Toyota Eco Youth 20th Edition Launched By UMW Toyota Motor

UMW Toyota Motor has launched the 20th edition of the Toyota Eco Youth (TEY) programme. This is the company’s effort over the past two decades in advocating the importance of preserving the environment whilst empowering the youth with Toyota’s own problem-solving skills and knowledge.

The Toyota Eco Youth programme is jointly supported by the Ministry of Education Malaysia to hold competitions at the state and national levels. The goal of TEY is to lead a programme to cultivate environmental consciousness and innovation in the youth. Leaderonomics Community is the working partner for TEY 2020/2021 in this initiative.

In the last 20 years, TEY had introduced various themes with one common goal of molding an environmentally conscious society of the future. A total of 258 secondary schools, 1910 students and 762 teachers have benefited from the TEY programme. It has also invigorated environmental initiatives in their school compounds or districts. Additionally, the programme gives them a platform to lobby their ideas with stakeholders such as local authorities, communities and the media.

The 20th edition’s theme is ‘Reimagining Mobility’ which involves the creation of safe and eco-friendly mobility solutions for the nation. The spirit of inclusivity and freedom of ideas are the foundation to this year’s theme.

“Toyota Eco Youth has been leading the way in Malaysia for 20 years and this year promises even more innovation and advancement under the theme of Reimagining Mobility,” said Akio Takeyama, Deputy Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor. “The young people of this country are the seeds of its future and TEY aids in growing their creativity and bring their innovations to fruition. We see this program as a tool to assemble the brightest minds of our nation to propagate a greener future for all of us”. Takeyama added.

The concept for this year’s TEY programme is different from the previous editions in that it will span the course of three years. This programme is open to secondary school students (13 – 16 years old) and there is unlimited school participation.

Students can register at www.toyota.com.my/toyotaecoyouth or with their respective schools. The format of this programme will be 100% online, and includes interactive e-learning lessons and workshops. The final judging phase will enable students to showcase their progress through social media and live stream channels.

The top 16 teams for Year 2020/2021 TEY will be equipped and trained with project management skills that incorporate Toyota’s Problem Solving Methodology. With the knowledge harnessed, the top 16 TEY teams will build a prototype solution based on their local community. This dual pronged approach that has been curated for TEY ensures that they are both theoretically and practically comprehensive.

The 2020 edition of TEY also features a new addition where TEY’s class of 2020/2021 will have the privilege to return as facilitators for the following year’s batch. Further, the digitalisation angle of TEY is taken up a notch by the setting up of a TEY Apprentice online club.

In addition, this year’s prizes have doubled as further incentive to reward ingenuity among the youth. The winning teams will stand a chance to win cash prizes from a RM64,000 prize pool.

“The pandemic has not deterred us from our steadfast commitment to empower the youth of our nation through the Toyota Eco Youth program. With every problem comes an opportunity and this pandemic has enabled us to circumnavigate these obstacles to digitalise the programme mechanics to be online” said Ravindran K., President of UMW Toyota Motor. “This move is in line with our progressive approach that enables TEY to continuously develop the youth despite the challenges posed by the pandemic,” he added.

Since its inception, UMW Toyota Motor has invested over RM7 million in the programme. It hopes that students benefiting from this programme can become ambassadors in the future to advocate environmental sustainability and overcome mobility limitations.

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