Post-pandemic recovery at the CAM Summit

I vividly remember attending a workshop hosted by the British High Commission in Malaysia on applying for Chevening many years ago. I was sitting in the back row, listening to a group of Chevening Alumni recounting their experience, and one particular Chevener caught my attention. She said, ‘Chevening changed my life. I’ve been able to really contribute to my community.’

Then and there, I knew I wanted to be a Chevener. Fast forward to 9th September 2020. This was the week after I officially completed my studies under the Chevening Scholarship. I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Chevening Alumni Malaysia (CAM). Although I had only been a member for a week, I was ambitious. I ran for President – and won!

Chevening Alumni Malaysia working group

CAM is not just another alumni association. Registered in 1998, it is among the oldest Chevening alumni associations in the world. Under visionary leaderships, CAM gained a reputation for strengthening the global Chevening alumni community; it helped Cheveners in Myanmar and Indonesia establish their alumni associations. CAM was instrumental in forming the ASEAN Network of Chevening Alumni (ANCA) in 2015 (now revived as Chevening Alumni Southeast Asian Network – CASEAN). The strength of CAM reflects the long-standing presence of Chevening in Malaysia.

It goes without saying that being the president of this prestigious institution is truly an honour and privilege for me. For the past two years, we have pushed the envelope. Some of our achievements include a partnership with Prince’s Trust International to mentor over 100 young people, establishing various interest network groups and helping more than 100 Chevening Applicants. However, despite our good work, there was one glaring gap: CAM did not have a flagship event to showcase our efforts.

Members of CAM hosted their first Summit in 2021

When the time came to apply for the Chevening Alumni Programme Fund (CAPF), we brainstormed various ideas. We finally landed on the CAM Summit. The idea was to bring the Chevening Alumni community together and promote discourse on major issues in Malaysia. A challenge I posed to the team was all panellists must be Cheveners. With the support of the British High Commission, this idea became a reality on 27th November 2021.

The theme of the CAM Summit was ‘Bangkit Semula: Towards Meaningful and Equitable Post-Pandemic Recovery.’ Bangkit Semula means ‘building back better’ in Malay. In a special address, the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, His Excellency Charles Hay spoke about the collective impact of Chevening Alumni in building a better Malaysia. It was followed by a keynote address delivered by prominent humanitarian Dr Jemilah Mahmood. Jemilah called on Cheveners to speak truth to power and take bold actions to tackle the world’s biggest problems.

The Summit featured panels on public policy, entrepreneurship, and climate change

The Summit featured three panels, namely public policy, entrepreneurship and climate change. A common theme in the discussions was that the pandemic has upended the status quo. Unfortunately, Malaysia has been marred by political instability and support for society’s most vulnerable – youth, women, people with disability, indigenous – has been uneven. The panels agreed there is a pressing need for the government, private sector and civil society to cooperate on key issues, particularly unemployment and climate change.

We recorded the highest attendance of Cheveners in the CAM’s history. A total of 207 participants registered for the Summit; half of which are from our Youth Mentorship Programme. During lunchtime, we organised a mixer between Cheveners and non-Cheveners (or ‘future Cheveners’ as the CAM Secretary put it). After the conclusion of the Summit, I received a text message from one of the future Cheveners that read: ‘After speaking to all of you, I absolutely know that I want to be a Chevener.’