Committed to nurturing and empowering the next generation of young design talents, the Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) is back for its 12th instalment as it continues its search for the next Asia Young Designer in Malaysia. The Malaysian winners will then progress to compete with winners from 14 other geographical locations in Asia for the coveted Asia Young Designer Awards of the year 2019/20.

Organised by Nippon Paint Malaysia Group (Nippon Paint) and in collaboration with IJM Land Berhad, the theme for this year's AYDA is FORWARD: A Sustainable Future, which will act as catalyst to challenge the next generations of architects and interior designers to break the boundaries of current design concepts by immersing their creations with functional and social sustainability elements in an effort to connect with the community.

"It goes without saying that the Asia Young Designer Awards is something that I hold dear to my heart as Malaysia was the first country to spearhead this platform. Now in our 12th year, the programme has reached 15 geographical locations across Asia and I am honoured to have had the opportunity to observe how AYDA has continued to grow by leaps and bounds, said YBhg. Datin Wong Meng Lee, Assistant General Manager of Marketing at Nippon Paint Malaysia.

She added, "We believe we need to continue to nurture the new generation as they are key to unlocking creativity, innovation and sustainability. Hence, the theme for AYDA 2019, FORWARD: A Sustainable Future, focuses on design creations that immerse elements of functional and social sustainability to connect with the community. Together, let us all set our sights on moving in the one, same direction - FORWARD."

Speaking at the launch, Edward Chong, Managing Director of IJM Land Berhad, added, "As a progressive developer, we at IJM Land are keen to play a role in shaping the real estate of the future and to reinforce our desire to see a growing movement of design. We believe that the youth will define our world future and that we as the leaders of the day, must nurture and raise the cohorts to become generations of socially responsible individuals, adept in critical and creative thinking. I believe that AYDA truly provides the right platform, paving way for them to be nurtured as thoughtful, socially-minded and forward-thinking leaders of the future!"

He added, "This is why we are honoured to partner with Nippon Paint for the sixth year and continue our journey towards impacting and inspiring the young generation to design sustainable spaces for all, through the AYDA platform."

The chief judges for AYDA 2019 are Ar. Sarly Adre Sarkum (Architecture Category) and Lai Siew Hong (Interior Design Category). As both a competition as well as a learning platform, AYDA is supported by various government bodies and industry associations such as the Ministry of Education (MOE), Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Youth Malaysia (REHDA Youth), Malaysian Institute of Interior Designers (MIID), Malaysia Green Building Confederation (MGBC) and Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB).