Formulation of National Policy on Youth and ICT for the Government of Malaysia, June 2003

AOC & Associates is one of three private sector companies represented on the National Information Technology Council(NITC) of Malaysia's Special Working Group to provide input for the development of the national policy on Youth and ICT in Malaysia. Established in 1996, the NITC functions as the primary advisor and consultant to the Government on matters pertaining to IT in Malaysia's national development. The council is chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia and council members represent three different sectors - public, private and community interest group. Chaired by the National Council Member responsible for youth, the Special Working Group is comprised of 2 National Council members, Senior Management of NITC, AOC & Associates, Microsoft (Malaysia) and i2mmedia. AOC & Associates is represented by its Group Managing Director, Eugene Raj Arokiasamy.

The World Assembly of Youth and UNESCO Certificate in International Youth Studies 2003, Malaysia

AOC & Associates in conjunction with the World Assembly of Youth and the United Nations Education, Scientific & Cultural Organisation, has designed and will conduct a Certificate in International Youth Studies programme this July 2003 in Malaysia. The programme is open to participants from around the world. It is a training for trainers programme for youth workers, youth leaders, officers of youth ministries and national youth councils, to generate awareness on the structure and operations of youth movements at the grassroots, state/regional, national, sub-regional, regional and international levels. The programme will also aims to increase understanding of participatory programme management and organisational development.

ICT Capacity Building Programme for Youth in Timor Leste Timor, Malaysia & Timor Leste, 2002-2003

This is a partnership project between the Global Knowledge Partnership, National Information Technology Council, Malaysia, Salam Foundation, Malaysia and AOC & Associates Group. This project will focus on developing the understanding and use if hardware and software by youth aged 18 to 30. The main objective the project will be to develop and enhance local capacity, expertise and knowledge of ICT in order to realise a sustainable long-term capacity building programme for Timor Leste. The project promoters, NITC, Salam Foundation and AOC & Associates, believe that ICT can be a significant tool to effectively develop the necessary skill-set of the population of East Timor, create self-reliance and self-sufficiency and "leapfrog" the nation from it current status as a least developed nation.

World Assembly of Youth International Youth Dialogue, 29-31st July 2002, Melaka, Malaysia.

AOC & Asssociates were project partners in organising the Melaka International Youth Dialogue 2002. This 3 day dialogue was attended by over 320 participants from 51 countries. Topics covered at the dialogue session included, Youth and ICT, Bridging the Gender Divide, Youth Enterprise and Youth partnerships for governmental and institutional support and funding. The International Dialogue was funded by the World Youth Foundation, State Government of Melaka, Malaysia and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Malaysia.

Asian Youth Council (AYC) Workshop on the Use of Infocomm by Youth Organisations in Asia and Europe, 16-20 April 2002, Shah Alam, Malaysia.

The AOC & Associates facilitated the AYC workshop that involved 120 youth from 40 organisations based in 19 countries in Asia and Europe. The workshop comprising of panel discussions and workgroup activity covered a variety of topics such as knowledge management, enabling and empowering youth through ICT and knowledge sharing and country situational analysis for partnership building between Asia and Europe. It was funded and organised in partnership with the Asia-Europe Foundation, National Information Technology Council of Malaysia, MIMOS Jaring, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Malaysia, State Government of Selangor, Malaysia.

Asia-Europe Training for Trainers Workshop on Project Management for Youth Organisations, 25th September - 1st October 2001, Mollina, Spain

AOC & Associates, in partnership with the Co-ordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service UNESCO, the Asian Students Association organised this 6 day workshop on project management for youth organisations in Asia and Europe. The training programmes was designed to enable participants from both continents to understand difference and similarities in approaches to project management in order to be able to develop more effective and sustainable inter-regional projects. The workshop was funded by the Asia-Europe Foundation and the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe and supported by the Youth Ministry of the Government of Spain.

Projects in the pipeline:

The 2nd Asian Youth Council Asia-Europe Infocomm Workshop on "Bridging the Digital Divide: Combating Social Exclusion of Youth - Case Studies of Projects in Europe and Asia" 2004, United Kingdom

This conference aims to facilitate the sharing of experiences, methodology and good practices to develop the capacity of all those involved in the provision and delivery of ICT skill set development services to overcome social exclusion of young people in Asia and Europe. The conference also aims to provide both service providers, funders and stakeholders an opportunity to work together and to develop a better understanding of regional and national strategies and programmes to address youth social exclusion, unemployment and poverty through the use of ICT. It will provide stakeholders with an opportunity to formulate an action plan aimed at promoting Asia Europe co-operation to facilitate social inclusion of youth through the effective use of ICT. In addition, it will promote co-operation between civil society organisations (e.g. NGOs and Charities), public sector and private sector to combat social exclusion of youth.

Asia-Europe Integrated Water Resource Management Training for Young Professionals 2004, The Republic of Korea.

The AOC & Associates has been working on developing a training programme that promotes better understanding of Integrated Water Resource Management. The Asia Europe Integrated Water Resource Management Training programme aims to incubate and foster the development of an Asia Europe network of young professionals who seek to improve living conditions in their local communities by promoting better awareness and appreciation of water resource management in ASEM Member countries. This training programme will enable participants to adopt a more people friendly approach to IWRM and to establish a new and vibrant network of young professionals from the public and private sector in Asia and Europe who advocate good water management practices. The IWRM Training Programme will take place in the Republic of Korea in late 2003.

ICT Research Study - Methods for Engaging Malaysian Rural Communities in the Effective use of ICT, 2004, Malaysia

The overall objectives of this research are to build up a knowledge base of current projects being carried out by the government of Malaysia and to gather socio-economic data with special reference to the use of ICT in rural towns and to make representations for further work.

The study is seen as a prelude to the current government of Malaysia's Infodesa initiatives outlined above and also to an application from AOC & Associates to establish ICT tele-centres in the above mentioned towns. The proposal will provide information that will guide future developments in the field of ICTs and recommendations will be made for the appropriateness of the findings to other areas. Project Clients are the Education and Research Association for Consumers, Malaysia & Partners.

Asia-Europe Conference on Currency Remittance by Migrant Workers 2005.

AOC & Associates is in the process of designing an Asia-Europe seminar that examines the feasibility of creating a standardised framework for currency remittance in ASEM member countries. The purpose of the framework will be to facilitate global remittance flows effectively and efficiently and to secure the economic benefits of the reallocation of income from North to South and South to North.

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