Dynamic young business leaders, Joel Neoh and Khailee Ng of Youth Asia, lent their voice to tiger conservation today at an event held with WWF-Malaysia at the Youth Asia headquarters in Bukit Gasing.
Youth Asia, a group of companies that includes GroupsMore.com, YOUTHSAYS.com and YOUTH’10 Malaysia’s Largest Youth Festival, unleashes the collective power of youths through social technology. These two socially responsible young entrepreneurs, who have supported WWF-Malaysia’s efforts to raise public awareness of environmental conservation since 2008, will be representing Malaysia at WWF’s Youth Tiger Summit in Russia later this month.
“Leaders who make critical decisions that affect the future generation must listen to the voice of the young, as they will be inheriting the world that these leaders leave behind in time to come,” said Joel Neoh, Co-Executive Director of Youth Asia, explaining his motivation for supporting conservation efforts.
“The modern workforce yields tremendous power to solve problems; especially the new generation. Their ideas and energy is one of our country’s biggest resources. But how much of this power is used to solve problems of conservation? My peers and I don’t even think about it. But I think it’s about time some of us took the leap to try and understand problems in this world, and how we can help in our own way,” said Khailee Ng, Co-Executive Director of Youth Asia.
Both of them are looking forward to learning more about protecting tigers when they represent Malaysia at WWF’s Youth Tiger Summit, and then helping to spread the tiger conservation message leveraging on their new media and youth leadership expertise upon their return.
From 21st to 24th November 2010, leaders of the 13 tiger-range countries will meet in St. Petersburg, Russia, and decide the future of the world’s remaining 3,200 tigers. The Head of State from each country are expected to not only reaffirm their commitment to double wild tiger populations in their respective countries by 2020, but also to announce “Big Wins” that will help secure the future of this magnificent animal.
Malaysia, home to the world’s second largest wild tiger population after India, has not only declared its goal to double its wild tigers by 2020, but has also prepared a roadmap to achieve this. The ambitious National Tiger Conservation Action Plan for Malaysia was released in 2008 and aims to have 1,000 wild tigers by 2020 through four main strategies. Some of the activities are already being carried out by various government agencies and the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT), of which WWF-Malaysia is a part.
In conjunction with the Tiger Summit, WWF will be organising a Youth Tiger Summit for youths. Youths today are the leaders of tomorrow, and WWF recognises the importance of engaging them in efforts to conserve of our living planet, our natural resources and our wildlife. This Youth Tiger Summit will give participants the unique opportunity to visit field camps in protected areas within the tiger range in the Russian Far East helping rangers and learning. When the Heads of Governments get together in Moscow, WWF will organise a video bridge so that these youths will share with heads of governments their experience and concerns. After the conference, it is hoped that these youths will spread the tiger conservation message in their home countries.
WWF-Malaysia calls on everyone to sign up at www.tx2.my and urge the government to come up with a “Big Win” at the Tiger Summit to double the number of our Malayan tigers by 2020 as well as show your support for Youth Asia’s Joel Neoh and Khailee Ng, the two Malaysian representatives at the summit.
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Jimmy Tan
