On 18 January 2020, more than 40 students gathered to listen to and speak up at the inaugural “Voices of Youth for Conservation” on the various challenges in conservation. Inspired by the largest climate protest in history where millions of students marched in the Global Climate Strike, “Voices of Youth for Conservation” was organised by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Malaysia Program and hosted by the Swinburne Sarawak Green Club.

Several individuals from conservation NGOs and other organizations presented on a range of environmental issues ranging from food security to the conservation of endangered species. Young environmentalists working for WCS and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Malaysia), representing MYCAT (Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers) and the Malaysian Nature Society spoke of their passion and career pathways in conservation.

“Voices” hopes to spark youth involvement in environmental conservation while raising awareness regarding the matter. Apart from conservation NGOs, speakers from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Springer-NATURE and Hypergear Malaysia shared their experiences and efforts in conservation. The invited speakers from the respective organizations empowered the attendees with knowledge and ideas to be more involved in conservation.

The final segment of the day saw a panel of students from Swinburne and UiTM discuss their concerns about the environment and ideas to enable greater youth participation in conservation.