KUALA LUMPUR: The inaugural Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) Media Forum, scheduled for Oct 21, aims to raise awareness among youths on Commonwealth and its activities.
Mohd Faidz Sanusi, Head of Communications at the Chief Secretary to the Government Office, said the forum, to be held in conjunction with the CAPAM Biennial Conference 2014, could be used as a platform to attract youth participation in Commonwealth-related programmes.
“The majority of civil servants are young people. So the forum can create interest among youths to understand Commonwealth and CAPAM better, share best practices and enhance their networking beyond Malaysia.
“As the media forum is open to the public, we encourage student, media practitioner and civil servant participation.
“They can register online or simply walk in on the day of the forum and entrance is free,” he told Bernama after an interview over RTM’s TV2 on the ‘Hello on Two’ programme here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) General Manager Datuk Yong Soo Heong, who will deliver closing remarks at the media forum, said fresh ideas could be sparked by involving youths in the discussion.
“We hope young people will take advantage of this platform to understand the association’s role because Commonwealth is more than just a sports event held every four years,” he said.
One of the key speakers at the forum is John Spencer, a Trustee of the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) Media Trust who will deliberate on how mainstream and social media could raise awareness of Commonwealth and its activities.
This will be the second time that Malaysia is hosting the CAPAM Biennial Conference after 16 years since former chief secretary to the government Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid became CAPAM president from 1996 to 1998.
The three-day conference from Oct 19 marks CAPAM’s 20th anniversary. Three other events will be held in conjunction with CAPAM, namely the Commonwealth Ministerial Forum, the CAPAM Annual General Meeting and the CAPAM International Run 2014. — Bernama