The Malaysian Youth Delegation representatives such as myself along with Syahirah and Jasmin had the chance to participate in the KWAP Inspire: Environmental Conference 2018 hosted by Kumpulan Persaraan (Diperbadankan) also known as The Retirement Fund (Incorporated).
It was a two days conference, held on the 17th and 18th July 2018 at Grand Hyatt, Kuala Lumpur. It was the first of its kind of conference hosted by company, hailing its participants from NGOs, business firms and investment companies to come together and share the ideas of incorporating sustainable development into their corporations and breaking through into a greener economy.
There were many prominent speakers that spoke at the conference that had engaged the participants, myself included, with their ideas and what they had done in their respective companies so far to really combat climate change and promote sustainability.
A speaker really stood out when he said, ‘The financial sector are the key player to combating to climate change. We are the ones that invest in businesses that cuts down forests and release toxic substances into the rivers and oceans, we certainly have the power to change that. So won’t we?’ Various topics such as green financing to assessing climate risks in investing in fossil fuel to challenges of food production in Asia and many more were simply an eye opener for me. It was amazing to see how most of the speakers had strategies and passion to reducing carbon footprint in their investments.
There were also presentation of environmental advocates such Sir Robert Swan, Nadya Hutagalung and Reef Check Malaysia. They presented theirs works and contributions to creating awareness amongst stakeholders and local communities on the dangerous effects of global warming, declining number of wildlife animals and the current condition of the earth.
No doubt it is so inspiring to see all these people telling their stories of their journey but the particular presenter that had me feeling so inspired was United Nations Environment Programme Ambassador and TV Host, Nadya Hutagalung. She spoke with confidence and pain in her voice as she presented the stories of what was happening to the elephants in Africa and Indonesia. She told the tales of her journey to not only increase awareness on the fate that lies for these elephants but also her conservation works as well.
My mind was racing, how could elephants be murdered just for their trunks that’s being sold off for the ivory trade? And most importantly, what can we do to stop this? She told the story of a mouse and an elephant where the moral of the story was that, no matter how little you are, you have a role into doing something that’s big. That definitely had me excited, I can do something to be a part of saving this world. Nadya is absolutely charismatic and engaging as a speaker, also an inspirational role model to look up to.
Written by Aaliyah
