By Aisyah Karina
GOMBAK, 4 October 2020: A writing and photo contest carrying the motto “Empowering Youth for a Better ASEAN”, organised jointly by Maybank Foundation and Perdana Leadership Foundation, is being held from 17 April to 30 November this year.
The contest aims to encourage the youth to shape a better future for their own countries and the ASEAN region and to promote the importance of preserving and striving for a cleaner environment.
The founder of Ocean Cleanup, Boyan Slat, stated that, “When talking about environmental issues in general, a common response is, well that’s a long way off, that’s for our children to worry about.”
The future generation should not be made to inherit or to suffer the consequences caused by the disruptive environment.
Therefore, the youth of today must be made aware of the phenomenal issues that affect the environment such as global warming, extreme weather conditions and the rise of sea level.
Open to all Malaysians aged between 13 to 23 years old, winners of the contest stand a chance to win valuable prizes that include RM3,000.00 in cash, an iPad and other interesting goodies.
Entries for the contest can be made in two categories which fall under fiction and non-fiction, or a photo submission.
Topics and themes for category ‘A’ cover Global Warming (fiction), and “What can school students do to save the environment and support climate action?” (non-fiction).
Meanwhile, for category ‘B’, topics and themes cover Climate Change (fiction) and “What do you see are the major roadblocks to sustainable development, and how would you as a young leader overcome them” (non-fiction).
For photo contest, the topics and themes cover “Save the Environment”.
Submission of entries can be done through the official website, https://www.empoweringaseanyouth.com/submit-your-entries/.***