| Nuri Sufri |
OVERCOMING adversity for people with different abilities was the topic of discussion at the Brunei Chevening Alumni Youth Forum Series One, which was organised by the Chevening Brunei Association, held at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) yesterday.
The forum is aimed to promote networking opportunities and leadership amongst the youth through interactions with the Chevening Alumni.
Present as the guest of honour was David Campbell, British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam; Sheikh Ahmed bin Hashel bin Rashed bin Hashel Al-Maskari, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to Brunei Darussalam; Abdul Matiin bin Haji Muhammad Kassim, President of the Chevening Brunei Association, as well as guest speakers Norali Ali Yusop, an Education Officer at the Special Education Unit, Ministry of Education (MoE) and Dr Hajah Norbayah binti Haji Shahminan, Coordinator for the Children Hearing Impairment at the Special Education Unit of MoE.
The event commenced with opening remarks from the British High Commissioner and the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman, and followed by a talk delivered by Norali and Dr Hajah Norbayah, as well as a question and answer session with the audience.
David Campbell, British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam and Sheikh Ahmed bin Hashel bin Rashed bin Hashel Al-Maskari, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to Brunei Darussalam in a group photo with the forum participants. – NURI SUFRI
David Campbell said, “This is a welcome new initiative by Brunei’s Chevening Alumni, all former scholars under the British government’s flagship scheme.”
“The first event shows how a society benefits when all available talent can be drawn out. Individuals who overcome challenges to succeed at study, work or sport are great role models for us all,” he added.
Norali delivered a talk to students and teachers on the challenges faced by people with different abilities such as social acceptance and empathy, stressing that they should “be part of human diversity instead of human deficit”. As the first visually impaired student at UBD, he faced many challenges. “There were no footsteps to follow, so I had to pave my way to success through trial and error”, he said.
Dr Hajah Norbayah, author of ‘Jari-Jari Ku’ also shared her expertise about communicating with the hearing impaired through basic sign language. The talk series is funded by the Chevening secretariat under the Chevening Alumni project fund, which is open to all youth including students from secondary and tertiary institutions, graduates, young professionals and NGOs.
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