BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Three Bruneians under the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) yesterday met with US President Obama at the White House during the conclusion of YSEALI Fellowship programs in Washington DC.

The local participants were Genevieve Yee from Jerudong Park Medical Centre (JPMC), Mohd Khalid Mohd Khairullah from Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB), and Dk Nur Syazwina Pg Hj Yasmin from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) attended the event as part of their YSEALI Fellowship programme.

The congregants were among 75 young leaders who represented all ten ASEAN nations under the YSEALI programme.

The Asian congregants have completed intensive academic and professional programmes in the US as participants of YSEALI.

YSEALI is President Obama’s signature programme launched in 2013 to strengthen leadership development and networking in ASEAN.

According to a press release issued by the US Embassy to Brunei, one of Brunei’s Professional Fellow, Genevieve, has been in the US to gain experience working directly with her American counterparts in non-profit organisations, state and local government, and private sector offices.

Genevieve said that it was the best experience of her life to have the opportunity to speak and meet the President and having him answer her questions.

“He is truly an inspiration and a role model to young people everywhere, and through the YSEALI initiative he has proven that ASEAN has a lot to offer and its young leaders are the wave of the future,” said Genevieve.

Meanwhile, Mohd Khalid and Dk Nur Syazwina were in the US as YSEALI Academic Fellows participating in a programme that focused on environmental issues.

“It was a great privilege for us to be able to meet the President. We had the opportunity to listen to his inspiring speech and have a dialogue session together which was a good way of bringing the US and ASEAN region together,” Syazwina said.

US Ambassador to Brunei Craig Allen said that as an ambassador, he will help President Obama in supporting young people in the Sultanate.

“Through YSEALI, participants get to meet and work with their ASEAN counterparts and receive leadership training that will help them tackle important regional issues such as environmental conservation and economic development,” said Allen.

The Brunei Times