Online Movement and Upcoming Malaysia Event Reflect Desire for Obama-Inspired
Change Throughout Southeast Asia
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 325,000
young people throughout Southeast Asia have joined an online community that is
expected to grow to more than 1 million in the weeks leading up to the Youth
Engagement Summit (YES 2009) November 16 and 17, 2009, at the Putrajaya
International Convention Centre (PICC) here (www.yes2009.asia).
"Their message of the need for positive social change - very much the kind of
message articulated and advanced by President Barack Obama - serves as an
inspiration to all of Southeast Asia," said YES 2009 Organizing Chairman
Harmandar Singh. "It's a message that will resonate not only during this
event, but with our region's political and business leaders for years to
come."
Mr. Singh added that as excitement builds for YES 2009 and the release of the
Southeast Asia for Change (SEACHANGE) Youth Report
(http://yes2009.asia/seaforchange.html), which will detail that message of
change, he had several important developments to announce:
-- Over the past week, YES 2009's Twitter activity has doubled, its
Facebook activity has risen as much as 400%, and YES has increased the
number of youth partner organizations in the region by 20, to more
than
100. "Our young, ambitious and dynamic participants are eager for
positive change in their lives, countries and world -- and are using
the
power of social media to express those hopes and dreams," said Singh.
-- YES 2009 will be simulcast from Kuala Lumpur via satellite to giant
screens set up at major universities in Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Ho
Chi
Minh City and Manila, reaching an estimated 150,000 youth who will
watch
the event simulcast on giant screens in those locations. Singh said
he
expects millions of others will watch YES 2009 on the Internet, via
live
online streaming.
-- Several newly announced speakers will address YES 2009 participants,
including Long Yongtu, China's former vice minister of trade; Yashwant
Sinha, former Indian finance minister; and David Magliano, former
London
Olympics 2012 director of marketing.
About YES 2009
YES 2009 will be the first gathering of its kind in Asia, uniting
representatives of young people aged 15 to 35 from Malaysia, Singapore,
Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Brunei. In addition to
the 6,000 summit participants expected in Kuala Lumpur, more than 150,000 will
witness the proceedings through satellite link-ups to giant screens set up at
five leading universities across the region, and countless others will watch
on CNN International or via live web streaming.
The landmark two-day event, expected to kick off with an opening address by
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Sri Najib Tun Razak, will feature a superb
line-up of speakers from various fields, including Sir Bob Geldof, the founder
of Live Aid; world chess legend Garry Kasparov; Biz Stone, co-founder of the
micro-blogging network Twitter; Nando Parrado, whose miraculous survival of an
plane crash in the Andes became the basis for the critically acclaimed movie
Alive; and Malaysia's own Tony Fernandes, who pioneered the domestic and
international low-cost carrier phenomenon in Asia by spearheading AirAsia and
AirAsia X.
YES 2009 organizers are rallying more than one million people between the ages
of 15 and 35 years, to share their thoughts by taking part in an online survey
to produce the SEA For Change Youth Report. The survey and report allow
participants to take a proactive role in sharing their needs, motivations,
expectations and ideas with the world at large, and guiding political and
business leaders in to engage more effectively with the youth market. More
information is available at www.yes2009.asia.
This material is distributed by Global Communicators, LLC, on behalf of
Sledgehammer Communications.
Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington,
DC.
SOURCE YES 2009
Kristine Heine, Global Communicators, +1-202-371-9600,
kheine@globalcommunicators.com; Steve Drake, +1-301-680-0585,
sdrake@verizon.net, both for YES 2009
