Article: Bringing changes

Sunday May 3, 2009

By LEE YEN MUN

Sunway University College recently took the colour green to another level: the university aimed to create a generation of "greens".

With an environmental awareness fair aptly named "Generation Green" held at its campus recently, Sunway UC hopes to create a new generation of young people who care for the environment.

"It's easier for people to get into the culture of caring for the environment at their younger age," said Hanniz Efni, 29. "We want to instil the awareness in the students so that they can also teach their friends and family about the importance of environment conservation."

Nabil Fahim is of the view that a small change can make a big difference

Hanniz, an alumnae of the business administration executives programme at Sunway UC, was one of the key people who organised the two-day fair.

The fair was an initiative anchored by Sunway UC's Alumni Office and the Canadian International Matriculation Programme (CIMP) students.

Elisa Dass, assistant manager of the alumni office, said that one of the objectives of the fair was to strengthen the bond between the university's alumni and its current students.

"On top of raising the awareness of environmental issues, we also want to create an opportunity for our 13,000 alumni to connect with our students," she said.

A group of 25-odd CIMP students launched the fair with a strong, repetitive chant of "We are the Generation Green!" amidst a student gathering at the university's cafeteria.

The group also presented a brief choral speaking presentation, making resounding pledges such as "Don't use plastic bags!" and "We use our own bottles and recyle those we buy!".

Students at the university were also encouraged to post little green notes on selected notice boards to pledge their support in saving the environment.

Some of these notes read "I haven't used polystyrene boxes in two years" and "I pledge to turn off my laptop when I'm not using it".

Other features of the event include different talks given by environmentalists. One of the speakers were Gurmit Singh, Executive Director of the Centre for Environment, Technology and Development, Malaysia (CETDEM) who spoke on the topic "Beyond Me & Mine" and challenged individuals to contribute positively to environmental problems.

What was most interesting about the fair though, were the interactive booths hosted by various non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Students and lecturers alike had the chance to learn more about NGOs from their respective representatives present at the fair, giving fair-goers an opportunity to interact and even to volunteer for some of these causes.

Among the NGOs present was Reef Check Malaysia which among other things conducts programmes about the importance of coral reef conservation, and the Global Environment Centre (GEC) which standardises coral reef tracking and monitoring, so that credible research results can be used to encourage people to be responsible to our marine life.

Other NGOs represented at the event included the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Yayasan Salam Malaysia and Raleigh Kuala Lumpur.

Nabil Fahim, 19, a CIMP student at the university who is passionate about saving the environment, summed up his thoughts about the event by saying that small changes in the campus regarding environmental issues could bring about a big difference.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Education: 3 May 2009