The Global Youth Forum Cooperative Entrepreneurship 2020 (GYF20) was a first-of-its kind week long immersive training for youth entrepreneurs (ages 18-35) and cooperators from around the world. GYF20 took place at the Majestic Riverside Hotel in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia from 3rd-7th February 2020 with over 150 youth participants from 50 countries and 20 trainers, professionals and experts from around the world.
The training program was spread over 5 days and had a combination of plenaries, interactive sessions, meeting and networking sessions, an action zone for interaction, brainstorming and innovation, and of course, leisure activities! Each day witnessed 4 blocks of 15-20 parallel sessions, cutting across topics ranging from business model generation, cooperative entrepreneurship, strategy, cooperative governance, designing media campaigns and visibility, the sustainable development goals, network mapping, cooperative legal frameworks, cooperative research, project management, and many more.
From the Asia-Pacific region, we had participants and trainers from Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Iran, India, Sri Lanka, Japan and Nepal. The picture below is a good reflection of the phenomenal energy and positive exchange experienced at GYF20.
This first edition of the Global Youth Forum 2020 was a success in achieving its objective of providing quality training in cooperative entrepreneurship to youth and cooperators from around the world. With the aim of creating a global network of youth in entrepreneurship and cooperation, GYF20 was a forward-looking event that has taken the first concrete step in creating a strong cooperative future that takes forward the cooperative principles. The main outcome of the event was the passing of the GYF20 Youth Resolution. The GYF Youth Resolution for policy advocacy was created through inclusive and democratic discussion, and is reflective of the social and economic agenda that is foremost on the minds of our global youth today.
Reflections from AP participants at GYF20
