Participants pose infront of PACOS Trust headquarters.

PENAMPANG: Fifteen students from all over Malaysia converged at the Young Green Generation (Yougene) Workshop held recently at the Partners of Community Organisations in Sabah (PACOS) Trust headquarters from Jan 29 to Feb 3.

The workshop which was organised by Little Feet Initiative (LiFe) in collaboration with PACOS

Trust, supported by the US Embassy of Kuala Lumpur and AEON Co. (M) Bhd, aimed to train and empower selected youth to be the ambassadors for sustainable development.

In tandem with the 12th United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), selected students from seven states namely Selangor, Johor, Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Kuala Lumpur, Sabah and Sarawak, have been taught on sustainable farming practices as well as permaculture values.

Speakers with different expertise were invited to give talks, lectures, and hands-on demonstrations.

Topics were carefully selected so that they are relevant to the 12th SDG. These include a talk by Anne Lasimbang, Executive Director of PACOS Trust to highlight the current issues on community development (especially in Borneo), a digital session with Serena Newhall, Executive Director and United Nations Institute for Training and Research Associate Fellow, CIFAL Atlanta Inc.

where she delivered a thorough talk on SDGs, and Jules Guiang, a youth leader from the Philippines who represented the 2030 Youth Force in the Philippines Inc. to further polish Yougene’s participants’ knowledge on the 17 SDGs.

Under the supervision of Irene Mositol, supervisor of Kivatu Nature Farm, the participants were taught how to make natural insect repellent, composting, organic fertilisers and potting soil from scratch. These hands-on practicals led to the highlight activity of Yougene which was the model farm building.

Participants were asked to apply what they have learnt during the workshop to build their own model farm in a local orchard and also to teach the locals to maintain the farm.

In addition, fruitful discussions and presentations were encouraged through the Ambassador Led Discussion activity to ensure participants understanding on the SDGs, especially on responsible consumption and production (Goal 12).

Other than that, the participants were taken to the local Eco Farm in Signal Hill and they also did a community work at one of PACOS’ Community Learning Centres in Kampung Lomunu.

Yougene is also designed to get youths to actively explore their career interest and integrating volunteerism into their daily lives alongside those careers. – The borneopost.com