Appreciating and sharing each others' rich and diverse cultures to develop a shared ASEAN identity

Excellencies
Distinguished guests
Camp Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen

1. Today we open the ASEAN Youth Camp 2013, and I am very glad that Singapore has been given the chance to organise this final round of this series of camps, which have been running since 1998. Let me begin by extending a very warm welcome to all our friends and visitors from abroad.
   

2. The theme of this year's camp – “In Celebration: ASEAN Youths Unite” is a call to the young people in ASEAN to strengthen your sense of togetherness and unity. It is an important priority for all of us, all governments, in ASEAN. We want to imbue in our young a deeper sense of belonging and community. Our youths must have a greater awareness of their interlinked destinies within this region, for you will be the future captains to steer the direction of ASEAN, and secure its place in the world.
   

3. We have plans to build an ASEAN Community – this is a major commitment that requires a shared vision and a common resolve. We have plans, and we have initiatives to do that in different spheres – economic, security – but, beyond all these plans, I think it is people-to-people projects like this particular youth camp which will foster a stronger sense of community, by promoting greater understanding and friendship among the youth of the region who will eventually be the ASEAN leaders of tomorrow. The more we work and play together, the better we will understand and appreciate one another, and the more we will be able to find shared interests to work together on, to the benefit of all.
   

4. The camp also complements other ASEAN initiatives which enable youths to contribute to our regions' future, and there are many such initiatives. For example, we've had the First ASEAN Youth Entrepreneur Seminar and Exposition, the recent ASEAN-China Youth Forum in Brunei Darussalam and also the Singapore-ASEAN Youth Fund (SAYF) which was started in 2007 and has already supported over 60 projects. The Fund underscores Singapore's commitment towards ASEAN Youth exchanges, and I encourage youths from all ASEAN Member States to make full use of the fund to initiate more youth exchanges and community projects. Basically, it is a fund and it provides you with resources to support whatever initiatives you may have to promote more youth exchanges among ASEAN states. So there is no limit on the kinds of projects that you can do. It is only limited by your creativity and imagination, and we will encourage you to tap on the fund.
   

5. I am also encouraged by the increase in ASEAN youth volunteerism in recent years. The ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme (AYVP) was started last year, and has already supported several ground-up initiatives. For example, some of our youths are now working at biodiversity sites in Malaysia to protect our region from over-exploitation of natural resources. This year, we also saw the formation of the ASEAN Young Professionals Volunteer Corp, among the projects that it is supporting, includes one which will bring support to vulnerable communities in Indonesia and The Philippines; and I am very glad that 20 Singaporeans youths, will be accompanying the project teams to Indonesia and The Philippines for this particular project. These various programmes not only build ties between our youths, but also help to grow a shared social consciousness that we want to see in our collective future in ASEAN.
   

6. Besides participating in those programmes, I would also like to encourage our young people to look at ways to strengthen our cultural ties. Over the years, we have increased our cultural and people exchanges. Today, a common ASEAN identity is very gradually emerging. But it's still nascent and more can still be done to instil a deeper sense of shared culture and community amongst all of us in ASEAN. I recognise that this is not an easy process – because ASEAN comprises a diverse grouping of countries with different languages, histories and cultural traditions. But we also have common norms, beliefs, and aspirations for our ASEAN community. So as citizens of ASEAN, we should celebrate our diversity, and expand the common ground we share, in order to draw closer to one another.
   

7. As part of this camp, all of you will get to learn more about one another's culture, for example, through workshops on traditional dance, music, painting and photography. One of the key highlights in the camp, as I understand, is to prepare for a joint-performance and joint-exhibition for the Singapore Night Festival which is happening now in Singapore. We just had two nights of it on Friday and Saturday nights earlier, and we are having another two more nights on this coming Friday and Saturday. It is a big event in Singapore – we open our museums to 2am and we have street performances in this part of Singapore, right outside the National Museum and outside the Art Museum – so it is full of life in the streets. It will be a real opportunity for all of you to be able to prepare something as part of the Singapore Night Festival. It is an excellent chance to forge something exciting and new by bringing together our diverse traditions and artistic knowledge. So as you go through the camp and prepare for the Night Festival showcase, I encourage all of you to consider what makes us unique in ASEAN, and create something that showcases what ASEAN culture is all about.
   

8. In closing, I hope all of you will enjoy yourself in Singapore, especially our friends from overseas. Make full use of your time here to make new friends, and learn from one another. On this note, I declare the ASEAN Youth Camp 2013 open. Thank you.