World Wildlife Day Regional Youth Symposium

In celebration of the United Nations (UN) World Wildlife Day on 3rd March, the annual World Wildlife Day Regional Youth Symposium provides a platform for youths in Southeast Asia to share their knowledge about nature conservation.

It is a youth-led, Southeast Asian-focused event organised by youth volunteers under the Youth Stewards for Nature programme since 2022.

World Wildlife Day and CITES

3rd March marks World Wildlife Day, a global celebration honouring animals and plants and their vital role in our planet's health. This date also commemorates the birth of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the international treaty protecting endangered species, first signed in 1973.

Parties to the convention are encouraged to host their own World Wildlife Day events. As Singapore's appointed CITES Management Authority, NParks organises the World Wildlife Day Regional Youth Symposium in conjunction with the occasion.

Learning objectives

The event aims to:

Anchor and grow the biodiversity youth network in Southeast Asia.
Connect Southeast Asian youths with Southeast Asian role models
Raise international awareness of best practices in nature conservation in Southeast Asia.

Past events

Our youth stewards had the opportunity to share their efforts in organising World Wildlife Day celebrations in high-profile, international events such as at the:

19th Conference of Parties of CITES (COP19) held in November 2022 in Panama City, Panama
United Nations global World Wildlife Day celebration held on 3 March 2023 in Washington DC, USA

Check out the Instagram page for the latest updates and happenings.

The third World Wildlife Day Regional Youth Symposium was organised by 25 youth stewards under the Youth Stewards for Nature programme, with support from NParks, Mandai Nature (presenting sponsor), the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity and many more.

The event featured:

12 expert speakers and special guests.
10 workshops focusing on different aspects of biodiversity and conservation efforts by Singapore, such as wildlife trade, science communications, ethnobotany, taxonomy, marine biology, ex-situ conservation and more.
A public youth showcase exhibition and sticker rally, where 14 youth-led projects from Southeast Asia shared their work with fellow youths and members of the public at OnePunggol.
Over 60 passionate youth facilitators from the nature community around the ASEAN region.
500 attendees from 15 countries.

View the following resources from the event:

The second World Wildlife Day Regional Youth symposium was held in Singapore from 3 to 5 March 2023, organised by 16 youth stewards under the Youth Stewards for Nature programme, with support from NParks, Mandai Nature (presenting sponsor), the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, and many more.

Themed "Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation in Southeast Asia", the event had 3 programmatic tracks, ‘Living with Nature’, ‘Learning for Nature’, and ‘Saving Nature’, highlighting the partnerships at the heart of CITES, and the people who make a difference.

The event featured:

14 expert speakers and special guests
9 workshop partners
Over 40 passionate youth facilitators from the nature community around the ASEAN region.
170 youth attendees representing 15 countries, including all 10 ASEAN Member States, to share their aspirations and discuss how youths could play a part in nature and biodiversity conservation.

It also celebrated the 50th anniversary of CITES.

View the following resources from the event:

The inaugural World Wildlife Day Regional Youth Symposium was held online on 3rd March 2022, organised by 5 youth volunteers under the Youth Stewards for Nature programme, with support from NParks.

Themed "Recovering Key Species for Ecosystem Restoration in Southeast Asia’, the event:

Drew attention to Southeast Asia as one of the most threatened biodiversity hotspots globally.
Highlighted the most critically endangered species in the region.
Drove discussions towards imagining and implementing solutions to conserve these critically endangered species.

The event featured:

22 expert speakers and guests-of-honour from diverse fields
Over 40 volunteer moderators and facilitators from the nature community in the region.
More than 200 participants in attendence, representing 13 different nationalities and affiliations with over 80 environmental groups, government organisations, and academic institutions.