The Prime Minister’s Office as the Secretariat to the Special National Coordination Committee (SNCC) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), with the support of the Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP) as main event partner as well as in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, International School Brunei (ISB), the Brunei Youth Council and Green Brunei, organised an opening ceremony for the SDG Youth Camp today, 10th August 2024, at Silaturrahim Hall, Youth Centre, Bandar Seri Begawan.

Yang Mulia Nur Edzalina binti Haji Idris, Acting Director, Wawasan Brunei Office, Prime Minister’s Office as the Acting Head of Secretariat to the SNCC SDG, expressed her gratitude for the cooperation and dedication of partners towards the shared vision of advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In her speech, she shared that the SDG Youth Camp represents a significant milestone in the journey towards a sustainable future, serving as a platform for youth to explore, gain knowledge, and understand the relevance of the SDG. It encourages them to take initiatives that contribute to a more sustainable environment whereby active involvement and commitment of the youth are the key to achieving the SDG, in line with Wawasan Brunei 2035.

Subsequently, Yang Mulia Haji Idris bin Haji Mohd Jaafar, Decommissioning and Restoration Manager, BSP, in his keynote speech, expressed BSP’s deep honour in advocating and supporting this initiative, which aims to provide a platform for Bruneian youths to explore and understand the SDGs within the context of Brunei Darussalam, as well as their implications on a global scale. He emphasized that this support also reflects one of the key pillars of BSP’s Social Investment strategy, which is to foster interest and enable activities focused on STEM education in Brunei, thereby contributing to the national aspiration of cultivating a highly skilled and educated nation.

The SDG Youth Camp, organised for five (5) days and four (4) nights, provides a platform for participants, consisting of Year 9 - 11 students, to explore and understand the SDG goals more broadly, from the context of Brunei Darussalam and global perspective. On the first day of the camp, participants had briefings on key national developments such as Wawasan Brunei 2035, SDG, Maqasid Syariah, and the National Youth Policy. Participants also had an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and experience on the country’s rich biodiversity through the Nature Trail activity conducted by BruWild.

This kind of exposure as well as the activities that will be conducted including dialogue, visits, motivational sessions, and community activities are expected to improve the participants’ leadership skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving, among others, in preparation for the upcoming ISB Borneo Global Issues Conference (BGIC) that will be held in October 2024.