Business

Saturday October 10, 2009

Inaugural summit will hear youths’ dreams for a better future

By EUGENE MAHALINGAM


HARMANDAR Singh, regional CEO of advertising trade magazine Adoi, has been having sleepless nights in anticipation of what he calls “the biggest event I’ve ever organised in my entire life.”

“Aiyoh, no sleep lah,” he says, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

Harmandar, better known as Ham to his peers, is organising one of the largest youth gatherings in Malaysian history.

The inaugural Youth Engagement Summit (YES), themed South-East Asia Youth for CHANGE, will be held on Nov 16 and 17 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. The event aims to unite thousands of youths from the region and will be broadcast live to millions around the world.

Ham, who is YES director of strategy, has been busy travelling across the globe – from meeting with dignitaries in China and Vietnam to US State Department officials in the United States to promote the event.

“We were in Washington last week and we hope to travel to Australia and Indonesia next,” he tells StarBizWeek.

Ham says the organising committee has been trying very hard to create as much buzz about the event as possible. They are also to get more sponsors, a gargantuan task to say the least, he admits.

“It has not been easy. My God! We have been facing challenges after challenges,” he says.

However, Ham says the team is not fazed by the slew of obstacles that have been thrown its way. His philosophy in handling the situation? Face it like playing a tennis match!

“Life is like a tennis match. It’s not about how hard the balls are coming at you; it’s about how hard you hit back!”

Ham confides that the organising committee received a huge boost when low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd came on board as one of its sponsors. He says chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes’ wisdom has been invaluable.

“His contribution in making this event happen has been priceless. A lot would not have happened if it were not for him. In fact, I doubt we would even be having this event if we did not have AirAsia with us,” Ham says.

He says the summit was about youths coming together to express their aspirations and dreams for a better future.

“One of the biggest hurdles facing youths is that their voices are not heard. Youths today are becoming more vocal and they are our future. Clearly, their voice matters.”

He adds that an online survey will also be conducted to coincide with the summit whereby youths can voice out their thoughts and opinions on what change means to them.

The responses will be compiled in a South-East Asia for Change Youth Report, which would then be presented to regional government and corporate leaders.

“This is so that the leaders can have access to the much-needed clarity and understanding of what is needed in today’s youth,” says Ham.

Participants at the event will have the privilege of meeting and listening to an impressive list of personalities from various fields, including the likes of Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Live Aid founder Sir Bob Geldof, world chess champion Garry Kasparov, Facebook marketing director Randi Zuckerberg, former World Bank managing director Dr Mamphele Ramphele, Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan and Andes airplane crash survivor Nando Parrado, whose experience was depicted in the Hollywood movie Alive.

Not surprisingly, AirAsia’s Fernandes will also be speaking at the event.

Yashwant Sinha, the former finance minister of India, was the latest personality to be added to the summit’s increasing list of high-profile speakers, says Ham, adding that the organising committee is looking to secure a couple more speakers.

“We feel that the speakers will inspire today’s youth. For instance, there was a time when Amitabh Bachchan went bankrupt and he needed to make changes to turn his life around.

“And when you listen to Nando Parrado’s story, you will definitely cry,” Ham adds.

The event will be officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and hosted and moderated by former top CNN anchor, Lorraine Hahn.

“We met Najib almost 1½ months ago and his response has been very encouraging. His 1Malaysia vision certainly harmonises with what we are doing.”

Ham says organising a monumental event like this would definitely put Malaysia on the world map.

“It’s a big boost for Malaysia as the whole world will be watching. We will definitely organise a similar event like this next year,” he says.

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