SPEECH BY

THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF EDUCATION AT

THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE ASEAN YOUTH
CAMP,
11TH JANUARY, 2006

I will be delivering this speech on behalf of the Honourable Minister of

Education, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Lela Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin
Dato Setia Awang Haji Mohamed Taib.

Bismillah hirrahman nirrahiim

Assalamualaikum warahmatulahi wabarakaatuh

Yang Mulia Awang Arsad bin Abdul Adis,

Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the ASEAN
Youth Camp, 2006.

Yang Mulia,
Chairman of National Committee of ASEAN-COCI Brunei Darussalam.

Permanent Secretaries, High Commissioners, Ambassadors, Senior

Government Officials, Head of Departments, Head of Delegates, Ladies
and Gentlemen.

It is a pleasure to be here today at the opening of the ASEAN Youth Camp.

To our overseas guests, may I wish you all a very warm welcome to Brunei
Darussalam.

This project, organized under the ASEAN Committee on Culture and

Information (COCI), has been a flagship project of the ASEAN Youth
Friendship Program since its beginning in 1998. I would like to
congratulate the ASEAN-Committee on Culture and Information for their

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continous efforts in organising such programmes. These programmes
provide opportunities for young people to participate in a growing
regional network with the aim of making a positive difference to the
ASEAN region and beyond.

This year the theme for the ASEAN Youth Camp is ADHESION: Water and
the Arts. This brings together 50 young participants from the ASEAN
region, immersing them in various interactive learning activities related to
the civilization and culture of ASEAN, and how rivers and seas shape the
communities around them. The participants will express their insights and
understanding through various art forms. By the end of this programme it
is hoped that they will have a greater understanding of the role they can
play in promoting our water heritage through the arts.

This years theme will help you to understand how the water around us
shapes our communities, and more importantly the implications and
effects of our present activities on the very resource we depend on for our
well-being and existence.

Over the last year or so, we have witnessed many major water-related
natural disasters. Some of these are linked to issues such as
environmental degradation, pollution and population growth, all of which
affect our access to quality water. The future of our planet is threatened
by challenges posed by the poor management of a resource that many of
us take for granted.

Water plays a vital role in our lives. It gives life but also has the power to
take life away. This was clearly demonstrated in the recent tsunami and
flash floods reported in many countries in this region. Our youth can,
through the arts, help play a vital role in highlighting the need to

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safeguard our water heritage, thus reducing problems related to the
water environment.

Over the next 12 days, this youth camp will help participants to develop a
deeper awareness, appreciation of and sense of responsibility for the
natural environment. These goals will be achieved through activities that
develop and enhance the participants artistic creativity and expression
using indigenous themes and natural materials found in the environment
that they will be working in.

Through the informal setting of the camp, it is hoped that the participants
will develop aesthetic values of art in the context of the water
environment, learn how to work in a team, appreciate arts and
performance and in a broader sense understand the culture of their fellow
ASEAN member countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam has been working closely

with the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information in providing
activities for our students as part of the ASEAN Awareness programme.
The programme includes an annual celebration of the ASEAN Day on the
8th of August every year, with activities concentrated in schools and
colleges, the ASEAN Childrens Painting Competition on Kindness, the
ASEAN Quiz, the ASEAN Corner and other regional activities.
Participation in these activities can lead to a greater sense of ASEAN
shared values. This contributes to character building, providing a
platform for all our youths to become more competent and caring.

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With this I conclude my address by wishing all of you success in your
endeavour. May your stay here be memorable, and the friendship and
networking established at this camp be an enduring one.

With the Kalimah Bismillah Hirrrahman Nirrahim, I hereby declare the

ASEAN Youth Camp Brunei Darussalam, with the Theme Adhesion: Water
and The Arts officially open.

Wassalamualaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarakatuh.