This training series was somewhat unique as we had a highly motivated youth from Singapore to share her experience and knowledge in the field of climate change.
Nor Lastrina Hamid, is the co-founder of both Singapore Youth for Climate Action (SYCA), which is a platform for young Singaporeans to act in solidarity towards the fight for climate change and Lepak in SG, a calendar listing for environmental events.
The event was held at University of Nottingham’s Teaching Centre in Kuala Lumpur on 7 July and it was a three hour session filled with understanding Lastrina’s and Singapore’s perspective on climate policy and action.
Moving to the sharing session, Lastrina explained in detail on her roles in SYCA and COP21 and 22. She showed great ingenuity by describing her experiences in her spell at Paris and Marrakech. While delineating on Singapore government’s efforts towards bringing increased awareness to the public, she explained on the government providing funds and scholarships to those who were taking part in climate related movements and activities.
With respect to climate accountability and tracking the climate progress matter of the government, Lastrina encouraged more youth participation in negotiations and reaching out to the public by disseminating the information and awareness for localised action. SYCA bridges the gap between the government and the community, similar to MYD for Malaysia.
By concluding, and as Lastrina had highlighted, the supportive Singaporean government underlined the strength of youth and paves way to steer the country towards a sustainable future which is something countries around the world can learn from.
Overall, from the Singaporean example, I had learnt that the governments across the globe can contribute much more towards encouraging youth and public on issues that need more action on a global scale. Singapore commits not only to training and building capacity for developing countries but also involves itself in assisting other parties of the Paris Agreement and International Institutions.
MYD is beholden to Lastrina for contributing to the training series by sharing her experiences at the local and international stages for climate action and justice. The discussion was quite insightful and broadened our perspective of climate negotiations. With three months to COP23, the journey to Bonn is in full swing.
– Varun, MYD17 Member
