Mentoring movement to nurture our youths

Mr Glenn Lim, Chair of Mentoring Alliance

Members of the Mentoring Workgroup and Alliance

Ladies and gentlemen

1. It gives me great pleasure to join you at the signing of the Mentoring Alliance this afternoon. The eleven organisations in this Alliance are: Architects of Life, CARE Singapore, Lakeside Family Services, Malay Youth Literary Association, Metropolitan YMCA Singapore, REACH Community Services, Societus Limited, The Green Apple Project, Trybe Limited, The Salvation Army’s Youth Development Centre, and Youth Guidance Outreach Services. Thank you all very much for agreeing to come together as a collective force to mentor our youths!

Supporting our youths in shaping Singapore’s future

2. The formation of the Mentoring Alliance marks an interim milestone in what I hope will be a sustained and fruitful journey to unlock the potential of our young people. Every organisation represented here believes in creating better mentorship programmes for young people, and in getting more people involved in shaping and guiding young lives as mentors. They also believe in coming together to share best practices, to pool resources and to act collectively to achieve these goals. It is a truly ground-up move that grew from conversations that we have been having on mentorship since more than a year ago.

3. At the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, we share your belief that our youths play a critical role in shaping the future of Singapore. It is thus important that we give all Singaporean youths, no matter their background, the opportunity to realise their aspirations and contribute to society. What happens when our youths encounter setbacks or failures? This is where youth mentorship comes in. As a youth developmental tool, mentoring can help to influence and shape youth behaviours and attitudes, address risk factors, engender a positive orientation towards the future, and build resilience in our young people. Mentors can serve as role models, coaches or friends for our youths, and guide them to stay on course to maximise their potential. Hopefully, these youths will also be inspired to pay it forward and become future mentors for other youths later in life.

Sparking a mentoring movement in Singapore

4. Every member of the Alliance is already doing wonderful work in youth mentorship and reaching out to diverse youth segments. Now that you are part of this Alliance, you can tap on the knowledge and resources of other members, and accomplish much more together. As a start, I understand that the Alliance will soon embark on a year-long pilot programme based on a common service model. This model will allow each member organisation to employ mentoring approaches that are tailored to serve specific youth segments, yet meet a set of shared standards and milestones. In addition, the Alliance will also provide training and support for volunteer mentors to better serve and support their mentees.

5. In the longer term, I share your hope that the formation of this Alliance will spark a wider youth mentoring movement in Singapore. For this to happen, the Alliance will need the support of more like-minded organisations and volunteers to grow the youth mentoring community together. So if you have a passion for service, and would like to make an impact in the lives of our youths, please let Glenn know. I am sure he will be very happy to welcome you into the Alliance.

Conclusion

6. Before I end my speech, I would like to give special thanks to Glenn and the Mentoring Workgroup for planting the seeds of this initiative since last June. Without their vision and commitment, we would not be here today to celebrate the formation of the Mentoring Alliance. All of you exemplify the spirit of SG Cares, by supporting one another to ensure that no one is left behind. Let us continue to build a more caring and inclusive Singapore.

7. Have an enjoyable afternoon ahead!