IATSS Forum

Hello everyone, My name is Khamla INSOUNANH, I have worked for Provincial Office of Natural Resources and Environment (PONRE) of Xayaboury province, Lao PDR as Technical officer. My major is Watershed Management and Land Use Planning at University of Laos. Before working with local government I used to be part of mega project as Xayaboury Hydropower Project which it is the first lower Mekong dam and I was positioned as Environmental Inspector. First of all, I would thanks to IATSS Forum for providing me an opportunity to be a part of program. As we have known that our world has been facing several issues as war, human trafficking, financial crisis, climate change which these global challenges have impacted widely to socioeconomic development and environment. So, new generation or young people is the key to deal with these global issues by taking this opportunity to strengthen professional network, exchange mutually lesion learnt and experiences of each countries in region. In addition, I highly hope that IATSS Forum will be an area of raising tie the relationship in context of cooperation between ASEAN-Japan and make mutually understanding on culture, professional experiences, and etc. Moreover, myself I will take this valuable opportunity to learn and experience new things particularly in the field of environmental protection, disaster management and resilience and other skills. Therefore, I extremely confident that all knowledge from program will bring back and apply into my career for making better change in my community. I am looking forward to meet all of my new friends in the forum

Sabaidee !! I am Aot (Aoto-san) from Laos, IATSS Forum is one of the best leadership programs that I had participated, program has designed to bring ASEAN and India participants with variety of backgrounds from national to local levels and come together under motto “Thinking and Learning Together”. I really have a good luck that I was selected to participants this program because I have learned a lot from program and my beloved friends which I can conclude in three main areas as below: 1)Leadership skills I have learned that mutual understanding and respecting are the key success of working in diversity. Among 21 participants we have different backgrounds, prospective, attitudes as well as ability. It would be very hard to work together if we do not open our mind and listen to each other. Through program I found that I understand myself a lot as well as others people. 2)Professional Knowledge All participants and professors had exchanged the lesson learned and experiences of different countries since local to international level particularly Japan’s lesson learned through several aspects of seminar, field studies, and group study such as politic, education, disaster management, environmental protection, Japan’s modernization, and agriculture development. In addition, Sustainable community Design is theme study for this program which I have learned about creating our dream community and transforming it into the reality through critical analyses, brainstorming, considering between pros and cons of development as well as its challenges to ensure development will be achieved Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 3)Culture and Friendship Culture exchange session I found that culture is the key of mutual understanding and collaboration, every culture has its own unique and different way of beautiful. We may be able to change the rules of law but it is hard to change the rules of culture, however, we can learn to understand through open your mind, respective in diversity. Last but not least, through this program I have never forgotten memorial with my beloved friends, we passed emotional times together as laughing, crying, stressful, tired, crazy, and etc which I feel they are not only friends but they are my family and I hope we will be part of creating our world better for next generation. With love and thank you, Aot