change and empower youths with creative skills and knowledge to initiate their own actions.
I was disappointed with the use of polystyrene to serve lunch. I thought 
WhatApps-ed the good news to MYD team at 1.37pm. After that, I went back to pod’s café to thank Mr. Singh for his kind assistance. It turned out that Hari Deepavali 2015 is more than just a celebration to me. This will mark the importance of the PM listening to the voices of the youth in addressing the issues of climate change. The future is already at risk even if we act now and fight for a better future. For your information, this year’s 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) is a conference where world leaders will come together for an agreement to reduce global temperature rise by 2 degree celcious. 
