by Neville Timothy Sanders, 29 August 2023

Paul (2nd right) presenting a cheque to a winner, witnessed by William (left) and honorary secretary of AZAM Mohamad Ariff Irwani Azahari.

KUCHING: Young aspiring Sarawakians will continue to be given a platform to demonstrate their environmental advocacy and to instil their confidence in braving the heightening climate issue, said Natural Resource and Environmental Board (NREB) Sarawak controller Jack Liam.

“Activities such as the Youth Green X-Change (YGXC) Best Speaker and Best Writer Award will provide opportunities for youth to showcase their writing skills and engage with the general public through amazing narratives and creative expressions of their environmental knowledge and storytelling.

“Through competitions like this, youths are also able to empower their soft skills and leverage on social media platforms in promoting conservation efforts to the general public,” he said.

Mobile applications including Clean Swell are wonderful, especially when they involve cleaning up trash.

“The use of the Clean Swell app eases the clean-up process by recording every item, including the total weight of trash collected, tracking the location of clean-up and checking total distance cleared,” he said.

His speech by read out by deputy controller Paul Bond Chamberlin during the YGXC Best Speaker and Best Writer Award 2021 at the Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak Complex here today.

On another note, Jack said through their active roles and collective voices, youths can shape society through campaigns and causes that lead to sustainable practices and ultimately, improved quality of the environment.

Meanwhile, AZAM Sarawak chairman Datuk William Patrick Nyigor said 41 contestants participated in the YGXC Best Writers and Best Speaker Awards, which was open to members of the public and school students in two language categories (Malay and English).

“Among other things, the topics of the contest focused on the impacts of the pandemic such as the generation of medical wastes and a topic on the role of youths in promoting sustainability.

“Our young writers, especially have shown exceptional talent and creativity, proving their potentials to shape narratives and influence minds positively,” he said.