Curtin Malaysia student proud to represent Malaysia at World Youth Forum ‘Right to Dialogue’ X Edition

Miri – 9 October 2017 – Arun Gunasagaran, a Bachelor of Commerce student from Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia), proudly represented Malaysia at the World Youth Forum ‘Right to Dialogue’ X Edition forum held at the University of Trieste, Italy recently.

Arun was among 80 delegates from all over the world attending the 4-day forum and his participation was financially supported by Curtin Malaysia’s University Life Department.

Organised by the Association of Poetry and Solidarity and The International Study and Documentation Centre for Youth Culture in Trieste, the aim of the forum was to address key issues in the delegates’ home countries as well as in the neighbouring countries

Delegates participated in workshops, panel sessions and debates on issues such as international culture and history, world politics, diplomacy, fake news in media and journalism, complexity in understanding and communicating in new languages, dialogue in institutions and dialogue between border cultures.

They were each invited to present their own proposals within the fields of discussion, or to approach given themes from a different perspective, bringing their own local experiences, views and inputs from different scientific fields in a transdisciplinary perspective to be discussed and debated.

Arun proposal was entitled ‘Demolishing Cultural Barriers to Ensure Smooth and Coherent Communication between Border Cultures’ which addressed key issues faced by different countries when communicating with each other due to cultural differences.

Arun opined that it is important to understand and respect the cultures of others to avoid misunderstanding and mistrust, especially in business and politics. He gave the example of Japan where good manners and business ethics are taken very seriously to ensure successful business partnerships.

“I was very lucky to be selected to attend the forum from thousands of applicants and I cherished every moment of it. It was very challenging debating issues with students and professionals with different aspirations to create change globally, but overall, it was a very inspiring and enriching experience,” said Arun.

Arun (front row, 4th left) with delegates from other countries.

Arun found experience inspiring and enriching.