Youth camp fosters spirit of ASEAN

Panyasith Thammavongsa

MORE than 50 young people from all 10 ASEAN nations and Japan gathered for the 5th ASEAN Youth Camp in Laos in Vientiane yesterday.
The Youth Camp, which has the theme of "Culture for Peace and Development", is being held in Vientiane and Luang Prabang province from January 6 to 17.
Dr Chanthaphilith Chiemsisouraj, Vice Chairman ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information (COCI) Laos told the participants in the launching ceremony of the ASEAN Youth Camp that each participating country had sent five young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who had a particular interest in arts, creative writing, journalism, music, dance and crafts. Each team is under the supervision of an adult leader.
"As you all know 2003 has been considered ASEAN-Japan Exchange Year and it is the first time that an ASEAN Youth Camp welcomes participants from a dialogue partner country. I do hope this will become a tradition and extend to China and the Republic of Korea, so they can follow the formula of ASEAN Youth Camp+3," he said.
Chanthaphilith who is also Director General of the Institute for Culture Research, Ministry of Information and Culture said that all participants would spend eight days in Vientiane and five days in Luang Prabang province with organised activities such as attending lectures by experts on culture.
All of the delegates would also participate in workshops, cultural visits, country paper presentations on the theme of "Culture for Peace and Development," culture performances, visual art exhibitions and an art and craft bazaar," he said.
He added that participants would also have a chance to cook and taste different foods from all the ASEAN nations and experience all the local colour, life, traditions and friendship of their neighbours.
Dr Khekkeo Soisaya, Vice Minster of Information and Culture said in his opening address that in order to promote a better knowledge and understanding between ASEAN nations and Japan this camp would help the youths learn more about each other's cultures through interactive activities and would strengthen a lasting friendship among them.
"All youths from ASEAN and Japan have the opportunity to share their experiences and efforts through art and culture in promoting a culture for peace, mutual understanding and solidarity in the region," he said.
Ambassador of Japan to Laos Mr Itsuo Hashimoto also spoke at the opening. He said that relations of amity and cooperation between Japan and ASEAN had been developed over a period of more than 30 years and at the ASEAN-Japan commemorative Summit which was held in Tokyo last month reaffirmed its special ties and proved to be significantly successful.
"In light of the result of the summit, I am sure that our youth is the star of hope for our future and I believe this ASEAN Youth Camp will be able to provide them with valuable opportunities to develop their knowledge and relationships with youth from different nations. Thus successfully nurturing a sound basis for further enhancement in the relations among Japan-ASEAN countries and people," he said.

INTERVIEW

Brunei
Ms Ummi Hani Hi Abdul Halim: "It is a very exciting and amazing experience for me to attend the ASEAN Youth Camp in Laos. It is really fun to talk with ASEAN and Japanese friends. We were all smiling today when we introduced ourselves to each other and we tried to learn some greeting words in each language.
Sometimes I get confused when I try to greet people in their native languages because there are so many different languages and so many different greeting words in each one.
I have to try to study more about the languages and cultures of other countries. I arrived about three days ago and I like riding Tuk-tuks to see different parts of Vientiane. I have eaten delicious grilled chicken and I like Lao people because they are friendly and love to smile."

Cambodia
Mr Nho Putthy: "I am so very happy to join the ASEAN Youth Camp, especially because I get to visit Laos. It has always been in my hopes and dreams to visit Laos, and I had to try extremely hard and study a lot in order to be selected to participate in this programme. I also tried to learn some Lao words from my teacher because my teacher studied the Lao language for about a year in a faculty at the National University of Laos. I like Lao people, they are similar to Cambodian people and their food is similar to ours as well."

Indonesia
Ms Dini Fitriani: "The ASEAN Youth Camp is a very amazing experience for me. I like to see the meeting of cultures of ASEAN countries, and the way that people make friends and gain experience and knowledge from each other. Laos is a great country and I like the beautiful Mekong river, especially now since I have three new Lao friends and I have found that the people are very friendly and kind."

Myanmar
Ms Suzarzar Hlay Yee: "Participating in this Youth Camp is a very good opportunity to get to know the cultures of ASEAN countries and Japan and also to make friends with people from other countries, especially since the main point of the ASEAN Youth Camp is to share each other's cultures. It is nice to be in Laos because I like Lao fruit, I see many beautiful flowers, and the food is not too different from the food in my country."

Malaysia
Mr Mohd Firdans: "I have been very interested in attending the ASEAN Youth Camp, in visiting Laos for the first time, and in making friends from ASEAN countries and Japan. I am happy to have chance to share my culture with my new ASEAN and Japanese friends, and I will also try to learn more about Lao culture as well as the cultures of all the other countries. Lao food is quite good and people are friendly."

Singapore
Ms Rebecca Chua and Ms Genevieve Chua: "It is a great honour for us to have a chance to join the ASEAN Youth Camp and it is our first time visiting Laos. The cultures throughout the ASEAN countries will become better known in the region as well as in other regions. We like Lao food, Lao people, and the beautiful Mekong river. Laos has a hidden beauty that not many people know about. The food is quite similar to the food in other South East Asian countries and the people are very gentle."

Thailand
Miss Kulthida Aksornnun and Miss Pennapar Kosakul: "This is our first time visiting our neighbouring country and it is very exciting to be at the ASEAN Youth Camp because it shows us that all the ASEAN countries and also Japan have similar interests. We think that this programme is a good experience for us, and we are sure that we will learn a lot of things about every country, especially about the cultures. We were very surprised when we exchanged our baht to Lao kip because we received so many bills! Instead of 500 baht, we had about 100,000 kip, so comparing the money was very interesting for us."

Vietnam
Mr Sac Ngovan: "This is my first time at the ASEAN Youth Camp and my first time visiting Laos. I am very happy when to meet and befriend people from all the ASEAN countries and Japan. Vientiane looks just like my home town. The weather in Laos is not too cool and not too warm and because everything here is very cheap, it is good for foreign students to visit Laos. After I go back to my country I will always have good memories of this time."

The Philippines
Mr Rozanno "Butch" E.Rufino: "This is the first time I have toured other Southeast Asian countries. This week it will be so nice to be with other people from Southeast Asia because Filipinos are similar, in terms of culture, to their neighbours.

Japan
Ms Akemi Ginoza: "I am very happy to make friends with people from ASEAN countries, especially because I have the chance to share in their cultures and participate in events organised by the Youth Camp. I think that in the future the ASEAN countries as well as Japan will become big economic powers and they will get very rich. I like the Mekong River because it looks like it would be fun to travel on it by boat. I also like Lao because the day before yesterday I went to a market and there were many beautiful shops. I bought a very nice Lao skirt and ate delicious Lao food including sticky rice.

Laos
Miss Phetsamon Dalasane: "I am very excited to join the ASEAN Youth Camp firstly because I never thought that I would have a chance to participate in such a big programme, and secondly because it is the first time that Laos has had the honour of hosting this event. I am also happy to meet all my ASEAN and Japanese friends and talk with them. They seem friendly and they even try to learn some Lao words from my delegation such as Sabaidee and other greetings. I hope I will learn as much from them as they learn from us.
　

ASEAN youth enjoy dinner
Youth representatives from ASEAN and Japan enjoyed a traditional Lao dinner after a full day of Opening Ceremonies for the ASEAN Youth Camp at the Lane Xang Hotel on January 6. At the party they also had the opportunity to listen to Lao songs as well as songs from other countries. Some delegates from these countries were able to join the Lao singers when they heard songs that they recognised. During dinner, there was also a performance in Lao traditional dance and acrobatics, which was very exciting for all the delegates. The photograph shows Vietnamese youth singing along with a Lao singer.

Source: http://www.vientianetimes.org.la