'NETWORKING IS WHAT THE COMMONWEALTH IS ALL ABOUT, AND I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT BRUNEIANS ARE PECULIARLY GOOD AT IT'

Bandar Seri Begawan - The British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam welcomed back a young Bruneian entrepreneur who had flown the flag for the Sultanate at the, Commonwealth Day Reception in London; and bid farewell to two Bruneians who will embark on the latest network-building exercise within the Commonwealth, the CSCLeaders initiative. The reception and farewell ceremony took place on March 14.

Rob Fenn said, "Networking is what the Commonwealth is all about, and I have come to the conclusion that Bruneians are peculiarly good at it. I am sure that Brunei's representatives in the CSCLeaders programme will - like Fatin - bring a fund of good ideas and energy to the wider Commonwealth network."

Fatin Arifln was invited to attend the Commonwealth Day Reception at Marlborough House as a founding member of the Commonwealth-Asia Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (CAAYE) and Brunei Country Representative to that organisation.

On her return from London, Fatin said, "I felt privileged to meet the Queen and Prince Philip in person during the Commonwealth Reception. I was also able to meet other distinguished entrepreneurs such as James Caan, notable members of government from Commonwealth nation states and other accomplished young people from countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Guyana and India. Being there really felt surreal!"

Fatin's organisation, CAAYE, is a network of young entrepreneurs which took shape in November 2011. It promotes the cause of young entrepreneurs in its membefs' respective countries and convenes a summit each year. This brings together entrepreneurs from different organisations in several Asian Commonwealth countries to learn from each other.

Fatin explained that her two days in London were "a major leap in positioning CAAYE amongst the best league of organisations working to promote youth 'enterprise and to showcase our unique 'network of networks' structure". The Commonwealth Secretariat's Youth Programme Office was keen to explore other regions (such as the Caribbean and Africa) and might replicate the CAAYE model. Fatin and her associates in CAAYE were happy to share the work they had done.

Fatin Arifin's other activities in London included participating in the CEC's Commonwealth Day Symposium on "Education and Enterprise" at the House of Lords and meetings with the Secretary-General of Commonwealth as well as Alex Mitchell (founder of "Young Brits" and UK President of the "G-20 Young Entrepreneur Alliance").

Meanwhile, Helen Yeo and Hajah Aidah binti Haji Mohd Hanifah have been selected by the CSCLeaders Selection Group to attend the CSCLeaders conference which will take place in different cities across the UK from March 16 to March 24. The selection was chaired by Sir John Parker (Chairman of Anglo American plc).

CSCLeaders is a renewal of a Commonwealth-wide conference, delivered by a partnership between HRH The Duke of Edinburgh's "Commonwealth Study Conferences" (UK Fund) and "Common Purpose".

The International Patron of CSCLeaders is an annual conferencewhich will assemble 100 of the most exceptional individuals from across the Commonwealth to tackle challenges that businesses, government as well as society face today and build the global relationships needed by the leaders of tomorrow.

The 2013 Challenge is "How do people from communities across the world become bridge-makers in the global networks of the future?". Helen and Hjh Aidah will be amongst the other 100 selected participants to discuss, debate and challenge their thinking to generate tangible ideas for the 2013 Challenge.

At the same time, they will present their findings to a panel of experts who can help them make their ideas into reality.

--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin