27 September 2021
The final day of the Summit is dedicated to the voices of youths alongside representatives from ASEAN and global brands and NGOs in discussing sustainability risks and opportunities faced by future generations.
Kuala Lumpur: CIMB Group Holdings Berhad’s (“CIMB” or “the Group”) is shining the spotlight on youth perspectives on driving the sustainability agenda as part of The Cooler Earth Sustainability Summit (“The Cooler Earth” or “the Summit”) today called ‘Youth Day: Voices of the Next Generation’. In recognition of the central role of the next generation in accelerating the adoption of sustainable lifestyles and business practices, the Youth Day which marks the end of this year’s Summit seeks to address prevalent issues concerning the youth and offer practical solutions that can help them to be part of the solution.
The Cooler Earth’s Youth Day sessions were fully curated by the management trainees in CIMB’s The Complete Banker (“TCB”) programme, featuring a series of panel discussions, talks, masterclasses and even a debate session on meat consumption. In keeping with the focus on amplifying youth voices, speakers included young representatives from academia and the CIMB ASEAN Scholarship Programme, in addition to representatives from ASEAN and global brands and NGOs. The day’s sessions cover topics that are a central part of the lives of youths, including fashion and dietary habits, ways to address social issues and inequalities, the importance of future-proofing our youths, and the challenges we face in providing access to quality education for all.
The Cooler Earth’s Youth Day aims to encourage two-way conversations as a knowledge sharing platform for youths, business leaders and experts to discuss sustainability risks and opportunities faced by the future generation in a globalised world. By doing so, CIMB hopes to encourage the youth to exercise the voice and power they have to effect positive changes for a more sustainable future.
Datuk Mohd Nasir Ahmad, Chairman of CIMB Group said, “While we as businesses and as a society have started to make progress in our sustainability journey, our future generations have a critical role to play in catalysing acceleration towards a sustainable future. That is why we are pleased to dedicate an entire day of The Cooler Earth towards hearing from our next generation, a forward view which also serves as an apt closing for this year’s Summit. We hope to highlight the great potential and capabilities of our youth in driving the sustainability agenda, and I am proud to see our management trainees take up the challenge of putting together this exciting line-up of discussions. Sustainability is core to CIMB’s DNA, and we are pleased to see the success of this year’s Summit as a testament to our continued commitment in this space.”
The speakers at The Summit’s Youth Day welcomed the focus on youth perspectives and highlighted the importance of collaboration at all levels, as today’s youths are already active participants and shapers of the sustainability agenda.
Dato’ Shahira Ahmed Bazari, Managing Director of Yayasan Hasanah said, “Crises like the COVID-19 pandemic highlight how important effective and innovative collaboration is to solve complex problems with long-term implications. Together with our partners, Hasanah enabled various initiatives to assist underserved schools, teachers, students and parents where we witnessed various ‘frugal innovations’ taking place to support effective teaching and learning. In catalysing lasting change, cross-agency collaboration is an important ingredient for scalable success.”
Hajar Fazillah, a Sunway College graduate and student ambassador, one of the youth speakers at the Summit, stressed the importance of education and development programmes in uplifting youths from underprivileged backgrounds. She received holistic support through a student development and empowerment programme known as Project ID, which aims to empower students from low income communities to achieve their career aspirations and develop leadership skills. She also had the honour of representing Selangor in competitive archery at the national level. She credits programmes such as these for her personal growth and hopes other youths will be able to benefit from such initiatives, especially those from the B40 community.
Hajar said, “One’s growth does not matter if it means leaving people behind. Empower, engage and ensure our youths today are able to maximise their full potential in order to shape a more sustainable future. Youth-focused programmes such as Project ID have enabled students like me to explore our deepest passions and interests starting from a young age. That was what I really needed and I believe that other youths should be provided the same opportunities as well, regardless of their backgrounds.”
Raenuga Indran, Marketing Partnerships Executive, Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman said, "The youth are our leaders of today and tomorrow. These young agents of change are already at the forefront of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and they must continuously be empowered, included and celebrated.”
Held from 23rd to 27th September, this year marks CIMB’s 3rd Cooler Earth, the Group’s flagship annual sustainability event since 2019. This year’s Summit is themed Align, Act and Accelerate, and continues to focus on the ASEAN region with the aim of convening stakeholders from across the public and private sectors and civil society in order to encourage greater discourse in sustainability. Held virtually, The Cooler Earth 2021 featured webinars and masterclasses from notable sustainability figures, in addition to leaders and experts from a range of sectors.
The Cooler Earth was organised in partnership with knowledge partners WWF-Malaysia, Impacto, ACCA, CEO Action Network and B Corp. The Summit’s supporting partners include the Joint Committee on Climate Change (“JC3”), CFA Society Malaysia, Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia, Capital Markets Malaysia and Climate Governance Malaysia.
For more information about the Summit, please visit https://coolerearth.cimb.com/.
