The education arm of Biji-biji Initiative, Me.reka, is partnering the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to organise a regional workshop for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). The aim of the workshop is to elevate the advocacy and strategic communication skills of those involved in anti-human trafficking, anti-wildlife trafficking and environmental conversation initiatives.

According to its press release, this workshop will be held from June 22 to 26 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. It will only take in 80 participants representing various non-governmental organisations and other Asean entities and focus on equipping them with digital tools, skills, expertise and resources. 

“The workshop aims to connect all impact partners around Asean working on these three topics to give them the digital technologies they need to scale their impact and reach,” said Amalina Ariffin, YSEALI coordinator at the US Embassy. 

According to the press release, the workshop will serve as an incubation period for participants to collaborate, communicate and innovate new solutions that focus on combining their collective efforts toward a communal impact.

“The workshop will end with the launch of a digital platform, Advocasea, which will serve as the Southeast Asian portal for the three main issues covered, allowing future leaders and regular citizens to access vital information and find further ways to collaborate and help combat and eradicate the effects of these issues within Asean,” said Biji-biji co-founder and Me.reka CEO Gurpreet Singh Dhillion. 

This workshop is open to aspiring civil society advocates to represent their organisations and champion their causes on a regional level. The three-day workshop will provide valuable context on the issues of concern within Southeast Asia through an experience of the deep contrast between the serene beauty and harsh reality present in Sabah.

YSEALI aims to equip the 80 participants with skills to build capacity and utilise traditional and new media and emerging technologies that are deployable at scale, allowing them to use the resources at their disposal to further their causes.

For more information, visit advocasea.asia.