AFLES 2016 Aims To Enrich ASEAN Students With Leadership Capabilities

NILAI (Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia), July 15 (Bernama) -- The 4th ASEAN Future Leaders Summit, which was officially opened here Friday, aims to enrich participating students from the ASEAN universities and other universities with leadership capabilities. The 10-day AFLES 2016, which began last Wednesday with 170 delegates from the 10 ASEAN countries and Pakistan, aspires to nurture, train and educate the leaders of tomorrow in higher learning institutions towards better interdependence, policy making and a sustainable future. Malaysian Deputy Higher Education Minister Mary Yap Kain Ching opened AFLES 2016 at the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) here Friday. Also present was AKEPT Director Prof Dr Mohamad Kamal Harun. Yap said the summit was timely as the ASEAN region was focusing on leadership training for the youths who would lead their respective countries in the future. "AFLES 2016 is an action-packed summit with exciting forums, discussions, lectures, outdoor activities, community work, services and cultural events. "The main purpose of the activities is to boost motivation among the youths of ASEAN with the awareness that all of them have the potential to be leaders. "We can't deny that changes are bound to happen and, in view of this, we need to prepare our youths to face the unpredictable challenges that will come their way," she said. Yap said Malaysia had always taken vital steps towards educating students who would be the leaders of tomorrow. "We believe in the motto that if you want to see yourself shining in the future, work on your education today. "The increasing numbers of universities in Malaysia and the facilities that are provided in the educational sector are one of the many examples of our policy towards the development of higher education, not just within the country but with other international universities as well. "We are working closely with the ASEAN countries with the common aim of providing quality education for our students." -- BERNAMA