Transcending Borders, Overcoming Barriers

The 5th Asian Youth Forum (AYF) was held at the Pacifico Yokohama, Japan from 2nd to 7th May 2017, with more than 200 youths from countries in Asia Pacific.   

I was quite happy to be one among two Cambodian youths representing World Vision (WV) Cambodia. I had a great chance to attend several sessions of the 50th Asia Development Bank Annual Meeting (ADB - AM50) held from 4th to 7th May 2017 at the same place.

I have learnt a lot, including teamwork, Designing Module Framework (DMF), women leadership, and role of young people in development sector as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) ambassadors, as well as experienced cultural exchange with other delegates. 

Acquiring Knowledge

Coming from different backgrounds, we’d sit in one place to talk about a common issue which corresponded to related SDGs. This means that I, myself, as a regular youth had a great opportunity to talk with other youths, especially senior-level people and others in high positions. 

It was hard to make decisions sometimes, but eventually and always we came up with an agreed decision we were happy with. This has taught me that as long as we know how to adapt by standing in the other person’s shoes, we will be able to come together with common resolutions.

...with their creativity, young people can create a better world together.

I learnt that a person can understand only the side he/she looks at. Therefore, I combined observing and learning to understand the other’s views. The spirit of teamwork is important to understand and value everyone’s ideas.

The DMF is a new lesson for me in terms of project design. This is what the ADB Civil Society Organization (ADB CSO) uses for their projects. I think it is very useful for me and every project designer and manager since it consists of strategies that clearly identify real problems and solutions. In the DMF training, we were assigned to apply for a project which isn’t executed in our home country. As a team, we were working from 3rd to 7th May.

During this period, I learnt to understand another country (Pakistan)’s issue and tried to find a solution for it. This has taught me that in being an SDG ambassador, I do not just work for my own country, but potentially serve other countries in the world. Even though I still need to learn more about DMF, I can’t wait to share this skill with people in my country as it helps people solve problems accordingly. However, it can be a bit challenging and needs patience. 

The most interesting session for me was on women leadership, since I have always wanted to be a leader in the future. To be honest, I am a big fan of SDG5: gender equality. The women leadership session was called “Women Leadership for Vibrant, Inclusive and Sustainable Asia” consisting of very high-level female leaders as speakers. This has extremely inspired me. 

From this session, women and men are viewed as the same, not in the physical aspect but in terms of mental ability. Women can do things that men do. People say that most of the work is done by women, and most decisions are made by men; I’d like to go further with this perception – not to change but to adjust it with the word “sometimes”. Sometimes, most work is done by women and sometimes by men; sometimes, most decisions are made by men and sometimes by women. We are equal.

Another thing I have learnt as an SDG ambassador is the role of young people in the development sector. I have realised that society mostly says that young people are tomorrow’s leaders, but from the whole event, I could see that young people are not just tomorrow’s leaders but also today’s decision makers. Young people can also be both leaders and problem solvers; they are creative. 

How can young SDG ambassadors spread awareness in remote areas about SDGs? I have learnt that I should know how to present myself in any context. As the theme of this 5th AYF was “Youth4Prosperity”, I’ve committed to try my best to be one of those youths. Personally, I also experienced the culture of other countries and the culture of a working environment. I had come to a great opportunity to talk to many different people during the 5th AYF and ADBAM50, even just walking to another seminar room (The Pacifico is so big!).

New Cultural Encounters

I met many people from across Asia and the Pacific and a few from other parts of the world. There were many people showing their cultures in many ways but mostly in their greeting, which is the most basic way. However, I did experience a language barrier, and tried to use my body language to communicate instead.

I now know two basic Japanese words: konichiwa = hello and arigato gozaimasu = thank you so much. Besides this, I experienced staying in a Japanese bedroom at Hostel Zen for one week. It was very interesting to me. I had a chance to stay on the same floor with all WV delegates, and we got to talk to each other every time we travelled to and from the Pacifico, having fun on the way. 

I experienced taking trains, walking, shopping and exploring the view with them at both daytime and nighttime. We worked well with each other over the week as a WV family especially in the World Café session – an exhibition for different organizations to showcase their work. I wish to meet them and other WV delegates again someday. I’ve missed how we worked together.

Last but not least, throughout the 5th AYF and ADBAM50, I have learnt much more which can’t be described in just these few paragraphs. I am glad and feel special to have had an opportunity to sit with world leaders, to talk and share my ideas with them. I am really inspired to be one of them in future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank WV, who always trusts in young people, for giving me this special chance.

Also, thanks to ADB and the government of Japan who made this event happen, especially bringing the young people together to dialogue, so their contribution will be recognized more universally. I hope such opportunities will be made available to other young people so that the world can be seen from all sides; with their creativity, young people can create a better world together.

The story is written by Sreyleak Neam, a member of World Vision's Youth Club