KUALA LUMPUR: Secondary school students from 50 schools in five states are competing in Yayasan Petronas’ Sentuhan Harapan – All About Youth (AAY 2019), a programme for Malaysian students to become agents of change by transforming their ideas into powerful solutions.
The competition involves 200 Form Two to Form Four students from schools in Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu, Melaka and Johor working on a theme, ‘Reducing Carbon Emissions for a Better Future’.
The students will compete to develop and implement sustainable community projects, supported by their teachers and Petronas volunteers.
Acting chief executive officer of Yayasan Petronas Lita Osman said through AAY 2019, Petronas is encouraging youths to address issues which can positively impact the society.
“We want to help develop citizens who care for the planet and embrace sustainable development by creating opportunities for students, particularly from rural areas, to turn their ideas into impactful inventions. They can transform concepts into action by applying their knowledge in science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM),” she said.
Lita added that Yayasan Petronas believes AAY 2019 will provide students with the skills on creative, lateral thinking and collaborative work to help them develop capabilities to become future leaders.
AAY 2019 includes a new feature, the Technology Toolbox, which allows students to develop a functional prototype to compete during the Chairman’s Circle championship in December. This championship offers a grand prize of RM30,000.
‘All About Youth’ focuses on driving social innovation, and providing students with tools and techniques to create solutions which improve the well-being of society.
AAY is also aimed at supporting the government’s 60:40 target ratio of STEM-Arts enrolment as well as the country’s aspiration to reduce carbon emissions.
Since 2014, AAY has reached more than 200 schools and 4,600 students.
More than 150 Petronas volunteers or ‘buddies’ have nurtured, tutored and motivated participants, as a result, 200 impactful community projects have been successfully developed.
List of Participating Schools in AAY 2019:
– Bernama
