![MYD 2018 Retreat Reflection – Renee Tan]()
by admin | Jul 1, 2018 | #MYD, Blog, MYD2018
The Malaysian Youth Delegation hosted the annual Retreat at EPIC Collective over the weekend of the 28th and 29th April 2018. New members were asked to reflect the activities they took part in, what they learned along the way, and what they took away from the experience. Here’s what our new members had to say:
Renee Tan
By Renee Tan
The term ‘retreat’, which suggests that one is to run away and cower in terror, had the Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD) executing the exact opposite. Over the course of two days, the team empowered us individuals to take matters into our own hands and to challenge the looming issues of climate change, head-on. I was ready to hop to it, equipped with the newly acquired education from the talks by members of the Malaysian environmental industry.
One of the talks that stood out to me was by Ms Shakila, the head of sustainability at Cenergi who stressed that government policies are not encouraging the industry to make a change in their ways of production. Shakila also touched on the inner workings of Cenergi and explained that the company pens papers to government bodies with the purpose of encouraging them to tailor their policies in a manner that would increase market growth, sustainably. This was an eye-opener to me as I learnt how policies are created and subsequently put into play in the real world which is in line with how the MYD contributes towards the United Nations climate change conferences.
I was exposed to a constant learning process during this period of time be it through the hands on-activities or the knowledge sessions that were wholeheartedly administered by the committee members. Their dedication was evident as I witnessed their passion and drive for the environment which I, in turn, hope to embody as a new member of the MYD family. They also shared their past experiences which I felt was extremely humble of themselves as they got down to the nitty gritty of the mistakes and hardships faced during the lead up to the conferences at the year-end period. It was encouraging to meet and network with a sea of both new and familiar faces – individuals with such rousing spirits for the environment – accompanied by yummy food, laughs and learning. As I wait in anticipation for what’s to come, I am grateful for the privilege of being the voice for the nation’s youth in the field of climate change and am at the ready to contribute to the implementation of new policies.
![MYD 2018 Retreat Reflection – Sarah Edrina]()
by admin | Jul 1, 2018 | #MYD, Blog, MYD2018
The Malaysian Youth Delegation hosted the annual Retreat at EPIC Collective over the weekend of the 28th and 29th April 2018. New members were asked to reflect the activities they took part in, what they learned along the way, and what they took away from the experience. Here’s what our new members had to say:
Sarah Edrina
By Sarah Edrina
When was the last time I typed on Word? I remember when I was more active in writing articles, my thoughts used to flow like poetry and had emotive qualities to them. I wrote from emotions and a truth deep within myself. So, when I got the task to write on about the retreat, I was quite worried. I wanted to do a video, but I won’t embarrass myself.
28th April 2018
The event started with an ice-breaking session to get to know new friends and there were activities held to bond us as a group. An introduction to the Malaysian Youth Delegation was actually enlightening as I gained exposure on the things they did all this time that I had put a blind eye to – in achieving climate justice globally through the involvement of youth. Then, Ms. Lavanya; WWF representative, spoke on the early history of UNFCCC and COP. She did talk about the micro-stories of what happened in the previous COP. It was a good session to me as I did learn a lot of things about COP and Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol and the politics behind climate justice. p/s: (I love her – all hail women empowerment).
After that, Thomas’s session with us on the history of COP and agreements was mind-blowing. The history that I knew and read on COP was actually just a glimpse of Tom Cruise. He explained to us about the sexy agreements and the beginning of COP. I love history since I was a kid so I did listen to the whole session and I am proud to say, I had so much fun internally.
Later that day, Ms. Shakila; Head of Sustainability of Cenergi SEA Sdn. Bhd gave a talk about renewable energy and focusing on energy efficiency projects by her company. I find it very beneficial as I’d never knew these projects are running in my own country! She did explain about the solar energy projects that have been a success and hydro projects as well as answered my question on the acceptance by Malaysians on renewable energy.
At the end of the day, we had a screening of ‘Before The Flood’. As a movie/ documentary freak, I didn’t want to miss this, plus, it was produced by the angel of my heart, Leonardo Dicaprio. I was truly amazed by his achievements in his involvement with the UN and climate change. He fought hard in maintaining his responsibility as a human being and most importantly, as a public figure. In a nutshell, the first day of the retreat was magnificent!
29th April 2018
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the second day as I had high fever. My group mates were so nice to text me and I appreciate the friends that I created here. I couldn’t express much on what I feel and experience cause I was not there but every time I miss something vital, I’ll ask someone to explain. At least, I could get a grip of it.
My friends told me that they listened to talks by the MYD members on their experiences and journey to COP and working in this field. Plus, they did listen to a session where they explained on role of global south and global north countries and progress of climate policies, globally.
Conclusion
My foray into climate studies has crystalised that further. Growing up, I admit that my exposure on climate and environment was limited but I believe in the power of seeking knowledge. I want to get involved in this to ensure that I can help my home as much as I can and as a firm believer that climate justice is not just about caring about the Earth but beyond. It’s humanity work and the truth about humanity is to acknowledge and immerse oneself in the ocean of emotions.
I believe that to lower down the global temperature to 1.5 degree Celsius as mentioned in the Paris Agreement could be a success if everyone put their hands together and contribute to this good will. After all, it is our home.
Looking forward to work together with the team in obtaining great success for Malaysia in fighting for climate justice.
![MYD 2018 Retreat Reflection – Ghali Foster]()
by admin | Jul 1, 2018 | #MYD, Blog, MYD2018
The Malaysian Youth Delegation hosted the annual Retreat at EPIC Collective over the weekend of the 28th and 29th April 2018. New members were asked to reflect the activities they took part in, what they learned along the way, and what they took away from the experience. Here’s what our new members had to say:
Ghali Foster
By: Ghali Foster
The day I received the email to join this retreat I was pretty excited. The only thing is I had a fear that I won’t get along with everybody as I don’t have an environmental science background. As the day went on throughout the retreat, the people that I have met and connected with are amazing people. The people from the retreat are a diverse group of fun people from multiple backgrounds with one thing in mind, which is to learn more about climate change policies.
Other than making friends, I have a lot of new information for my brain to process such as many new terms and I have a better idea of what MYD is doing and where our country is at in terms of climate change. The history of climate change is something we should all take note of. It’s a lot of information on how policies are formed that leads up to the current policy which is the Paris Agreement. From the retreat, I also have a better picture of how leaders agree on a policy. It will only work as long as they keep their promise in an effort to undo and reduce the damage. Climate change is definitely driven by human factors. The best part of the retreat was the sharing session from past MYD members who went to the previous COPs. It was insightful as it takes a lot of dedication and effort; days of preparation leading up to the conference.
The things I learned from the retreat is only the surface. I’m prepared to dive deeper into it in the coming months.
![MYD 2018 Retreat Reflection – Pouvalen Seeneevassin]()
by admin | Jul 1, 2018 | #MYD, Blog, MYD2018
The Malaysian Youth Delegation hosted the annual Retreat at EPIC Collective over the weekend of the 28th and 29th April 2018. New members were asked to reflect the activities they took part in, what they learned along the way, and what they took away from the experience. Here’s what our new members had to say:
Pouvalen Seeneevassin
By: Pouvalen Seeneevassin
The Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD) was an organisation that I had heard of since last year through Azam. I kept hearing about it from other friends who were involved in MYD from campus. It was intriguing, and I wanted to learn more. However, I was hesitant at first because I had never been part of this type of organisation. When I got to know the 2018 applications were opened, I thought I should give it a try.
MYD being actively involved in highlighting climate change got me curious because I have been focusing more towards work involving wildlife conservation. I believe it is good to help out NGOs but ultimately, policies are important on getting action pushed forward on a global scale. UNFCCC has a huge influence and learning about how it functions and delivers is an engaging topic to me.
Coming into the retreat, I was excited to meet new like-minded people. The varying backgrounds and ages that I came across got me perplexed but optimistic in the sense that being from an Environmental Science background, I tend to think people from engineering or business do not pay as much attention to issues like climate change because they would have other issues to tackle. So, right from the start during the introduction I was happy about the cluster of people who were there.
Hearing details about how policies come to be written and how tedious negotiations that sometimes go on overnight can be, I now understand how hard it is to achieve positive change. The MYD retreat helped me get to know the timeline of how UNFCCC has worked to come up with the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement and many more through the workshops. Thomas’ timeline was useful to get a grasp of how things have gone down over the years. It was the perfect summary.
As for the activities. I enjoyed the toilet agreement. It probably is not as simple as it is at COP, but at least we got a small avant-gout as to what negotiations can be like. The insight I got was so much more than I thought, especially when Thomas later on pointed out the positives and negatives of each of the agreements we came up with. Hence, when negotiating, we need to look at all possible perspectives even if it gets tedious.
The retreat was a good experience and I learned so much. I still feel doubtful about whether MYD is right for me, but I want to stick around and find out more.
![MYD 2018 Retreat Reflection – Eudora Yee]()
by admin | Jul 1, 2018 | #MYD, Blog, MYD2018
The Malaysian Youth Delegation hosted the annual Retreat at EPIC Collective over the weekend of the 28th and 29th April 2018. New members were asked to reflect the activities they took part in, what they learned along the way, and what they took away from the experience. Here’s what our new members had to say:
Eudora Yee
By: Eudora Yee
As Adrian has once came to the University of Nottingham to speak about #PowerShiftMsia, a brief knowledge in regards to the Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD) organisation as well as their main purpose was available. However, this retreat provided more information about the policies that are currently in place in Malaysia, the historical timeline of environmental related policies in an international scale and the work that MYD contributes in the effort to raise awareness and make a change.
The talk given by Ms Lakshmi Lavanya Rama regarding Malaysia and the International Climate Change Policies was especially eye-opening. It not only gave us information as to how policies were constructed, it also provides us some insights into the catalyst that brought about their construction. She gave us an insight into the political power play that exist between the different countries in coming to an agreement on the type and scale of policies to be implemented. It was shown that more often than not, those that are have a more favourable position are often the ones that makes the decisions for everyone regardless of those in less favourable positions such as small developing countries and non-governmental organisations.
The brief on the history of various agreements and policies drawn up by the international community provided by Thomas was also very informative. While difficult to remember all the exact date of construction and implementation and all the different type of policies, the brief did provide a more detailed explanation as to the purpose of each and every policy or agreement and their effects so far in the international effort to mitigate climate change. It was shocking to see that a considerably huge amount of policies and agreements have already been drawn up over the years with varying degrees of success.
Although, the information provided by MYD members with their experiences of participating in COP was the most memorable. It give better insight to the actual type of work that MYD does as well as the hard work that goes into it. It is also great that some members of the home team also spoke about their work here which is equally as significant despite not being there physically in COP.
![MYD 2018 Retreat Reflection – Megat O. Denney]()
by admin | Jul 1, 2018 | #MYD, Blog, MYD2018
The Malaysian Youth Delegation hosted the annual Retreat at EPIC Collective over the weekend of the 28th and 29th April 2018. New members were asked to reflect the activities they took part in, what they learned along the way, and what they took away from the experience. Here’s what our new members had to say:
Megat O. Denney
By Megat O. Denney
When I first arrived at the Malaysian Youth Delegation Retreat, I was not too sure of what to expect. My first experience with the Malaysian Youth Delegation was when I attended one of their workshops in 2017 at Nottingham University, Malaysia prior to COP23 in Bonn, Germany. The workshop gave me a brief overview of the history of the UNFCCC, the treaties, accords and protocols signed, and the concept of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). The tone of it all was relatively dry and academic, something I expected of a workshop.
The retreat covered this material above and beyond, going into greater detail about the circumstances and impacts certain accords and protocols had on the UNFCCC’s trajectory, and the role that the Malaysian Youth Delegation played in the scheme of it all.
It was surprising yet refreshing to meet a diverse set of people attending the retreat, as not everyone had a background in either international policy or environmental sciences. Instead, there were people from all walks of life. There were artists and business consultants, there were those starting their undergraduate degrees, and those already in the workforce having finished their graduate degrees, but coming together for just one purpose: to participate in climate change action.
Initially I was expecting the retreat to be all about learning the ropes in a corporate setting: what a member of a youth NGO needed to know and what would be required of them to be effective members. I expected a steep learning curve and hours of technical jargon and bureaucratic processes. What I got was the complete opposite. Instead I got a carefully paced out event with ice-breakers and bonding sessions in between sessions of learning. I got a chance to learn the motivations, histories and skillsets of the other members. The anecdotes of the more experienced members gave me an insight into the inner working of the Conference of Parties, an insight I would not have gained by attending the workshops alone.
Overall, the retreat exceeded my own expectations in terms of tone and content. The retreat was far more relaxed than I thought it would be, while simultaneously teaching more than I had expected to learn. I am grateful for the opportunity to attend it, and for my friends at Nottingham University, Malaysia for providing that opportunity.
