What began as an idea three years ago has now blossomed and grown to be the largest youth festival in the nation, held with great success for the past two years, gathering thousands upon thousands of young people in a festival of activities.

This yearly flagship event is ever progressive and will continue to evolve alongside with the needs and ambitions of Malaysia's youth. A user generated event, YOUTH'10 is where young people break the format from an organiser-defined festival to one that incorporates the ideas and collaborative power of youth and youth-directed stakeholders.

Even founder Joel Neoh (pic) never expected what YOUTH would eventually become - a nucleus for greater youth movement, a movement for youth, by youth; and not to mention, just a whole lot of fun and a chance to mingle, mix and meet. And this year, YOUTH '10 has just gotten bigger and better.

"When YOUTH '08 took place, it was very much like an experiment. It was our 'testing' mode, where we just wanted to get all the support we can. But YOUTH '10 is a culmination of the experience we've gained from the past two years and we have now received a tremendous amount of support," said Joel Neoh, who is the co-founder of YOUTH '08, YOUTH '09 and now, YOUTH '10.

Beyond and above all that however, is the realisation that Malaysian youth needed an empowerment platform, and this is just what YOUTH wants to do. "By collaborating with the important stakeholders in any young person's life, this festival will be that platform."
Having already seen a turnout of 21,000 and 37,000 youth in 2008 and 2009 respectively, YOUTH '10 now aims for 70,000 youth to gather to participate in over 100 different unique and exciting lifestyle activities and conferences.

"What we know is that over 65 per cent of our population is under 30 years of age, and a majority of the young who attended the event for the past years were between 18 to 22. But this year, with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education, students from across Malaysia will be able to attend the festival via specially arranged buses."

YOUTH '10 is also hosting the event on Facebook, where all the information needed can be found at www.TheYouthFestival.com
This three-day day festival will be held over the weekend of May 28 to May 30, from 10am to 10pm at the Putra world Trade Centre. The entrance fee is free if you register online (check their Facebook page for more details), and walk-ins on those days are RM 5 for three days. To attend the speaker conferences held at YOUTH '10, the fee is RM 20 for three days.