Building a Singapore with and for our youths

Introduction

1. What would you do, if you were not afraid?

   1. I want to ask this of the young people watching the Committee of Supply today.

   2. But it is also a question for all of us.

   3. If fear was not holding you back, what would you try?

2. For many young people today, fear doesn’t come from the lack of ability.

   1. It comes from growing up in a world that is highly connected and where missteps and comparisons are amplified.

   2. But fear is an integral part of life.

   3. Our responsibility is therefore to ensure that our young people are equipped to meet it.

3. And such courage does not happen in isolation.

   1. Courage grows when people feel supported, feel rooted, and feel like they are part of something larger than themselves.

   2. Across many societies, we are seeing signs of weakening relationships and commitments that once anchored people to their communities.

   3. Some observers describe this as a broad social drift towards detachment.

4. Ultimately, young people – like us all – want connection and purpose.

   1. How can we empower our young people on their journey to find a sense of belonging, meaning, and a sense of self, even as social bonds seemingly wane around the world?

SG Youth Plan

5. To answer this question, we went to our young people directly.

   1. In fact, we collected over 350,000 responses from youths and stakeholders.

   2. We listened to your hopes, your dreams, your concerns.

   3. We heard you and we will bring your views to life through the SG Youth Plan, which will launch later this year.

   4. This will be a 5-year action plan to empower you, our youths, to be the best version of yourself in Singapore.

6. Mr Alex Yam, Professor Kenneth Poon, Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim, and other Members advocated for the need to be better engaged with our youths, and to support them, and asked what more can we do.

   1. Like Members, MCCY strongly believes in this need.

   2. What I will share today are some key areas we are developing under the SG Youth Plan to support different phases of a young person’s life.

Play, Work, Act

7. When we listened carefully, what came through clearly was this.

   1. Early on, young people want the confidence to try – to test themselves, to fall, and to get back up.

   2. They understand that the world is full of uncertainty, but they do not want to be sheltered from these challenges.

   3. They want real experiences, in the real world, with real people.

8. As young people grow older, the questions shift – to finding direction and meaning in work.

9. And later still, many want to step forward – to contribute and shape the spaces and communities around them.

10. But it all begins with the same question: do I have the courage to try?

    1. This is where play matters.

Play (learning toughness together in the real world)

11. Play is often misunderstood here in Singapore.

    1. It is not about leisure or being frivolous.

12. For young people, play is where you learn how to make mistakes, bounce back, and how to do it with friends and family beside you.

    1. When my daughter learned how to rollerblade, her first lesson was not how to go fast. It was how to fall safely.

    2. And she had the most fun when learning with her friends – fumbling, laughing, getting back up together, made it easier to keep going on.

13. Today, young people are spending more time online, but many crave real-life connections.

    1. When you head outdoors, especially to new places with new people, you discover something important.

    2. You learn that pushing through tough moments is part of progress and that companionship makes all the difference.

OBS Coney Campus

14. This is why we will progressively scale up the MOE–Outward Bound Singapore Challenge (MOC) Programme to the entire Secondary 3 cohort by 2030.

    1. Last year, about 18,000 students went through the MOC. About 65% of the cohort.

    2. In time, all 15-year-olds in Singapore will get to experience OBS at least once in their lives.

    3. Each OBS watch comprises 12 students from different schools. Strangers who will embark on the outdoors for 5 days.

    4. Through these shared experiences, they will learn life skills in tackling the unknown, gain confidence, and make lasting friendships.

    5. Like Ms Valerie Lee, I am sure OBS has left a lasting impact on some in this Chamber. In fact, I was in the same watch as Valerie when we were 15.

    6. We went away sunburnt with legs full of sandfly bites, but the core memories stayed with us even till today.

15. The expansion of the MOC is made possible by the new OBS Coney campus. I am glad to update that the campus will open its doors later this year.

    1. Now picture this: teams of four students working together on advanced rope challenges instead of just pairs today.

    2. These expanded team activities will push more young people to rely on each other, building stronger bonds and greater resilience.

    3. What is particularly meaningful is that some of these challenges, including high elements, will be wheelchair-accessible – this ensures that no student is left behind in acquiring and building these crucial life skills.

16. As Mr Darryl David reminded us, OBS was set up in 1967 by Dr Goh Keng Swee “to develop mentally and physically rugged youths to be active citizens inspired to serve the community.”

    1. The words “rugged” and “active citizens” captures the evergreen spirit of Singapore.

    2. Our eternal way of being, so that our nation endures.

    3. But the need has clearly changed. In 1967, we needed ruggedness as we struggled for nationhood.

    4. Today, we need resilience to navigate an uncertain world and maintain a strong sense of identity and belonging as one people, one nation.

17. Mr Darryl David and Ms Valerie Lee asked about extending OBS to all ages and expanding the OBS overseas programmes.

    1. I thank them for these valuable suggestions.

    2. Yet, with finite resources, our priority must be to get the MOC scale-up right for our students first, before we consider other areas.

18. Ms Valerie Lee also talked about supporting the Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) sector.

    1. We have been doing so through the OAE Council, which was formed in 2022 to uplift the sector.

    2. The Council brings partners together to establish national standards and exchange best practices across the sector.

Somerset Belt and Youth Spaces

19. Beyond organised activities, such as OBS, friendships form in ordinary moments of just being together.

    1. Many young people feel that as years pass, there are fewer physical places where this can happen naturally.

20. Dr Charlene Chen, Ms Elysa Chen and Ms Eileen Chong therefore asked about creating more spaces for our youth.

21. We are developing Somerset Belt as a youth precinct.

    1. Somerset Belt is the area around Somerset MRT Station, comprising *SCAPE, the Somerset Youth Park, and Skate Park.

    2. We received over 16,500 responses on what youths and others hope to see.

    3. Our youths also worked alongside architects and planners on the design and programme of Somerset Belt.

    4. We aim to start construction work later this year.

22. Meanwhile, exciting programmes and activities are already happening at the Belt.

23. We relaunched *SCAPE last November and it is now a hive of activities centred on youths’ interests – anime, dance, art, tabletop games, music, the list goes on.

    1. I was at *SCAPE on a Friday evening and spoke to some of the young people hanging out there.

    2. I asked what *SCAPE meant to them. This is what they told me.

    3. “It is a sandbox where I could quickly test my event concept.”

    4. “Separately, in other places, we might get stares. But here, there is no judgement.”

    5. “This is a place to just be. It gives us the time and space to pursue our ideas and passion.”

    6. There was a palpable sense of hope and energy. And we are only 4 months into the relaunch.

24. Now, *SCAPE is just the start. We want to bring this movement closer to where our young people live.

    1. We will create more welcoming, open spaces across Singapore, where you can gather freely and form friendships.

    2. We will share more details at the launch of the SG Youth Plan.

Work (finding your way without losing your uniqueness)

25. As young people move into the next stage in life, the questions change.

    1. For students coming out of school, the next step is entering the workforce.

    2. Am I on the right path? Will I be employable?

26. Over the past days, many in this Chamber have highlighted youth anxieties about work, especially in the face of artificial intelligence.

    1. Indeed, it is daunting finding work now when you can barely imagine what jobs will exist tomorrow, let alone plan a career.

    2. Yet we cannot block these advances. What matters then is building the skills to thrive with technology.

27. Our ministries are working hard at this, as shared by my colleagues over the past few days.

    1. For example, our Institutes of Higher Learning will enhance their AI curriculum, while emphasising soft skills that will complement this use of AI.

    2. For working youths, we will support them in learning AI-related skills, such as providing free access to premium AI tools for those who take up selected AI training courses.

28. Fundamentally, the real power lies in how our young people choose to engage in these tools.

    1. Your generation – the digital- or even the AI-native generation – knows how to use these tools instinctively.

    2. As much as it has the potential to replace some junior level tasks, it can equip you with the power to compress traditional learning curves.

    3. Your generation will teach us many things about AI and its possibilities.

    4. But we are also here for you with our experiences and memories of navigating change.

    5. We need to tap on each other's strengths.

29. This shared learning is precisely what young people have told us matters.

    1. Someone walking alongside them.

    2. Someone to help them make sense of all this uncertainty and find their inner strength.

    3. Someone to remind them that life doesn’t follow a straight line, but there always are ways to find solid ground beneath your feet.

Mentoring SG

30. This is why we will grow mentorship opportunities so that our youth will have someone to journey with them through the big and small “leaps” in life.

31. Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim will be glad to know that since 2022, we have created over 20,000 mentoring opportunities through the Mentoring SG movement.

    1. We know that finding a mentor isn’t easy when there is so much to keep up with in life.

    2. As such, we want to lower the barriers and make professional connections more accessible for you.

32. We are bringing mentorships directly in schools, where you are.

    1. We recently partnered three polytechnics to create mentoring programmes under Mentoring SG.

    2. By 2030, these programmes will serve up to 11,000 students annually.

    3. More partnerships are on the way.

33. Just imagine if we all step up to contribute our experience, lend a listening ear, and journey together with our young people through their life transitions.

    1. This is the culture that we can only create if we set aside time for our young people.

    2. This is what we want to do under Mentoring SG.

Act (empowering youth to lead)

34. After navigating the next “leap” in life, something shifts yet again for many young people.

    1. They don’t just ask “What should I do?”, but also start asking “What can I change?”

    2. Young people told us clearly that being heard is not the same as being trusted.

    3. Real responsibility and agency build confidence.

35. Professor Kenneth Poon and Dr Charlene Chen as well as Ms Elysa Chen, asked about how we are supporting youth participation to create a sense of belonging.

    1. We have been creating many such opportunities.

    2. Take the National Youth Council’s Young ChangeMakers Grant.

       1. This seed funding programme puts youths in charge from start to finish.

       2. Young people do not just receive funding and mentorship; they are fully responsible for evaluating each other’s proposals and giving advice.

       3. For impactful proposals, we are prepared to support them further.

       4. There are different programmes that youths can access, such as the National Youth Fund and the new SG Partnerships Fund that SMS Low just touched on.

    3. In his Budget Speech, the Prime Minister also mentioned the Youth Panels.

       1. Youth Panels work differently but with the same spirit – young people partner directly with government agencies to shape policies they care about.

       2. In the first run, 120 youths rolled up their sleeves to tackle topics like financial resilience and environmental sustainability.

       3. The next run of the Youth Panels launches later this year, and we will share more details when ready.

Somerset Belt Youth CoLab

36. We want to create even more opportunities for young people to contribute.

37. I am glad to announce that we will form the Somerset Belt Youth CoLab – a group of 15 youths who will drive, own, and lead the spaces and activities within the Somerset Belt.

    1. The CoLab will take control of the Somerset Belt’s programming and activities. They will decide which spaces serve what purpose.

    2. Simply put, they will create the vibe that defines Somerset Belt.

    3. When I spoke to some members, they were clear about what they needed the most – space, funding, and agency to make their vision happen.

    4. We are therefore backing the CoLab with a dedicated space to activate and a $300,000 annual budget to bring their ideas to life across Somerset Belt.

    5. This way, youths can transform Somerset Belt into a place that is truly, boldly theirs.

38. Let’s envision a space that breathes with youthful life – a place they have built and filled with their energy.

    1. We are putting our belief in our young people into action – real investment, real decisions, real responsibility.

    2. This is us saying: we trust you to lead; show us the way.

    3. Now, that is what ownership looks like.

39. Mr Chairman, please let me say a few lines in Mandarin.

Mandarin segment

40. 政府非常重视青年的培育。

    1. 他们是我们国家未来的主人翁，更是我们国家的希望。

41. 我们有时会不经意 地将青年与上一代做比较。

    1. 然而每一代新加坡人民都面临各自的挑战。

    2. 我们这一代的青年，有他们的抱负，也具备强烈的社会使命感。

    3. 这是他们的优势。

    4. 与其将他们与上一代比较，我们更应给予青年人空间，让他们自由发挥， 找到自己的路，发掘自己的特长。

    5. 我们更应该让他们有机会从玩乐中，建立和别人互动的能力，或从失败中得到成长。

42. 政府接下来一年将会与社会不同机构合作，制定 一个SG青年五年计划，旨在培养出有 抱负、有毅力、而且具有强烈国家归属感的一代。

    1. 我们欢迎社会各界提出更多建议，并鼓励各阶层 积极参与。

Conclusion

43. Mr Chairman, growing up is not a straight line.

    1. It begins with learning you are tougher than you think.

    2. It continues with you finding your way without losing who you are.

    3. And it grows into stepping forward to shape what comes next.

44. As I shared at the beginning of my speech, around the world, many societies are grappling with weakening bonds.

    1. But will that be our future? Surely, we must do all we can to avoid that.

    2. If we put the right pieces in place, can we move in the right direction?

    3. Can we build a generation that feels deeply connected to society?

    4. A generation that feels that Singapore is theirs and that they are Singapore’s?

45. The SG Youth Plan will be our commitment to build that generation of young people who are confident to try, connected to one another, and ready to contribute.

    1. We will keep listening.

    2. We will keep building the right support around you.

    3. And we will keep creating spaces for you to lead.

46. Thank you.