2018 Global Youth and Entrepreneurs Innovation and Development Conference
Kuala Lumpur: The Creative Economy Programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has “elevated the ‘creative economy’ on the world economic and development agenda thus focusing on its role in the growth of developing economies. Dynamic sectors of the creative economy includes advertising, architecture, arts and crafts, design, fashion, film, video, photography, music, performing arts, publishing and research & development.” These sectors provides commercial and cultural values while allowing developing countries to advance into emerging high-growth areas of the world economy.
In December 1 and 2, the 2018 Global Youth and Entrepreneurs Innovation and Development Conference was organised by BGlobal Professional Development and GFL and hosted by BERJAYA University College (BERJAYA UC) and Social Entrepreneurs with Integrity Association (SEIA) in collaboration with Beijing International Exchange Association Sustainable Development Committee and the International Scientific Exchange Foundation of China. The conference was attended by the youth and entrepreneurs from Malaysia, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Canada, Bhutan and Japan.
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan graced the occasion and met with fellow entrepreneurs who shared the same beliefs in humanity and values in bringing meaningful impact to society.
In his welcome message, Master Lin Tseng Jung, founder of GFL Education & Institution Sdn Bhd and SEIA remarked that, “All wonderful agenda has its roots of awareness, and from these roots, virtues will flourish. We believe that in order to transform the future of mankind, we need innovative models for cooperation in the fields of connectivity, capacity cooperation, technology innovation and cultural creative exchange. Our thrust is to jointly explore the path to sustainable development which is in line with economic, social and natural environments and have identified creative, innovation and education alliances as our starting point. This conference will be the platform to discover new horizons in education.”
“The conference is a platform for key stakeholders from established organizations to interact with the youth, entrepreneurs, industry professionals and academicians to champion innovation and creativity for the 21st century. Renowned speakers conducted workshops and shared best practices with the participants. Both SEIA and BERJAYA UC strongly believe that the importance of the education sector has shifted from not only producing highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce but also in shaping creative and innovative generation of entrepreneurial citizens, “ said Mae Ho, Executive Director and CEO of Berjaya Higher Education Sdn Bhd.
The Conference Guest of Honour was Mr. Syed Nabil Aljeffri, founder of the Malaysian Association of ASEAN Youth Entrepreneurs (MAAYE); founding chair of the regional ASEAN Young Entrepreneurs Council (AYEC) and currently Council Member for Entrepreneurship Development Advisory Council in the Malaysian government.
“The Fourth Industrial Revolution (digital revolution) has brought about disruptive activities from innovative practices that has changed the landscape of how businesses work. The World Economic Forum has identified that 75% of jobs in 2025 has yet to be created today. Significant shifts in the demand for technical skills should be accompanied Emotional Quotient. Creativity is what differentiates humans from robots. Robots perform mundane tasks. Humans has the capacity to think creatively, develop empathy and quickly adapt. The future of education lies in its ability to quickly adapt to change.”
“The students who graduates today develops competency – the ability to comprehend a particular information. They also develop cognitive learning wherein they learn as they go along the process. Through innovation and creativity, new jobs are created which are relevant to the future.” Mr. Syed Nabil Aljeffri finished his speech by urging the youth “Let us all learn listen to the distinguished panellists from all over the world share their wealth of knowledge. We in turn, must make up for our lack of experience with enthusiasm and our willingness to learn.”
The conference keynote address was delivered by Professor Chen Xi, President of the International Scientific Exchange Foundation of China. Speakers from various creative industries were also present to deliver their insights on innovation and creative economy: Oliver Lin Shin Bao, Deputy CEO of Taiwan Design Center on “Design – The Key for Competitiveness of Successful Business”; Franz Chen Li Heng,
CEO of Franz Collection Inc. on “Branding”; Honorable Phee Boon Poh, Penang State Executive Councillor for Welfare, Caring Society and Environment on “Environment Innovation: Green Economy”; John Wu Chih Yang, Taiwan KMT Legislator-at-large-seats on “Rebuilding a Peaceful Society with Love” and Professor Wu Chih Fu, Vice President/ Professor of Department of Industrial Design, Tatung University on
“The Prospects: Creativity and Innovation”.
The second day of the conference was dedicated to five concurrent workshops: “Innovation for service design” by Taiwan Design Centre; “Integrating innovation in architecture design” by Dayuan Architecture Design Consulting Co., Ltd; “Conceptual & practice of talent acquisition” by Tatung University; “Innovation in investment of accommodation services” by David Wei, Founder/ CEO, Taiwan Youth Hostel Co., Ltd. and “Big data power in Pan-Entertainment ecosystem” by Ray Chen, former Vice President, Taiwan, HK, Macau branch, iDreamsky and Billy Wong, Co-founder & CEO, Wearrus Inc.
