Wed, 2009-11-11 18:15 — mtjuan

Get ready to say YES to the first Youth Engagement Summit, a first-of-its-kind event involving one million young people coming together to make a better change for the world.

By Nina Kamalia Azhar    

Over 400,000 youth throughout Southeast Asia have registered their support for change in the run-up to the inaugural Youth Engagement Summit (YES 2009) to be held on November 16 and 17 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC).  YES 2009 aims to hit close to 1 million young people age 15-35 years old from across the region to contribute their opinions online to the Southeast Asia for Change Youth Report whose result will be shared with political, business and cultural leaders.   

Inspired by President Barak Obama's call for change during last year's election campaign, YES 2009 is the first of its kind in Asia to engage an anticipated 6,000 representatives from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Brunei. YES 2009 also will bring together some of the most motivational global change icons from around the world, who have pledged to help Southeast Asia's new generation of young leaders cope with, overcome, and rise above the many challenges of the 21st century.   

The two-day event will feature a superb line-up of speakers from various fields, including  Sir Bob Geldof, the founder of Live Aid; world chess legend Garry Kasparov; Biz Stone, co-founder of the micro-blogging network Twitter; Nando Parrado, whose miraculous survival of an plane crash in the Andes became the basis for the critically acclaimed movie Alive; and Malaysia's own Dato' Seri Tony Fernandes, who pioneered the domestic and international low-cost carrier phenomenon in Asia by spearheading AirAsia and AirAsia X.  

"Everybody needs a hero, and President Obama's charismatic approach has undeniably influenced a dynamic shift in long-held perceptions, particularly where Southeast Asia's multi-ethnic youths are concerned," says Singh Organising Chairman and Director of Strategy of YES.   YES 2009 supporters and participants can proactively share their needs, motivations, expectations and ideas with the world, while guiding political and thought leaders in policy-making decisions, plus inspire businesses to engage more effectively with the youth market.

For tickets and info, log onto www.yes2009.asia