Young Leaders Gather In KL For CYLAS 2014
About 50 young and brightest minds from across Southeast Asia converged in Kuala Lumpur recently for the CIMB Young Leaders ASEAN Summit 2014 (CYLAS 2014). The two-day event from 15 to 16 August was aimed at giving selected university students and fresh graduates a taste of policy-making by debating on regional issues ahead of the realisation of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. It was held in Bank Negara’s Sasana Kijang Conference Hall and was jointly organised by CIMB Group, CIMB Asean Research Institute (CARI) and CIMB Foundation.
The Summit began with a welcoming address by CEO of CIMB Foundation Raja Noorma Othman followed by an opening address by Chairman of CARI, Tan Sri Dr. Munir Majid.
During his address, Tan Sri Dr. Munir Majid highlighted the economic opportunities and challenges facing the region ahead of AEC 2015 while also elaborated on the importance of younger generation in ensuring its success. His point was echoed by Mr Pushpanathan Sundram, former Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN in his keynote address who stressed that there is still a lot to be done beyond 2015 for the people to enjoy the benefits of a more integrated Southeast Asia.
Throughout the first day of the event, there were also dialogue sessions that gave more exposures to the participants about ASEAN as well as an inspirational talk by Jonathan Yabut, winner of Apprentice Asia, who is also the Chief of Staff of AirAsia.
For second day of the event, three simulation sessions were held in partnership with Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) officials during which participants played the role of delegates representing ten members of ASEAN. With the theme of “ASEAN as a single market: Diversity and Entrepreneurship”, the participants came out with a resolution at the end. It contained ways in which each member state can co-operate in facilitating a more conducive environment in the areas of trade, finance and youth affairs for entrepreneurship to flourish. The best delegation award went to the team that represented Laos. The team will travel to Singapore for the ABC Forum from 8 to 9 September 2014.
The Summit ended with a closing address by Group CEO of CIMB Bank, Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak, who also presented certificates of attendance to the participants.
