Harnessing globalisation for social impact

Mr Bob Tan, Chairman/ITE

Dr Clement Chen, Chairman, VTC

Ms Low Khah Gek, CEO/ITE

Dr Carrie Yau, Executive Director,VTC

Staff and students of ITE and VTC,

Introduction

1. Good morning and thank you for inviting me to the closing ceremony of the ITE-VTC International Student Seminar 2017. It must have been an intensive two days, but I trust that you all have had a fruitful and engaging time.

2.  To our guests from Hong Kong, I hope you have enjoyed your time here so far!

The power to reshape the world

3. At the opening ceremony, my colleague Minister Iswaran shared how globalisation can affect you and what you can do to stay relevant and succeed in the increasingly competitive global climate.

4. As this year's theme suggests, globalisation can represent both a threat and an opportunity. I want to highlight how globalisation can provide the right conditions – not just only for young people like yourselves to benefit, but how it can be good for the global community.

5. Globalisation and technology have enabled new ideas and products to grow quickly and globally. They have allowed many individuals and businesses to extend their area of influence and tap into other markets – often without having to leave one's country! Look at platforms like Amazon, Taobao, Book Depository and more. Many of you would have bought things from one of these sites at one point or another, like myself.

6. From Hong Kong, you have Ray Chan. He is the co-founder and CEO of 9GAG – the source of much of today's viral content and memes. He started the platform with his co-founders in 2008 as an experimental project to share fun content online. Today, 9GAG attracts a global audience of 150 million and has spawned several incarnations in different countries, including Singapore with our SGAG. 

7. Crowdfunding sites have also benefited greatly from this. How many of you have heard of the Fidget Cube? With a variety of button and switches, this gadget is touted to help its users relieve stress. It was one of the top crowdfunding projects of 2016 with a target revenue of USD 15,000. This was achieved in just two days! By the end of the campaign, the final collection was almost USD 6.5 million.

8. The increased flow and exchange of goods, services and information means that anyone with a great idea can share it online, gather funds independently and realise their vision. This is something that I believe you can leverage on, whether in business or in promoting social causes.

9. As part of this Seminar, many of you have come up with projects aligned to the theme of Globalisation. Many of you have looked outward and asked yourselves - what are the gaps and how can we improve the situation? And some of you have come up with innovative solutions leveraging the relevant technologies. That's a good start, but don't stop there. Start with addressing the needs of your local community, and then aim higher. I urge all of you to find out more about what youths in other countries are doing, learn from their successes and failures, and see how much further you can go.

Conclusion

10. I want to applaud you for focusing your projects on how globalisation can be harnessed to make our societies better. It is heartening to see so many socially-minded youths concerned about the well-being of the global community. With the right causes and taking advantage of the available resources, I believe each of you has the power to reshape the world, and make it a better place.

11. In fact, July is just around the corner, which marks the start of Youth Month in Singapore where we celebrate the passions and talents of youths such as yourselves. It is fitting that the Youth Month celebrations will kick off with SHINE Festival, which showcases youth talents and contributions. The theme #OwnYourDreams is a rallying call for youths, like all of you here, to build the future you want.  We believe that you have the passion and capacity to fulfil your dreams, and we want to support you as you work towards achieving them.

12. I strongly encourage you to go down to Orchard Road from 30 June to 2 July for the SHINE Festival. There will be international and local acts such as Jessica Jung, the Sam Willows and Shigga Shay, just to name a few. SHINE Festival's mentees from the Talent Development Programme will also be realising their dreams by performing alongside headlining acts. And there will also be various interactive setups and Insta-worthy eats along Orchard Road, so do stop by if you can. As the whole month of July is dedicated to celebrating youths, you can also look forward to exciting youth initiatives and promotions.

13. In a few hours' time, our Hong Kong guests will be on a flight back home, but the ties you have made, need not end at the airport. Singapore is just a 3 ½-hour flight away from Hong Kong. And with platforms like Whatsapp, and Facebook, staying in touch is easier and more convenient than ever before. I hope the friendship you have formed in the last three days will continue to blossom and I wish all of you the very best. Thank you.