Youths as the key towards a more compassionate society

Speech by Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Communications and Information at the 11th Global Youth Leaders’ Summit, at Yio Chu Kang Secondary School

Mr Delane Lim
Organising Chairman
Executive Director, Character & Leadership Academy

Ms Carol Lim
Principal, Yio Chu Kang Secondary School 

Youth Leaders,
Students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Good morning to all of you! I am very happy to be here with you at the Global Youth Leaders’ Summit. And to our friends from ASEAN - a very warm welcome to Singapore!
   
   

   Our youths hold the key to a more compassionate society of tomorrow

2. I am encouraged that youths in Singapore aspire to contribute to those around us. Our latest survey shows that 9 in 10 Singaporean youths consider helping the less fortunate or giving back to society as important life goals.¹ And this desire is backed up by action. Among 15 to 24 year olds, youth volunteerism rate has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, reaching two in five today.²
3. These are very positive signs. However, we should encourage the remaining three in five youths to take that critical first step towards volunteering. As young leaders, you have an important role in motivating your peers to give back to society.
4. The theme of this Summit is “Disconnecting the Connection, Leading in our World”. To lead and help others, we need to build authentic relationships first. For instance, we can start by being more deliberate in disconnecting from digital connections – our smartphones and digital devices - and instead engage in face-to-face interactions, through conversations, through acts of kindness, and service. This simple habit will help us see and empathise with the needs of those around us – including people with disabilities, the vulnerable, and also the elderly who may be lonely and may need some company.
5. You can also participate in the #MyDollarStory campaign launched last month by my colleague, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Social and Family Development, Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim. It revolves around a very simple idea – how would you use just $1 to pay it forward and help someone. Let me share some heart-warming stories from the campaign:
   
   • One 6-year-old boy “earned” $1 each day by helping his parents to wash the dishes, and then used the money to buy canned drinks for garbage collectors working in the hot sun;
   • A group of youths combined their coins to buy a box of chocolates for cleaning ladies at Changi Airport;
   • One enterprising 14-year-old grew that $1 into $82, which then she donated to charity. She used the $1 to purchase coloured paper to fold into stars, sold them at three for $1, earned $12 from the sale, and then bought erasers to sell. What a great idea!
     
     
6. I’m very sure many of you who took part in the campaign will also come up with many creative and enterprising ways to take it forward. These stories tell us that no act of kindness is too small. A selection of 200 such stories will be compiled into a book by the end of this year. I hope this will inspire all of us to be of service to others, and continue to contribute throughout our lives.
7. Our youth hold the key to a more compassionate society of tomorrow. At my ministry, the Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth, we want to work with you to make a lasting change in society through opportunities to voice your views and co-create projects to tackle pressing social issues. I hope you will consider joining Youth Corps Singapore, which brings youths together to serve the community through a wide range of causes. We also support youth projects for social change through schemes such as the National Youth Fund and Young ChangeMakers Grant.
8. We are also now developing the SG Youth Action Plan with a panel of youth leaders. I have the privilege to co-lead this panel with Mr Edward Chia, Co-founder and Managing Director of Timbre Group. The Youth Action Plan is an opportunity for youths to share their vision for Singapore in 2025. Together with the panel members, we will engage young people like yourselves in areas of change that we want to see, and take action to improve our communities. You can spark the next wave of positive changes in Singapore and also shape our future! Do find out more at SparkTheNext.sg. We hope that you can also actively participate in many of the discussions related to the Youth Action Plan.
   
   

   Build meaningful friendships with our ASEAN and global counterparts

9. Many of you are digital natives surrounded by technology and social media. We know you are widely exposed to different ideas from cultures in our ASEAN region and also from around the world. Social media has given us the ability to reach out and to “connect the disconnected” among us, reach out across distances, for youths living in different places to exchange ideas on how to bring about a better tomorrow.
10. As members of a larger ASEAN community, we can learn from one another, seize opportunities in the region, and collaborate together to address issues of common concern. After this Summit, I hope you will continue to keep in touch with your new friends. The friendships are a first step towards greater collaboration among youths from ASEAN member countries, which is key to fostering a sense of shared ownership about our region.
    
    

    Conclusion

11. Today’s event also commemorates the Nelson Mandela International Day 2019, which falls on 18 July, in honour of Nelson Mandela’s unwavering belief in making a difference to communities.
12. Let me conclude with a quote from Mandela – “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination”. Let us apply our minds to the social issues of today and tomorrow. Let us work with our friends from ASEAN and from around the world, to tap on each another’s ideas to build bridges, and also connect the disconnected among us. Let’s lead with our hearts, to not only empathise with the challenges of those who need help, but also inspire our family, friends, classmates to volunteer and also give back to society. Thank you very much and have a great day.