Khairy: Youth fest a huge success

WELL RECEIVED: 3,000 volunteers assisted in activities

PUTRAJAYA: The Putrajaya Youth Festival 2013 proved to be a success with a massive turnout of some 1.5 million visitors who thronged the city throughout the weekend.

The youths took advantage of the long weekend to flood the administrative capital, taking part in a host of activities during the festival which began on May 23, and ended on Sunday.

The festival was so well received by the crowd that Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he was impressed by the overwhelming response.

The event involved at least 3,000 volunteers from the iVounteer group, Scouts, Rela youth squad, Red Crescent and registered individuals who helped execute some 500 activities.

At least 100,000 people were directly involved in a wide spectrum of activities that took place during the large gathering, which saw more than 500 activities from 40 fun-filled segments lined up by government agencies, private companies and non-governmental organisations.

In fulfilling their aim to serve as a catalyst for inspiration among the youth, a group of five local motorcycle enthusiasts from the Perdana Global Foundation were also flagged-off to travel around the globe to deliver a message of world peace on the 1Malaysia Endurance Ride beginning next month.

Some of the highlights during the celebration included a fireworks display, motocross shows and the "Rock the Legend" concert.

Other highlights comprised the festival's Education Fair, Tourism Fair and Corner of Performing Arts. Some visitors even took the opportunity to seek employment at the festival's career fair.
For the first time this year, nasyid performances and Quran recitals were held at the Sultan Zainal Abidin mosque in Precint 2.

Khairy said this was an important feature this year because the ministry aimed to strike a balance between entertainment and spirituality.

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