User:Wilson ang81/Sandbox

GENERAL INFORMATION

Name
Wilson Ang

Appointment
Founder and President, Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore)

Date Of Birth:
15th July

Location of Birth:
Singapore

Nationality:
Singaporean

INTRODUCTION

Wilson is the founder and President of the Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore), also known as ECO Singapore. The organisation was established on 7 January 2003. It has since expanded with an outreach of empowering more than 2,000 youths and educating up to 60,000 members of the public, all geared to doing their part to protecting the environment. Thou being involved in volunteering work since the age of 9 in various volunteering sectors, his awareness on the environmental sector only got more attention when he attended the ASEAN Youth Forum on the Environment in 2000. Subsequently, his trip to the United Nation’s World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002 inspired him to take on the path of the environment as the focus to make the world a better place.

Wilson was a full time air traffic controller in the Republic of Singapore Air Force from 2002 to 2006 while he pursue his passion. Despite the job intensity during his working days, he was still involved in various environmental movements, activities, and projects. This includes the formation ECO Singapore and used it as a platform to reach out to more youth as drivers to educate the general public. He left on 30th April 2006 to pursue his passionate full time. This is also when ECO Singapore started to operationalize full time instead of having adhoc activities and programmes prior.

Having seen the state of the environment in many developed and developing nations, Wilson believes that the only way to create a better planet for human survivability is for every individual to take responsibility of their own action by being more conscious about their daily choices in consumption habits.

He strongly believes that environment plays a very vital role in society that his life mission can simply be phased into one sentence, “To create and maintain a sustainable lifestyle and culture”. This is his way to try to make a difference and in his words, “… to save the world”.

His other goal as well is to create 10,000 green jobs by the age of 40.

ACHIEVEMENTS

ECOFRIEND INAUGURAL AWARDS 2007 RECIPIENT
NGO and Grassroots Volunteers Category
http://www.nea.gov.sg/ecofriend/

DHL YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS for SUSTAINABILITY (YES) AWARDS
Second Runner up for the Award at the national level, in Singapore. The award aims to identify and recognise the contributions of young people who are implementing new and innovative methods and practices to bring about positive social change in their communities. We call these young individuals 'social entrepreneurs'.
http://www.dhl.com/publish/g0/en/about/sustainability/yes_awards.high.html
http://www.dhl.com.sg/publish/sg/en/press/sg_press/2007/270707.high.html

INAUGURAL BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE INSPIRATION AWARD WINNER
10 October 2008

British Chamber of Commerce Recognises Singaporean for Outstanding contribution in raising environmental and sustainable development awareness.

Singapore 10th October 2008 – The British Chamber of Commerce, Singapore will recognise the accomplishments of Mr Wilson Ang, founder and President of the Environmental Challenge Organisation (ECO Singapore), with its inaugural Inspiration Award to be given at the annual British Business Awards Gala Dinner to be held at the Shangri-La Hotel on the 14th October 2008.

The British Chamber of Commerce Inspiration Award recognises thought-leaders within the Singapore community that have demonstrated leadership in raising awareness for Corporate Social Responsibility issues. The inaugural 2008 award focuses on sustainable development and environmental awareness, the topic of the Chamber’s CSR Seminar to be held on the morning of the 14th October 2008.

Mr. Wilson Ang will receive the award for his demonstrated thought-leadership, his success in raising awareness for several environmental issues and for his achievements with his numerous initiatives.

President of the British Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Terry O’Conner commented, “Wilson stands out as an example for the whole community. He is a young man who has taken the lead, engaged and encouraged society to really step back and be conscious of our daily choices. The British Chamber of Commerce is honoured to recognise his outstanding achievements and hopes this award will drive him and others like him to greater successes.”

Mr. Wilson Ang will receive the award at the British Business Awards Gala Dinner held on the 14th October 2008. Launched by the British Chamber of Commerce in 1999, the British Business Awards annually recognises outstanding British businesses in Singapore and Singapore businesses with a significant U.K. link. This year’s awards dinner will be graced by Guest of Honour Alderman David Lewis, the Lord Mayor of the City of London. who will address the audience on the current status of the global financial markets. Also present as a guest speaker will be Dato' Justin Leong, Head of Strategic Investment &Corporate Affairs for The Genting Group.

The British Chamber of Commerce is recognised as an authoritative voice of International Business in Singapore. Founded in 1954, the Chamber has a long and proud history providing a unique platform for building networks, connecting business and creating opportunities. www.britcham.org.sg

INAUGURAL YOUNG OUTSTANDING SINGAPOREAN AWARD 2011
The Young Outstanding Singaporeans award celebrates future leaders who can be role models for the next generation. Among 100 over applicants, 25 finalist were chosen and of which, 8 were given the award in its maiden year
http://yossingapore.com/about.html
http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4560145
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_620930.html

INVOLVEMENTS (NATIONAL)

FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE ORGANISATION (SINGAPORE)
Since 7th January 2003

A group of youth volunteers who feel there is a lack of exposure and environmental protection action in Singapore and hence came together to form this new and unique organization. We aim to educate the public as much as possible on environmental awareness through unique, innovative and creative ideas to get the maximum exposure to our audience and ultimately be able to integrate it into everyone's daily lifestyle. This by youth for youth organisation fully run by volunteers!

ECO aims to plant the seed of sustainable development in our future leaders through interesting and empowering activities to create a better world to live in for the many more future generations to come. ECO is a vehicle for them to express their interest/passion on environmental issues freely both locally as well as internationally. To get our youth voice heard out there. And also a platform to allow them to formulate activities to affect more people to do the same.

For more information on the organisation, go to http://www.eco-singapore.org

SINGAPORE ZOO VOLUNTEER DOCENT
Since 2003

Perform monthly duties to educate public and clarify on the myth and believes of animals and their characteristics. Engage public to appreciate animals and wildlife and also promote the message of conservation.

SINGAPORE ZOO VOLUNTEER DOCENT RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING HEAD
Since 2004

Organize publicity for the annual recruitment of new volunteers to be a part of the Docent. Garners the various stations support and expertise within the Docent, the Zoo and Night Safari to plan and execute of the volunteer training program. The training program is made up of 12 weeks held on every Sunday from 9am to 5pm.

COORDINATE ECO TRAIL AS PART OF GIVING TREE @ NORTH EAST 2005
December 2005
Open Field Near Tampines MRT

ECO, together with Heartware Network, will be co-organising the Celebration Tree @ North East 2005. In particular, on efforts to coordinate with most of the local environmental groups for this upcoming “ECO Trail” in December 2005. ECO Trail aims to propagate messages of environmental issue holistically. Where it will allows us to raise public awareness and motivate the public to play a part in the conservation of the environment.

ECO Trail has been divided mainly into 2 major segments. The first segment is the outdoor “ECO Art Park” where we have brought in various sculptures made of recycled materials to be exhibited. There, we have also included Christmas tree sculptures done up by schools during an “Adopt-A-Tree” competition prior to the event where student compete with their creative juices in creating the best recyclable Christmas Tree!

The second segment is an indoor exhibition where 15 environmental groups have come together for the first time to exhibit for a month long event. They will present who they are, what are the efforts they have contributed for the environment. More importantly, how the public can get themselves involved. To gear up the public’s interest, the exhibit is done up as a walk through style where the public would walk through these exhibits to find out more about the organisations and the exhibit will end with a mini theatrette where all these organisations’ effort are showcased.

The 15 environmental groups that are involved for this event were:
1. Animal Concerns Research & Education Society - ACRES
2. Blue Water Volunteers - BWV
3. ECO 4 the World - E4W
4. Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore) - ECO
5. Raffles Museum ToddyCats! - RMBR
6. Restroom Association - RAS
7. Nature Society of Singapore - NSS
8. Nature Trekker - NT
9. Scholastic Environmental Fund - SEF
10. Singapore Environmental Council - SEC
11. Singapore Zoological Garden Docents - SZGD
12. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - SPCA
13. Sunny Island Tree Climbers - SITC
14. Vegetarian Society - VSS
15. Waterway Watch Society - WWS

Further intentions are to bring the ECO trail exhibition to travel around Singapore and enhance it with audio, visual and kinesthetic medium to enhance the youth learning experience.

INITIATED AND EDITED THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF EXPRESS! E-MAGAZINE
September 2005

EXPRESS! is a quarterly electronic newsletter produced by ECO. The e-magazine covers a wide range of topics ranging from biodiversity, climate change, energy, population, poverty, agriculture, pollution, right down to health and sanitation. It aims to be the environmental lifestyle magazine.

This publication is circulated amongst other Environmental as well as Youth Non-governmental and non-for-profit organisations both locally and globally. Circulations are also made to corporate partners and government agencies.

The newsletter is still in the works of refining it’s content before we finally go into print version. There, it will be placed at orchard area as free magazines.

The publications can be downloaded at:
http://www.eco-singapore.org/

ENERGYASIA SECOND CLIMATE CHANGE FORUM
July 2005

Assisted EnergyAsia to do a forum on climate change. The forum aims to bring climate change issues closer to ground and promote environmental awareness. Keynote speaker was Professor Colin Humphreys from University of Cambridge.

ENERGYASIA THIRD CLIMATE CHANGE FORUM
October 2005

Partnered EnergyAsia to do their 3rd Climate Change Forum where the keynote speaker was Sir David King, A ministerial equivalent that advice Tony Blair in his Climate Change policies. Coordinated with SMU and the SMU Verts to organized the forum and invite various environment local environment group and corporate partners to attend.

ASSIST ASSOC PROFESSOR IKEDA MITSUHIRO IN HIS RESEARCH ON SOUTH EAST ASIA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
September 2005

Assoc Professor Ikeda came to Singapore to do a study on the local education efforts on environmental awareness. Coordination was done with as much environmental groups as possible during his one week stay to show case their efforts and concerns towards environmental awareness.

During his second visit, facilitation was done to help him gather more information and paper on the local education institutes’ method of environmental education.

His focus is on Singapore where his other team members study on Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines. They will collate the report and submit it to the Japanese Ministry of Education for review and hope it can help improve the environmental education further in Japan. The paper will be done by June 2006.

TAKING OVER YOUTH ENVIRONMENT NETWORK
March 2006

Other than the passion to promote awareness amongst youth 17 to 27 with Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore), there is a need for education for youth 16 and below. Realizing the existence of the Youth Environment Network (YEN) which had went dormant about four years ago, an initiative to meet up with the existing YEN members was arranged and the proposal to take over the baton of reviving and leading YEN was brought up and agreed upon.

YEN is now planning to have its re-launch somewhere in June, Earth Day.

The “ECO Youth Champions” Initiative for National Day Parade 2006
August 2006

Background

At almost every major outdoor event in Singapore, spectators and performers alike generally do not consider maintaining the cleanliness of the event venues as one of their top priorities. Often, after the show or the activity has ended, Singaporeans leave the event premises in filthy and unsightly conditions. To combat such irresponsible behaviour, ECO Singapore has identified Singaporean youth as key agents of cultivating proper environmental behaviour in Singaporeans.

“ECO Youth Champions” Initiative

As the future stakeholders of Singapore, our youth should and would want a clean and green future in which to live, work and play. Such a motivation should make them concerned about the cleanliness of Singapore’s private and public spaces. To help Singaporean youth crystallise their environmental concern into meaningful actions, ECO Singapore has developed the “ECO Youth Champions” initiative. This initiative will mobilise Singaporean youth to make sure that their family members and the public dispose of their trash properly in major outdoor events. The “ECO Youth Champions” initiative will thus empower our youth to directly influence their families and the public to do their part in protecting our environment.

ECO Youth Champions at National Day Parade 2006

The ECO Youth Champions will make their first appearance at a major outdoor event in Singapore at one of the most celebrated events of the year, the National Day Parade 2006. At NDP06, the ECO Youth Champions will have the chance to share with approximately 60,000 spectators and 6,000 performers the importance of keeping our public spaces clean. During the celebrations, the ECO Youth Champions will constantly patrol the National Stadium and encourage spectators to dispose of their own waste in the trash bags provided in their goody bags.

MY SCHOOL SHINES: LITTER FREE COMMUNITY
Partnered with SW CDC to tackle on Litter Free Environment under their My School Shines initiative. Reaching out to 25 schools. And also initiated the No Cleaners Week in the schools who signed up for the program. March to July 2007

COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS WITH BEN & JERRY'S
Promoting Climate change on Cone Free Day (17th April 2007) and for the rest of the year to use their outlet as an education store for consumers to learn how each can do their part to combat global warming.

SPEAKER FOR MAC DONALDS’ YOUTH INSPIRATION SERIES ON VOLUNTEERISM
April 2006
http://www.heartware.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=222&Itemid=51

SPEAKER ON “MY CHOICE OF LIFE” AT SERANGOON JUNIOR COLLEGE FOR YEAR ONE STUDENTS
February 2006

ORGANISER OF THE INAUGURAL NATIONAL YOUTH ENVIRONMENT FORUM (NYEF)
2nd September 2006
Check out http://www.eco-singapore.org/forum

FACILITATOR FOR SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR (SIIA) UNIVERSITY SEMINAR 2006 “UNDERSTANDING ASEAN TODAY TO SHAPE OUR FUTURE”
9th September

Facilitator for the breakout session on "The Role of Youth in Raising Awareness on Environmental Sustainability".

COORDINATOR FOR “THE CAMPAIGN 4 AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH”
26th October 2006 onwards
Check out http://www.eco-singapore.org/campaign/ait

NGO REPRESENTATIVE ON SINGAPORE PACKAGING AGREEMENT GOVERNING BOARD
http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=2905

POLICY DISCUSSION: MAKING SENSE OF CHANGING CLIMATE
8th December 2007
Singapore
Panellist
Organised by: People's Association

An indepth discussion of policy and various stakeholders on how to make the best financial sense out of the changing climate.
Guest Of Honor:
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim
Minister for the Environment & Water Resources, MP for Jalan Besar GRC and Adviser to Kolam Ayer GROs

Mr Lee Tzu Yang
Vice-President, Asia Pacific, Shell Global Solutions, and Chairman, Shell Companies in Singapore

Mr Wilson Ang
President, Environmental Challenge Singapore

http://www.paym.org.sg/1222614208052.html

Singapore Feedback Unit: REACH Policy Study Workgroup on the Physical And Environmental Sustainbility Committee Member 2007 - 2009
Policy study work group on the given topic to garner ground feedback to the bills to be passed in the cabinent and also seek changes to existing bills.

INSPIRED AND MENTORED THE [MINUS]PLASTIC CAMPAIGN
12th January 2008

A youth-for-youth campaign to encourage youth to reduce (the first among the 3Rs) their plastic usage and instill the habit in them while aiming to amplify the appreciation of responsible consumerism therefore leading to a sustainable lifestyle. The campaign is developed as part of on-going efforts to address a fundamental concern in Singapore – excessive plastic usage.

This final-year project by three undergraduates from the Nanyang Technological University Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information is proudly supported by Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore).

For more information on the organisation, go to http://www.minusplastic.youth.sg

INSPIRED AND MENTORED THE "THINGS YOU CAN DO" CAMPAIGN
"Things You Can Do" is a massive social campaign that is first of its kind — a project that is entirely initiated by youth for youth. The campaign is organized by Raffles One Earth (the environmental club of Raffles Junior College) and mentored by the Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore), also known as ECO Singapore.

INSPIRED AND MENTORED THE EARTH HOUR SINGAPORE GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT
"Earth Hour Singapore" in 2008 is a massive grassroots initiative that started in Sydney in 2007. Going global in 2008, he approached WWF Singapore to seek the possibility of working on a grassroots movement, which was then agreed upon. With a team of young volunteers, they pushed forth the grassroots movement which eventually had a key event held in Punggol Community Club that brought together 300 youth to go to 10,000 household to spread the message of Earth Hour and energy conservation.

A one stop blog with step-by-step guide on how individuals can play a role:
http://www.earthhoursingapore.blogspot.com

KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR HARMONY @ SENJA EARTH DAY SHARING CONFERENCE
18th April 2008
The Environmental Conference is in conjunction with West Spring Secondary school's Earth Day Celebrations. The objective of the Conference was to provide a platform for sharing of good practices in environmental education and programmes in schools. Dr Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District was the Guest of Honour and Mr Liang Eng Hwa, MP for Holland-Bt Timah GRC was the special guest. The Keynote Speaker was Mr Wilson Ang from ECO Singapore. 150 Principals, Vice-Principals, teachers and pupils representing 71 schools from the North and West Zones attended the conference. Teachers and pupils of Bt Panjang Government High and CHIJ(Our Lady Queen of Peace) shared their good practices. Both had won the Sustained Green Audit (Lotus) Award.

INSPIRED AND MENTORED THE DOUBLE A RE-LIVE @ ATRIUM
5th June 2008 - 15th June 2008
Launched on World Environment Day, June 5, 2008, by Mr. Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and has pulled together more than 1,000 pledges to practise alternative modes of transport and the “7 Easy Green Habits”.

The Double A-sponsored carnival is the largest collaboration between students, governmental and non-governmental organisations and the corporate sector in Singapore. The event was co-organised by students from Earthlink NTU, RJC One Earth, SMU Verts and Youth Connection X. The purpose of the event was to educate and inform the public on the importance of leading environmentally sustainable lifestyles through a wide variety of events and activities.

One of the key attractions, the Bike-a-thon, managed to clock up a total of 22,000 km on stationary bicycles. For the equivalent distance travelled, an average car would have emitted 4,400 kg of CO2. The objective of this event was to gain public support for more eco-friendly modes of transports like cycling through participation. In addition, the carnival saw two Singapore Book of Records challenges broken. Participants managed to set new records for the longest distance travelled on stationary bicycles for six and 12 hours.

According to Mr Xu Yang, 24, Director for Bike-a-thon, “We hope that the Bike-a-thon experience has taught people in Singapore to make more informed choices of the various modes of transport they use everyday. I am glad that the people who took part walked away with this valuable message”.

Another highlight of the carnival was the Green Mile walk which promoted another eco-friendly transport alternative. About 100 participants took part in the 5.5 km walk on June 8, Sunday.

“Organising this walk was very satisfying as it allowed me to share with the participants the many green conservation areas in Singapore’s central district where one can escape to at anytime of the day,” said Ms. Shauna Khoo, Director of the Green Mile walk.

“This is the first time that such a large-scale activity has been initiated and organised by young people,” said Mr. Jeevaneswaran Ramoo, Project Chairman of Double A RE-live! @ Atrium. “It went well with support from several partners in both the public and private sectors. Given the success of the outreach for this event, we hope to hold it again in coming years”

The event has reached out to more than 10,000 members of the public throughout the 11 days of the carnival with events such as a bazaar, contests and games.


YOUTHQUAKE 3: “The Environment - Has Singapore done enough?”
13th July 2008
Singapore
Guests Speaker
Website: http://www.wpyouth.sg/youth/2008/07/youthquake-forum-the-environment-has-singapore-done-enough/


CREATED ECOSPHERE: ECO SINGAPORE'S DOWNTOWN YOUTH ENTERPRISE HUB
August 2008 onwards
Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore), or ECO Singapore, Singapore’s only youth focussed environmental organisation, with the creation of the ECOSphere.

The ECOSphere, located at Chye Sing Building along Beach Road, will be a centre where start-up enterprises are given the opportunity to operate from a prime downtown location with many added business benefits like internet access and utilities thrown in free of charge; and all this at a low monthly cost.

“As a Non-Governmental Organisation, ECO Singapore benefited greatly from governmental support, especially during its formative years, to reach where we are. We now want to contribute back and help youths during their enterprise fledging years. Our youth have the energy, enterprise and determination to succeed. We all sometimes only need a little help to get on their feet before we can start running” says Mr Wilson Ang, President and Founder of ECO Singapore.

“Our intention is to have the ECOSphere filled with like-minded enterprising young people abuzz with ideas and positive energy, while conducting business in an environmentally and socially responsible manner“.

Securing one of the exclusive office spaces at this prime location, though, does not come easy. Conditions include being under 35 years of age, having an environmentally sustainable business model, and committing to conducting socially responsible activities or events at least once a year. This is in keeping with ECO Singapore’s mission of promoting a mindset of environmental sustainability in youths. Also, since the spirit of the scheme is to assist start-ups, entities may only harbour at the ECOSphere for a maximum of two years.

“This is to allow as many start-ups as possible to benefit from the ECOSphere”.

So what’s the most important criteria for getting a spot at the ECOSphere? “People make the world a better place, happy people breed a happy environment, and a happy environment generates happiness and success easily. We therefore seek happy people with a positive outlook at our ECOSphere family”.

http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2008/10/non-profit-organisation-helps-young.html


2ND REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON CLIMATE CHANGE FOR GRASSROOTS LEADER
13th September 2008
Changkat Community Club, Tampines
Speaker on "Individual Actions"
Organised by: North East Community District Committee (NE CDC) and National Environment Agency North East Regional Office

NE CDC and NEA NE Office will be organizing the 2nd North East regional Workshop on Climate Change on 13 Sep 2008. GOH for this event will be Ms Irene Ng MP for Tampines GRC & Advisor to Tampines Changkat. There will be a about 300 Grassroot leaders attending this workshop.

The objective is to promote environmental sustainability and to share the knowledge on global warming, climate change and its effect to the environment. We are sourcing for speakers on the above subject on Global warming/climate change and its effect to the Environment. We are looking towards to your esteemed organization for speakers on this subject matter and we would like to engage them for this forum. The objective of this forum is to equipped the Grassroots leaders on climate change and its effect to the environment.


Social Entrepreneurship Forum
20th November 2008
Singapore
Invited Speaker and Panellist
Organised by: NUS Business School Alumni Association

In line with Global Entrepreneurship Week 2008 (GEW’08), NUS Business School Alumni Association will host a forum featuring several prominent social entrepreneurs and various companies that are active in corporate social responsibility projects. At the forum, various speakers will share with us their rich experiences in running or partnering social enterprises, and how such social enterprises or collaborations enrich the lives of the less privileged.

INVOLVEMENTS (INTERNATIONAL)

SINGAPORE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BY UNITED NATIONS
September 2002

Johannesburg Summit 2002 – the World Summit on Sustainable Development –in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September 2002. The Summit was held in the Sandton Convention Centre, just outside Johannesburg. A non-governmental forum took place at the nearby NASREC Centre and numerous other parallel events also took place around Johannesburg at the same time.

At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the international community adopted Agenda 21, an unprecedented global plan of action for sustainable development. But the best strategies are only as good as their implementation. Ten years later, the Johannesburg Summit presents an exciting opportunity for today's leaders to adopt concrete steps and identify quantifiable targets for better implementing Agenda 21.

The summit brought together tens of thousands of participants, including heads of State and Government, national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses and other major groups to focus the world's attention and direct action toward meeting difficult challenges, including improving people's lives and conserving our natural resources in a world that is growing in population, with ever-increasing demands for food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security.

Broad participation and inclusiveness are key to the success of sustainable development. All sectors of society have a role to play in building a future in which global resources are protected, and prosperity and health are within reach for all of the world's citizens. Therefore, in addition to governments, there was active participation at the Summit by representatives from business and industry, children and youth, farmers, indigenous people, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, scientific and technological communities, women and workers and trade unions. These represent the Major Groups identified in Agenda 21.

SINGAPORE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE ASIA REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON “YOUTH FOR ENVIRONMENT” BY THE COMMONWEALTH YOUTH PROGRAM (CYP)
August 2003

The Asia Regional Workshop on “Youth for Environment” was held in Ahmedabad , India, from 11th August 2003 to 14th August 2003. The outline of the workshop’s programmes and initiatives deals with countries in South East Asia and South Asia to empower young people there to become responsible citizens of their countries. Sustainable Development as defined by CYP Asia Centre means combining growth with environment concerns. The role of women and young people to conserve the environment was also stressed upon during the workshop.

FORMING AND HOLDING SECRETARIAT OF THE ASIA YOUTH ENVIRONMENT NETWORK (AYEN)
April 2004

The vision of the network is;
- To achieve Sustainable Development through youth participation at all levels.
- To achieve sustainability with youth as partners in development
- To achieve sustainability in all aspect of developments
- To achieve sustainable development
- To achieve sustainable development in Asia
- Socially equitable, and environmentally responsible development

The mission of the network is to establish a model example of sustainable development by young Asians

The objectives of the network are;

1. Networking and mobilization
2. Capacity building
3. Dissemination of best practices
4. Documentation
5. Maintain roster of experts

Participating countries of AYEN are:
- Bangladesh
- Brunei Darussalam
- India
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka

Since then, there was a conference for the existing AYEN country coordinator to meet up in April 2005 to discuss strategically on the direction of the network and knowledge sharing.

AYEN is recognized by the participating countries’ youth ministries and the Commonwealth Youth Program (CYP). AYEN is in the mist of getting recognition by the United Nation Environment Protection (UNEP).

AYEN is also in the mist of getting country representatives from China, Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION, YOUTH EXPEDITION PROGRAM ON POST TSUNAMI RELIEF EFFORTS AND TURTLE CONSERVATION IN SRI LANKA
October 2005

We went to one of the Tsunami badly hit town, Kosgoda, Sri Lanka. There, we got engaged in a handful of activities. One of which is to assist those staying in slumps and temporary houses to fill some furniture. We made cabinets and beds for those who needed them. Prior to that, we made rounds to every single household to assess the situation and decided on the total amount of beds and cabinets that was required to be built.

We carried out beach clean up at the beach and also did mangrove replanting on the coasts. At a nearby old run down school, we refurbished the interior of the school, brought in old books form Singapore and did a handful of murals on turtles on the wall of the library to promote the awareness and how beautiful these creatures were.

Nightly, we followed the local NGO to do patrol on the coast to look out for illegal egg poachers and also locate any turtles that comes up to lay their eggs. We had the chance to see one turtle came up the shore and we assisted in taking the dimension of the turtle for recoding purposes.

SINGAPORE YOUTH DELEGATION FOR THE COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
MAY 2006

Following up from the World Summit on sustainable Development in 2002. The Division for Sustainable Development provides leadership and is an authoritative source of expertise within the United Nations system on sustainable development. It promotes sustainable development as the substantive secretariat to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and through technical cooperation and capacity building at international, regional and national levels. The context for the Division’s work is the implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Barbados Programme of Action for Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

This year, we manage to get the accreditation to send youth delegation down. Wilson led the International Affairs team of 4 that has been formed for this year’s conference. In order to garner a better representative position, a workshop was held for interested individuals and NGOs to raised their concerns on this year’s themes and also follow up with online discussion to form up a local draft for the delegation.

Also through this, we manage to get the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources to send their official delegation team and proposed to recognize us as official Singapore Youth delegates in the long run. So we can send teams down every year consisting of interested individuals as well as NGOs to get the local youth more exposed to global issues and be able to have the opportunity to take on leadership role in the global arena.

REPRESENTED SINGAPORE AT MELEKA INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DIALOGUE (MIYD) ORGANISED BY THE WORLD YOUTH ALLIANCE (WAY)
June 2006

INAUGURAL ASEAN YOUTH CAUCUS SINGAPORE DELEGATE
Singapore Delegation Leader
http://ammy.youth.sg/?page_id=12

MEMBER OF GCAP CLIMATE CHANGE WORKING GROUP
GCAP SENCA REPRESENTATIVE
The GCAP national coalitions/platforms are primarily made of NGOs, social movements and other civil society groups (including women, faith, youth, unions among others). They focus on issues of international aid, trade justice, debt relief, gender equality and women’s rights and governance and public accountability. However, many groups within GCAP have experience of working on issues directly relevant to climate change including agriculture, adaptation, fishing, environmental conservation and forestry management.

In recognition of the impact climate change is already having on the world’s poorest and most marginalized people, and the growing impact on the work of many organisations within the Global Call, the GCAP global assembly in Montevideo in May 2007 agreed unanimously to add climate change to the political declaration along with the 5 key political asks articulated around trade, aid, governance and public accountability, debt relief and gender equality and women’s rights.

ASIAN COMMONWEALTH CONFERENCE: Strengthening Role of Civil Society and Media in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Mitigation
23rd April 2008 - 25th April 2008
Chennai, India
Speaker and Resource Person on Climate Adaptation & Risks Reduction
Seven of the world’s ten most populous countries are in Asia. Economies of developing Asian countries are growing, often at a high rate. However, poverty and inequitable development are still prevalent in most Asian countries and migration accounts for 64 per cent of urban growth. Asian countries now have the additional challenge of formulating long-term development policies for a changing climate. In this context, the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) together with the Commonwealth Foundation proposes to organise a three-day Asian Commonwealth Conference on Climate Change from 23 - 25 April, 2008, in Chennai, India.

The event will raise regional awareness and enhance civil society’s capacity for innovative climate change adaptation and disaster mitigation. It will focus on the role of civil society organisations and media personnel in communicating and promoting adaptation practice at the grassroots level. The conference will bring climate change stakeholders including policymakers, local and national civil society organisations, scientific community, academia, development practitioners, environmentalists, industrialists, businesspeople and media personnel, to a common platform where they will share their successes and challenges. The specific objectives of the event include:

1. Strengthen awareness regarding climate change adaptation and disaster mitigation.
2. Enhance adaptation and risk reduction practices at the community and school level using local resources and knowledge.
3. Explore the role of the media in communicating climate change and disasters.
4. Explore effective methods to mobilise climate change solutions and adaptation strategies at the grassroots, utilising existing resources.
5. Enhance the capacity of participants to identify priorities and effect change in their own countries and communities
6. Integrate youth and gender dimensions into future strategies

The conference aims to bring together about fifty key individuals from India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Brunei Darussalam, as well as key regional resource persons. The media will be represented by Asian members of the Commonwealth Press Union, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and the Commonwealth Journalists Association. They will be encouraged to report on case studies from the grassroots and engage with civil society organisations to raise awareness of climate change and disasters and ways to mitigate negative consequences. Civil society will be represented by two organisations from each Commonwealth Asian country.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT & GREEN OLYMPICS
The Third Conference of UN-NGO-IRENE/ASIA-PACIFIC
28rd April 2008 - 30th April 2008
Beijing, China
Moderator on: NGOs and Green Olympics
People are becoming more environmentally conscious, and showing great interest in maintaining the greenness of the Olympic Games. What are the overall impacts of the Olympics on the sustainable development and environmental protection? It has become one of the priorities as for how to ensure sustainable economic and social development in harmony with natural and ecological environment in the preparations and operation of the Olympics, and even beyond. Hence, Green Olympics has been taken as one of the three themes of Beijing Olympic Games.

Chinese NGOs working on environmental protection take active part in promoting the concept of Green Olympics. Some NGO leaders have been invited to be consultants to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of XXIX Olympiad, raising proposals directly to the authorities. Many more organize various activities to raise the public awareness of environment and enrich the contents of Green Olympics throughout the whole society. Panellists will introduce their success stories on Green Olympics. Interactive discussions will be carried out to share experience and reinforce synergies.

   Panellists:
 
   1. Mr. Huang Haoming, SG of China Association for NGO Cooperation
 
   2. Mrs. Nittaya Vairojanavong, National Council of Women of Thailand
 
   3. Mr. Zhao Yixin, President of the General Council of Beijing Environmental Protection Foundation
 
   4. Mr. Daniel J. Dudek, Environment Protection Foundation, USA
 

2nd INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CONFERENCE “CLIMATE CHANGE AS A CHALLENGE FOR POVERTY REDUCTION”
30th May 2008 - 31st May 2008
Bonn, Germany
Speaker and Resource Person on behalf of GCAP
Organised by: Germanwatch in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Foundation NRW, Bread for the World, German Development Institute, Die Klima-Allianz, Church Development Service (EED), Jugendbündnis Zukunftsenergie

Financially supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Stiftung für internationale Begegnung of the Sparkasse in Bonn

The consequences of climate change are of ever increasing importance for development politics. Climate change poses a significant threat to the goals of the fight against poverty. The UN negotiations for a new global climate change treaty are gaining momentum, but without the consideration of the development politics' perspective an equitable climate treaty is impossible.

In the run-up to the UN Climate Conference in Bonn (2-13 June 2008) Germanwatch and the Heinrich Boell Foundation (in cooperation with other partners) will hold on the 30 May and the 31 May an international conference on climate change and poverty reduction. The conference will serve as a forum for opinion and information exchange, and will send a signal to the UN Climate Negotiations: the path to a just Climate Treaty must be made clear.


ASIAN YOUTH CLIMATE SUMMIT
16th July 2008 - 19th July 2008
Hong Kong
Guests Speaker and Special Panelist on Climate Change and the Role of Asian Youth
Workshop Speaker: Leadership Building Skills
Organised by: Hong Kong University
Website: http://www.hkclimatechangecoalition.org/aycs08/


ASEAN+3 Public Youth Forum @ SMU
1st August 2008
Singapore
Guests Speaker and Panelist
Topic: Topic: Towards realising sustainable development : A Youth’s Story
Event Partners: National Youth Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ECO Singapore

The ASEAN+3 Public Forum segment of this 2-day ASEAN+3 Youth Forum program intends to outreach to the greater part of the vibrant youth population in Singapore. Attaining sustainable development for ASEAN requires the concerted effort of all ASEAN citizens and its strategic partners and so we call upon YOU to rise and take ownership of your role as a key stakeholder in this important process. This forum will allow you to draw upon the knowledge and insights of practitioners of sustainable development, and to envision possibilities and synthesize courses of action which can help us to create together a successful and viable ASEAN future.
The forum will holistically explore sustainable development at the regional and intergovernmental level, how it can be integrated successfully into the economy at a local level and finally a glimpse into the adventures of an experienced youth activist who has long been championing the fight for sustainable future.

Website: http://www.aseanyouthfestival.org/PROyouthforumSMU.html


REGIONAL COMMONWEALTH ROUND TABLE ON
"STRENGTHENING ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND MEDIA IN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION IN ASIA"
18th August 2008 - 19th August 2008
Pondicherry, India
Panelist
Organised by: The Commonwealth Foundation and All India Disaster Mitigation Institute

As a follow-up to the “Asian Commonwealth Conference on Climate Change: Strengthening Role of Civil Society and Media in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Mitigation” held in Chennai earlier this year, the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) together with the Commonwealth Foundation propose to organise a two-day Regional Commonwealth Round Table on Climate Change and Disaster Mitigation from August 18-19, 2008 in Pondicherry, India.

The event will raise regional awareness and enhance civil society’s capacity alongwith media for innovative climate change adaptation and disaster mitigation. It will focus on the role of civil society organisations and media personnel in communicating and promoting adaptation practice at the grassroots level. The round table will bring climate change stakeholders including policymakers, local and national civil society organisations, academia, development practitioners, and media personnel, to a common platform where they will share their successes and challenges. The specific objectives of the event include:

1. Discuss implications of India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change for Asia;
2. Enhance adaptation and risk reduction practices at the community and school level using local resources and knowledge;
3. Formulate concepts towards School Safety and Risk Reduction Strategies in Asian countries;
4. Develop an agenda for a workshop/seminar by the Asian network to be held during the 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) in Malaysia in June 2009;
5. Discuss Commodity Risk in Asia to discuss the outcomes in the upcoming Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting in St. Lucia; and
6. Formalise Terms of Reference for a Steering Committee to lead on the Pan-Commonwealth Civil Society and Media Network on Climate and Disaster Risk in Asia.

The conference aims to bring together about key individuals from India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Maldives and Bangladesh as well as key regional resource persons. Participants will be represented by two organisations from each Commonwealth Asian country.


PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING: DEVELOPING CLIMATE SOLUTION
20th August 2008 - 29th August 2008
Bogor, Indonesia
Trainer
Organised by: British Council

Project Management and Leadership Training is part of British Council’s Climate Cool programme which aims to expand and strengthen the network of young leaders making a direct impact on their communities across the East Asia.

The course is a capacity building programme consists of the leadership and project management skills training which will be delivered through presentations, workshops and cultural activities. The programme will be held in 24 to 29 August 2008 in Indonesia and gathering young leaders from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Participants will come with project concepts as required in the online application form and the training will help them develop their concepts into workable projects. There is an expectation that the projects will be implemented in their home countries on their return. A small grant will be provided to participants with best projects when matching funding is available.

The objectives of the programme are:
• To share experience and views of the climate issues facing the region
• To deliver capacity building in project management
• To develop individual project proposals which are then submitted to the scrutiny of experts
• To learn how to develop successful bids.


CIVIL SOCIETY CONSULTATION ON 2008 COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTER MEETING (CFMM)
Theme: The Implication of High Food and Energy Prices For Economic Management
28th September 2008 - 29th September 2008
Islamabad, Pakistan
Country Representative
Organised by: The Commonwealth Foundation and The Pattan Development Organisation

The recent surge in prices of food and energy commodities has affected almost everybody of all countries but differentially. The poorest and the most vulnerable are suffering the most and a large majority of them live in the developing countries. The price surge has also badly affected the import bills of these countries. The hungry people were seen protesting on the streets in some countries. It has shaken the world in so many ways.

As the civil society organizations work closely with the marginalized and poor people, they must stand and channalize opinions and anger of the starving people and inform their respective governments about it.

The Commonwealth Foundation brought the representatives and leaders of civil society organizations from various CW countries in Castries, St Lucia from 8 to 10 July 2008 in order to “assess the impact of the food and energy crisis on achieving the MDGs, review the impact of the commodity crisis on the poor, mobilize civil society opinion and build consensus in advance of the CFMM, and discuss what role we can play to make a meaningful impact on sustainable development and poverty reduction through commodity sector development.”

The objectives of the meeting are:

•To adopt and endorse the statement of the St. Lucia consultative meeting of civil society organizations of the commonwealth countries, and
•To make the governments of the commonwealth countries, the public and the media aware of civil society position on food and energy crises prior to the meeting of the finance ministers of commonwealth countries in October 2008.

We strive to achieve a more informed advocacy and well-prepared CSOs’ engagement with the Asian governments before and during the finance ministers’ meeting in St. Lucia.
Prior to the Islamabad meeting each participant will be requested to study the CSOs’ statement and present a brief on the theme. At the end of the consultative meeting, they would take up the issue in their respective countries.


7th ASIA EUROPE PEOPLE'S FORUM
13th October 2008 - 15th October 2008
Hong Kong
Invited Guests
Organised by: China NGO Network For International Exchanges (CNIE)

With the theme of “For Social and Ecological Justice ”, AEPF 7 is dedicated to increasing understanding and solidarity between the peoples of Asia and Europe and to promoting harmony, peace and development of the two regions.
http://www.aepf7.org.cn


TRAINING PROGRAMME: PROJECT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL ENTERPRISE & SETTING UP AND ORGANISATION
16th October 2008 - 18th October 2008
Hong Kong
Trainer
Organised by: Hong Kong Climate Change Coalition

The course is a capacity building programme consists of the leadership and project management skills training which will be delivered through presentations, workshops and cultural activities.

Participants will come with project concepts as required in the online application form and the training will help them develop their concepts into workable projects. There is an expectation that the projects will be implemented in their home countries on their return. A small grant will be provided to participants with best projects when matching funding is available.

UNFCCC 14th Conference Of Parties
1st December 2008 to 12th December 2008
Poznan, Poland
Representative of Non-Governmental Organisation
Organised by: United Nations

The United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Poznań ended on Saturday, 13 December. Over eleven thousand participants attended the Poznań meeting, which both advanced international cooperation on a future climate change regime and brought progress on key issues. “We now have a much clearer sense of where we need to go in designing an outcome which will spell out the commitments of developed countries, the financial support required and the institutions that will deliver that support as part of the Copenhagen outcome,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer.


PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING: DEVELOPING CLIMATE SOLUTION
10th March 2009 - 15th March 2009
Shonan Village, Japan
Consultant/Trainer
Organised by: British Council

Project Management and Leadership Training is part of British Council’s Climate Cool programme which aims to expand and strengthen the network of young leaders making a direct impact on their communities across the East Asia.

The course is a capacity building programme consists of the leadership and project management skills training which will be delivered through presentations, workshops and cultural activities. The programme will be held in 24 to 29 August 2008 in Indonesia and gathering young leaders from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Participants will come with project concepts as required in the online application form and the training will help them develop their concepts into workable projects. There is an expectation that the projects will be implemented in their home countries on their return. A small grant will be provided to participants with best projects when matching funding is available.

The objectives of the programme are:
• To share experience and views of the climate issues facing the region
• To deliver capacity building in project management
• To develop individual project proposals which are then submitted to the scrutiny of experts
• To learn how to develop successful bids.


INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CLIMATE MOVEMENT
Primary Focal Point

The Youth constituency establishes two focal points to the UNFCCC secretariat: one each from the global North and global South. Gender considerations are taken into account when selecting the two focal points. Focal points will be elected through a global web voting system, similar to the process undertaken for youth focal points under the Commission on Sustainable Development.

Focal points shall liaise with the UNFCCC secretariat. The main tasks of the focal points are:
· Dissemination of information from the UNFCCC secretariat to the international youth delegation;
· Consolidation and transmission of information from the constituency members to the UNFCCC secretariat;
· Act as a watchdog in relation to the observance of decision-making processes;
· Promote the Code of Conduct to the youth caucus;
· Liaise with the secretariat at UNFCCC sessions;
· Develop continuity processes for transition year-to-year.

http://sites.google.com/site/unfcccyoungo/


Danamon Young Leaders Award: Young Leaders Training on Climate Project Management & Leadership
10th July 2009 - 12th July 2009
Bogor, Indonesia
Trainer & Team Coach
Organised by: Danamon Bank

The objectives of the programme are:
• To share experience and views of the climate issues facing the region
• To deliver capacity building in project management and Social Entrepreneurship
• To develop individual project proposals which are then submitted to the scrutiny of experts

MEDIA / INTERVIEW / FEATURE

INTERVIEWS BY RSI (Chinese Channel)
http://www.rsi.sg/chinese/podcast_c/view/20060804172600/1/gb/.html
LOOK UNDER:
11-08-2006 (about the "Bag It to Win It" event during NDP)
10-11-2006 (about "Clean and Green Week 2006")
30-03-2007 (about "No Cleaners Week")

NVPC Press Release on NDP2006
http://www.cip.org.sg/vscope/viewarticle.asp?aid=701

MAC DONALDS' INSPIRATION TALK SERIES
http://www.heartware.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=222&Itemid=51

INTERVIEWED BY ST Interactive Podcast (6th Feb 2007)
Comment on what is climate change and how we each can play our role to make a difference. A four part podcast feature on STI.

INTERVIEWED BY LIME (June 2007)
Comments on what is World Environment Day and what is climate change in a nutshell and how it affects us.

NMP Interview
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/247227/1/.html

MEWR Milieu
http://app.nea.gov.sg/counter/nea_milieu9.asp

MINISTER'S SPEECH DURING INAUGURAL NATIONAL YOUTH ENVIRONMENT FORUM OPENING
http://app.mewr.gov.sg/press.asp?id=CDS4196

NDP 2006 ECO YOUTH CHAMPIONS
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/222068/1/.html

YOUTH.SG INTERVIEW
http://youth.sg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1508&Itemid=29

ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth: Youth Caucus
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/070427/5/singapore272672.html

Channel News Asia (16 December 2007) "Singaporean Urged to Go Green this festive season"
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/317739/1/.html

Weekend Todays' (7 - 8 July 2008) Poll "TOP OF THE GREEN POLL"
Quoted: "Those who chose Mr Ang said he was an “inspiration” to them. Known for his dedication, the 25-year-old is able to connect with the youth and is not afraid to get his hands dirty. His youthfulness and relative inexperience may be a stumbling block, but Mr Ang holds the potential as a future green ambassador."
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/198654.asp

The Straits Times (21 June 2008) "Serious lesson on water gets a splash of color"
http://www.sghousing.com/2008/06/21/serious-lessons-on-water-get-a-splash-of-colour/?wpcf7=json&wpcf7=json

The Straits Times (23 June 2008) "Green Urbanites"
http://www.asiaone.com/Business/My%2BMoney/Property/Story/A1Story20080623-72343.html

Channel News Asia (17 July 2008) "PRIME TIME MORNING"
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainmentfeatures/view/360976/1/.html

Channel News Asia (2nd August 2008) "Govt receives some 500 suggestions since call for eco-friendly ideas"
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/364491/1/.html

REUTERS: Asian media and civil society unite to influence global climate policy"
Quoted: Wilson Ang, CEO of Eco Singapore, stressed the need to engage education ministries in teaching about green growth (economic opportunities that regenerate ecology) in textbooks and classrooms in Asia. Education in Asia is still based around an industrial growth model.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/219824/121612533327.htm

CNN: Eco Solutions (22nd April 2009) "Earth Day 2009: Sowing seeds for a Green Generation in Asia"
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/04/21/earthday.asia/index.html