The Johor International Youth Hub (HAB) was created for the youth of Iskandar Malaysia as a platform to gather, exchange ideas and organize recreational activities among the youth generation. True to its tagline “for youth and by youth”, the youth in Iskandar Malaysia participated actively in the various stages of developing the HAB, i.e. Plan, Design, Build, Manage, and Sustain. Served as a conduit to inculcate the government’s agenda in a casual and fun manner to meet the needs of the younger generation, HAB shall be classified under three tiers – regional, local and neighbourhood areas, which are differentiated by IRDA’s involvement and the leading authority at each tier.

The launch of the HAB took place in August 2015 at Hutan Bandar in Johor Bahru, where YAB Chief Minister Dato’ Mohamed Khaled Nordin handed over a Certificate of Appreciation to strategic partners and platinum sponsors of the HAB, namely the Johor Bahru City Council, the Youth and Sports Department of Johor, the Johor State Education Department, Petite Outdoors, Johor Bahru Boardsport, and Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

Approximately 1,100 people attended this event that saw a registration of close to 400 new members. The attendees took part in a variety of events to promote closer ties among youths, including knowledge-sharing sessions, rock and tree climbing, “artventure” digital art/video screenings, artistic performances, workshops and demonstrations.

The HAB also appointed a group of youth from different social backgrounds to be the members of Iskandar Malaysia Youth Council (IMYC) to represent the youth in major decisions and initiatives carried out for the HAB, to provide crucial input from a youth’s perspective to facilitate wholesome decision-making; and to provide advice on other matters related to the HAB.

Various events have been jointly organised by IRDA, IMYC and the youths, including volunteerism work and workshops to obtain inputs and create sense of belonging by youth towards the Local Youth Hub at Hutan Bandar. The Local Youth Hub which is targeted to be opened in October 2016 to the local youth communities will be the platform for more initiatives to be conducted in order to maintain open communication channels with the youth in Iskandar Malaysia and Johor.