Avelife eyeing Brunei chapter
Ying Chia
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Published on The Brunei Times
IF CO-FOUNDER and executive director of socio-environment non-profit Avelife, Mark Cheng, has his way, Brunei could soon be delving into the vast world of green businesses.
The intrepid ‘greenie’ from Singapore shared his hopes to set up Avelife chapters all over Asia in the next five years, with Brunei included.
Avelife is one of the largest socio-environment non-profit organisations in Asia with an aim to environmentally educate the community and instigate green micro-finance in Asia. As one of the confirmed speakers for this year’s National Environment Conference (NEC), Cheng will be highlighting the importance of youth advocacy for the environment in his speech at the Rizqun International Hotel.
According to Mark, his main projects to focus on this year are the Avelife Create(Centre of Recycled Environmental Art and Training for the Eldery) an elderly-run green social enterprise for the retired selling locally-made recycled artistic products & crafts; Avelife KLAAP (Kid’s Learning Arts And Performance), a Green Drama project that targets socially disadvantaged kids or street kids aged four to thirteen.
A press release from Asia Inc Forum states that Avelife KLAAP works to provide a more general platform that educates environmental issues through drama and the performing arts.
“The graduates of this programme are allowed to come back and serve when they are teenagers and even adults,” stated the release.
“I realised that Environmental Education (seems) to be lacking among the communities in Singapore and Asia. While everyone may know the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) but they may not have the know-how of going green. For example, what to recycle? What could be reused?,” he explained as one of the main reasons for setting up Avelife. ‘
Cheng will be speaking at the National Environment Conference 2011 which will take place on June 8, 2011 at the Rizqun International Hotel
The Brunei Hotel
Source URL: http://www.bt.com.bn:80/business-national/2011/04/26/avelife-eyeing-brunei-chapter