Developing youth as the leaders of tomorrow's world

Mrs Teo Khin Hiang, Principal River Valley High School
Distinguished guests,
Teachers and Students of Y.LEAD 2019, 
Ladies and gentlemen,

1. Good afternoon! I am delighted to join you today at the 2019 Y.LEAD Seminar. Now into its eighth year, this week-long seminar has grown from strength to strength, reaching out to 490 student leaders across 8 different countries, and 16 local schools, including River Valley. To our overseas friends – a warm welcome to Singapore!

Youth today are growing up in an era of rapid change and global uncertainty

2. This year’s theme for Y.LEAD Seminar, Leaders@tomorrow.world, describes many of you here. You could already be holding leadership positions in your schools or communities; and you will soon be taking on even greater responsibilities in the future. Your generation is growing up in an era of rapid change, with globalisation and technology affecting the way we live, work and play. We have become more connected to one another through the internet and social media. We also have different ways to access services and perform transactions. For example, digital platforms like Lazada, Alibaba and Grab have created new markets for e-commerce, accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

3. However, these advances have also created new challenges. For example, it can be hard to tell fact from fiction. New technologies like artificial intelligence and advanced robotics are bringing significant disruptions to the job market. Rapid urbanisation is also adding pressure to our limited resources, and having an adverse impact on our natural environment.

4. So as leaders of tomorrow, you must be prepared to tackle these challenges, and even transform them into opportunities. Do not be afraid to think outside the box, and find innovative solutions. More importantly, I encourage you to play an active role in shaping your community. When you make a positive change in the lives of the people around you, you start to create an impact, a bigger impact on society.

5. Take Ms Siti Noor Mastura, for example. She is the 2018 Singaporean of the Year, and a panel member who you’ll meet at the discussion on Wednesday. In 2014, Ms Noor wrote to churches in Singapore, sharing her feelings about the hostility of netizens towards Muslims. She received many positive responses, which motivated her to encourage others to promote and strengthen religious harmony. Through her training in interfaith work, she realised the need for a ground-up initiative. Hence, she founded the Interfaith Youth Circle in 2015. I quote Ms Noor, “Every one of us has the capacity to do great things”.

6. Like Ms Noor, my Ministry, MCCY, believes that everyone has the potential to be a changemaker in society. If you are looking to organise community projects or start ground-up initiatives, the National Youth Council has the Young Changemakers Grant and National Youth Fund to support you, both through funding and mentoring. You can join us at the monthly Young Changemakers Open Mic sessions to share your ideas. You can also consider joining Youth Corps Singapore, where you will meet hundreds of other service-minded youth to guide you in becoming a change agent.

7. There are many other ways for youths like yourselves to make an impact in Singapore. For instance, we are working with a panel of youth leaders to develop the SG Youth Action Plan. It is an opportunity for youths to spark the next wave of change, and shape the Singapore you want to see in the future. If you would like to join this movement and be a part of this, please find out more at SparkTheNext.sg.

8. As part of this Action Plan, we also want you to be involved in co-creating a youth district at Somerset Belt. So for overseas friends, this is part of Orchard Road, the shopping district in Singapore. I am co-leading the Somerset Belt working panel together with Ms Dione Song, who is the Chief Commercial Officer at Love Bonito, which is a local fashion start-up, and also other young Singaporean members of this panel. The panel includes Benjamin Kheng from the Sam Willows, Adrian Ang (better known as Xiao Ming) from SGAG, fashion blogger Andrea Chong, and Singapore’s top skateboarder Farris Rahman. Let us know how we can transform Somerset Belt into a vibrant space for you to play, learn and hang out. You can find out more and contribute your ideas on the Shape Your Somerset Facebook page.

Build and strengthen relationships with young leaders across the region

9. As young leaders, you are also members of a bigger Asian community. Being part of the Y.LEAD Seminar gives you the opportunity to appreciate the diversity of cultures, and forge relationships with your peers from across Asia and beyond. If you are keen on overseas service-learning programmes, do consider joining the “Youth Expedition Project Plus” (YEP+). You will become more aware of the opportunities for collaboration with your peers from overseas, through visits to various organisations such as MNCs, start-ups, government agencies and social enterprises.

10. So I hope that you will have an enriching time at the Y.LEAD Seminar. This is a valuable opportunity for you to learn about the skills and values you need to become leaders of tomorrow.

11. A final word of advice: when you become leaders, hold fast to your roots and identity. These will keep you going in the right direction so that you can continue making a meaningful difference in the community.

12. It leaves me to wish River Valley High School a successful 2019 Y.LEAD Seminar. My appreciation goes to organisers, teachers, students and volunteers for their hard work in putting this Seminar together. Thank you, and have an enjoyable afternoon!