UNIVERSITI Brunei Darussalam, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is organising the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Workshop 2010, which is being held from January 4 to January 8.

On January 3, some 44 undergraduate students from various Asian and European member countries of ASEM — including Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, India as well as Asean countries — arrived in Brunei Darussalam to participate in the ASEM Workshop, which began yesterday.

This year’s workshop bears the theme “Towards understanding the impact of global climate change on biodiversity and tropical rainforests” and will focus on the serious threats posed by climate change to the economy, society, environmental development, as well as the security balance in the world.

The workshop represents Brunei Darussalam’s and, more specifically Universiti Brunei Darussalam’s response and commitment to the “ASEM 6 Declaration on Climate Change”, which was adopted at the 6″ ASEM summit meeting in Helsinki in September 2006.

Helping the youths of ASEM discover ways to tackle the environmental problems facing tropical rainforests is a crucial step towards ensuring the continuity and viability of the “ASEM 6 Declaration on Climate Change”.

The ASEM workshop, which will be conducted both at the UBD campus and UBD’s Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre, will promote awareness and understanding regarding global climate change and its impact on the tropical rainforest environment among the 44 undergraduate students — all of whom are potential future scientists and guardians of such natural resources.

In addition, the workshop will help to strengthen the existing links, and help create new international ties, between Brunei Darussalam, Europe and other Asian countries, as well as between UBD and the universities
of the respective workshop participants, through enhanced understanding arising from the intellectual, cultural and people-to-people interactions during the workshop.

There will be three main activities held during the workshop including: country presentations, a series of lectures to be delivered by invited experts in biodiversity studies and climate change — including a Nobel Peace Prize winner. There will be a field component, which will provide the participants with an opportunity to work in Brunei Darussalam’s pristine tropical rainforests.

The workshop programme for the first day consisted of a welcoming dinner held at the Chancellor Hall of Universiti Brunei Darussalam, which was officiated by His Royal Highness Prince (Dr) Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

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