Empowering youth to bring ASEAN forward

Mr Chairman,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

1. I would like to begin by congratulating Indonesia for assuming Chairmanship of the 10th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth (AMMY X) this year, and H.E. Imam Nahrawi for assuming the Chair role. I would also like to thank the Government of Indonesia for hosting AMMY X and for your warm welcome and hospitality to the Singapore delegation.  

Key focus areas for youth at AMMY X

2. Singapore is fully supportive of the five key priority areas identified for youth under the ASEAN Work Plan on Youth 2016-2020 – there is entrepreneurship, employment, awareness of ASEAN, volunteerism and leadership, and resilience. Improving our youths' capabilities in these areas are critical to preparing them for our collective future. We are confident that this roadmap will continue to bring the ASEAN community forward.

3. The theme for this year's AMMY – “Proliferating Youth Entrepreneurship in ASEAN Community” – is especially timely. Our youths are growing up in an increasingly dynamic world, brought about by globalisation and the advent of the digital economy. Technological trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way we lead our lives, and in turn, creating new economic opportunities. While such opportunities are plenty, one has to be nimble and adaptive to make it count. It is therefore crucial for our ASEAN youth to develop a forward-looking and entrepreneurial mindset to flourish in the global economy. At the same time, we must also raise up youth leaders who have a heart for the community, so that they can put their minds into solving pressing social needs in the wider ASEAN community.

Nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit among youth in ASEAN

4. The life of an entrepreneur is not easy, but it can be immensely rewarding for our youths as they are responsible for charting their own course. In Singapore, we support our youth entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey. Take the example of BLOCK 71. BLOCK 71 is an old industrial building that was transformed into a start-up hub in 2011. It has since expanded across other buildings and is now a start-up ecosystem that houses around 700 start-ups, incubators, accelerators, and venture capitalists. It has also developed into a close-knit community where young entrepreneurs can explore synergies, network and get advice. Recently, BLOCK 71 opened branches in San Francisco and Suzhou, in China.

5. One company that came out of BLOCK 71 is called Zimplistic. Zimplistic makes the Rotimatic, which is the world's first automatic Roti maker. Roti, as you may know, is a flatbread that is common to India and increasingly popular around the world. In the past, you would have to knead the dough, roll it out, and cook the roti, which is a highly time-consuming affair. But with the Rotimatic, you could get a fresh and hot Roti in one minute. Now, please allow me to show you a short video clip on how the Rotimatic works. [Play video – 2 minutes] Here, Zimplistic is an example of a start-up by a young Singaporean couple that can leverage on the cultural diversity within ASEAN – Roti in various forms are consumed in many countries like Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore.– and materialise it with innovative technologies. As we continue to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit within our communities, may we also leverage on the strength of ASEAN, which is the richness of our multi-cultural landscape.

6. The National Youth Council in Singapore has also actively supported an entrepreneurial culture and community among youths. For instance, we have the National Youth Fund, the Young Changemakers Grant, and the Singapore-ASEAN Youth Fund (SAYF). The first two support local projects, while the latter looks to support activities that benefit the ASEAN community. Through such efforts, we hope to create and sustain corridors through which Singaporean and ASEAN innovators explore market opportunities within and around the region.

7. At the core, we recognise that our youth have good ideas to chart their own success. However, good ideas, even brilliant ones, need the right level of support to come to fruition. We must support our entrepreneurial youth with conducive infrastructure, experienced mentors, and access to funding. Only then can we build and sustain a thriving start-up ecosystem, and empower our youth to take ownership of their future, uplift their communities, and the wider body of ASEAN.

Empowering youth to bring the ASEAN community forward

8. Entrepreneurship is one of many areas to showcase the ASEAN youth spirit. In these shifting global tides and cycles of economic uncertainty, we hope that our youth will continue to band together as an innovative and dynamic ASEAN to build a better future. More importantly, when crises arise, or obstacles are encountered, our youth need to look beyond themselves and towards one another, and rise up as a stronger and more cohesive ASEAN.   

9. Such broad visions will require the support of our fellow ASEAN member states. Singapore will continue to do our part in various ways. As we look ahead to our chairmanship of ASEAN next year, we are committed to empowering youth aspirations, building a heart for service, and developing our youth as leaders to bring the ASEAN community forward.

10. For instance, we will be hosting an ASEAN Youth Summit, which is a youth-led initiative that gathers youth from all ASEAN member states, to enact change and drive collaborative progress throughout ASEAN. We are also looking to review the Singapore-ASEAN Youth Fund on how it has impacted the ASEAN community over the last 10 years. By doing so, we hope to better support ground-up initiatives in the region. Lastly, we want to encourage our youth to pursue their aspirations and dare to take on unconventional paths to success. In doing so, we will bring ASEAN youths together through new and innovative platforms such as E-Sports.

11. Moving forward, it is heartening to see that we are developing our youth in the present to take on challenges of the future. We must continue to strengthen and nurture the capacities of our youth to be the leaders of their generation, to look out for their communities, and to bring others along with them.

12. In closing, may the young people of our nations carry on the torch of building a resilient and innovative ASEAN. Thank you.