Empowering youths to co-develop policy recommendations with the Government

Opening Remarks by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Law, at the National Youth Dialogue on 24 May 2023

1. Thank you very much for joining us this evening. 
2. To echo what our host has already told us, this evening is going to be an important conversation and an important dialogue. Tonight represents the latest in a series of several youth dialogues about issues that concern all of us – Singapore and Singaporeans. 
3. Tonight's focus is really on unity and a sense of togetherness. These in my view are the critical success factors for the next phase of Singapore's development. The question that we will try and answer today is “Why is this unity an important pillar of our success?” 
4. Let me try and offer you some of my thoughts. Let's start by looking at today's operating environment – just a quick summary of what you must already know.
   1. Today, you look around the world – US and China. This is a dispute, a disagreement that looms large. Large powers, large countries, large economies not trusting one another is bad news. Along with that conflict comes the deepening impact that it will have on social, economic, and geopolitical connections.
   2. You look at Russia and Ukraine - a war that has now lasted for more than a year, much longer than was initially contemplated. And it will have a much longer tail when it comes to the fallout and the impact even after the war ends at some stage.
   3. You look around the world today and people are looking inwards. Globalisation was something that was driving the progress of the world economy in the 90’s, in the 2000’s. But today, it is not a priority for many countries. Multilateral cooperation has given way to “friendshoring” or “reshoring” – these are all now words that we hear a lot of today. Effectively what it means is, let's just protect ourselves or protect our friends, and make sure that we look after ourselves first, never mind global relations.
   4. In addition, in many societies today, there are fault lines that are developed on identity, whether it is race, religion, language, and sometimes, even sexual orientation. All of these become markers, become fault lines, that can be, and are very easily, and have been, weaponised.
5. In order to weather this shift in the international tide, it is all the more important that we are united, we stay cohesive, and we stay strong as a community. And that we have the courage of conviction to stand up for what it means for us to be Singaporean. 
6. Domestically, of course, we suffer the consequences of some of the fallout from international conflict.
   1. We have cost of living, inflation, the economy, our jobs, all of these are under stress. 
   2.  We also have an aging demographic. If you look around today, you will see that today's representation this evening is not an accurate representation of the cross-section of society in Singapore. Those who are 65 and above - that proportion will almost double over the next 7 to 8 years. That is a very startling proposition because it has its impact on healthcare costs. We all will carry a bigger burden. It will have its impact on employment, our economy, the vibrancy of our community. These are also where fault lines begin to be drawn across different generations, young and old. And in some cases, even in Singapore, these are fault lines that are also exploited. 
7. It is in this local, domestic as well as international environment that I find that openness, inclusion, and unity becomes all the more important.
8. In this context, Forward SG, and in particular, the pillar that I oversee, the Unite Pillar, becomes a lot more important.
9. If you just take a look around at which country has been able to continuously and continually advance the well-being of its people without a high degree of good leadership, mutual trust, and unity of its people – just look around Southeast Asia. As our closest neighbours, many other countries – in fact, almost every other country – is more well-blessed in terms of natural resources like minerals. They open up the ground and oil comes up. Palm oil grows on trees and so on. But how many of them can say the same about their national unity and the level of cohesion and mutual trust that they have?
10. So a key ingredient of our success and our future success must certainly lie in how we can go forward together, united in values, in identity, but also preserving our diversity in practices, cultures, and customs.
11. Singapore today is at a maturing stage of our development. We are not in the 60’s and 70’s anymore. Neither are we in the 90’s and 2000’s, but we are moving into the 2030’s in due course.
    1. If you all know Maslow’s hierarchy – it means that we are now no longer at the base or even at the bottom half of the hierarchy, and we must pay more attention, as we move upstream, to softer needs – those needs that reside at the upper end of that hierarchy, to serve our nation's needs. 
12. Forward SG aims to refresh this compact, to look at the elements, look at the challenges, and look at how we can bring people together so that our sense of mutual responsibility can be redefined in a new generation, in a new context. And while doing all this, keeping true to the principles that have kept Singapore successful over the years.
13. But what does being united actually mean? 
    1. To me, it means that everyone in Singapore must have a stake not only in the outcomes of the country, but have a stake in the process. 
    2. Every group in our community must have a conviction that they belong in Singapore, they belong to Singapore, and that they belong to one another as fellow Singaporeans. 
    1. Every group in Singapore, must have the space to flourish, whether that group is defined by race, religion, language, or culture. And that they will contribute and can add value to Singapore.
14. That's what unity to me means. 
15. On that score, coming to all of you today, our youths. You are a key part of that debate and a key part of that compact because you represent the future. 
16. You all look at the same issues that we grapple with in Government, in the Cabinet today, but you look at it with a longer-term lens, with a different horizon, which is very important for us. You hold a different perspective. 
17. You might be less experienced, but your experience is no less relevant. You have new aspirations, and perhaps, you might chase a different rainbow from the young people of different generations. But these views all matter when we come together to make and forge a new social compact. In my view, no refresh of this compact can be done without taking on board the views of the youths.
18. I have seen that youths of today, certainly compared to when I was growing up – they all very much more invested. You want a say. You want a stake. You are prepared to play your part, roll up your sleeves, put your shoulder to the grind, and make a contribution. 
19. There are a number of different initiatives which are already aimed at deepening the engagement with youths on so many different fronts.
20. But tonight, I want to focus on how we can partner with youths on a critical aspect of the Government's work, which is in policy-making. In fact, it is a key part of the work that we do most of the time. 
21. Policy-making must be done with a lot of care and a lot of deliberation, and with a lot of understanding of the different competing interests that are at stake.
    1. They impact not just today's generation, but have a long tail that impacts the future generations and perhaps even beyond that as well, beyond your generation. 
    2.  It also often involves trade-offs between different stakeholders in our society today. It requires us to make hard decisions that very often don't please everyone.
22. The policies must also be updated, periodically reviewed, looked at again, refreshed, made sure that they are current, and we must understand how we make changes in the context of today's challenges, so that they all remain effective and relevant. 
23. As part of Forward SG, we want to provide more opportunities for youths to be involved in this policy co-creation, so that you can have a direct stake and have a direct say in shaping the future of our nation. In doing so, I would like all of you to also be able to appreciate the complexities and the trade-offs of our policies.
24. A few months ago, at the debate on the President's Address, I announced that we will be setting up the youth panels. Youth panels are for youths to co-develop policy recommendations together with the Government. 
25. Youth panels will not just be another dialogue, and not just be another focus group discussion. But it will be policy-centric and outcome driven, working together with shared information to study a national issue that concerns young people today, and propose a policy fix. 
26. Through the youth panels, we want to empower youths with information and different perspectives, so that we can have a better understanding on both sides – on the Government side and on the youth side – towards policy-making, understanding the trade-offs and challenges, how we deal with not just today's interest, but look after a broader spectrum of society for tomorrow as well. 
27. We want to give young people an opportunity to also engage diverse stakeholders on the issue. Not everything is linear. In fact, most are not, and no policies will simply affect one stakeholder group to the exclusion of others, which is why it is important for policy-making and policy-makers to understand the interests of diverse stakeholders.
28. After that is done, to put up papers, and submit recommendations to the Government. Some papers can then be tabled in Parliament, where appropriate, so that youth ideas and those issues that you see with your own longer-term lens, with your perspectives, with your new aspirations - these ideas and consensus can then be discussed at the highest national level, which is in Parliament.
29. We will start with setting up two to three panels this year, each panel comprising between 20 to 30 youths in each panel. Working on a topic or an issue that will resonate with you, that you feel invested in, that you feel you need to have a say in today to make a change tomorrow.
30. But let me warn you, it will be hard work. It will be a lot of hard work. it will be a lot of time investment, and it will be challenging. Today's National Youth Dialogue provides us with an opportunity to talk about this, for us to understand a little bit about the issues that you care about and what you want to work with the Government on, what are some of the top-line issues.
31. When I walked in earlier on, I saw a board outside where you put your sticker on what are the top-line issues you are interested in, and you want to have a stake in. 
    1. And I see that cost of living, jobs, economy, remain very high on the list. 
    2. But there are also other issues which define the home that we want to see for ourselves in our future generations, issues such as
    1. Inclusivity – how can we make sure that when we say we want to bring the last, the lost, and the least along with us, how do we make sure that we don't just say it, but we actually do something about it? I know you are all very invested in it. 
    2. What is the role of technology?How do we ensure that we remain environmentally sustainable?
32. All of these are top-line issues that I believe you will want to have a say in, want to have a voice in. 
33. That said, the youth panels will not be able to address every issue of youth concerns, but they will be able to address those which holds an important role, an important part in how you see the future of Singapore.
34. We will study your inputs on the youth panels with the relevant agencies, have a discussion on it, and then announce the policy issues for the panels within the next two to three months.
35. Let me end by encouraging all of you to step forward to play a part, to really contribute and to have your voice heard, and to fly your flag and nail your colours to the mast on the issues that you care about.
    1. For those of you who have strong passion and are willing and able to commit time and leadership to this project, express your interest to be panel members so that you will deeply study the information that we will share with you and co-develop recommendations with us.
    2. For those who may not be able to comment so much time or more fully, you can still participate in the numerous engagements that will take place conducted by the youth panels, as they seek your feedback and canvass views of the stakeholders.
    1. You can also share your views and feedback on topics which you think the youth panels can meaningfully work with Government agencies on, and so broaden the horizons.
    2.  After this dialogue, go to the NYC website, which will provide a lot more details on what you can expect from the youth panels and also how you can be involved, what are the mechanisms and the different touch points. And please also ask your friends out there to do so as well. Amplify it, put it on social media. And soon people will be invested, talking about this, and want to play a part and participate in this panels.
36. But I assure you that regardless of how you might ultimately be involved or how much time you can spend, these views collectively will have a big impact on shaping the recommendations that the panels put forward.
37. As I end and we start our dialogue shortly, let me just go back to this point about unity.
    1. It is something that is a way of life and should be a way of life that we as Singaporeans must cherish.
    2.  It is really about our lived experiences. You can talk about unity and policies and how we set up institutions and so on from the Government, from our leaders, from the regulators, from our civil society. But fundamentally unity is about how you and I interact with one another, what are our lived experiences in the spaces that we occupy: in our schools, in our workplaces, at our homes, at our hawker centres, in our community.
    3. And as youths, you have a way of life that is unique to your own generation, as does my own generation, which is of course a little bit older. As with my parents’ generation and my grandparents’ generation too.
38. But for unity to continue to be Singapore's way of life, we all must do something about it. We all must endeavour to live it, to embody it, to make it that common thread that ties our social fabric together, that makes us strong, that in fact, makes us stronger than the sum of our parts.
39. And to me, as we grapple with tonight's topic “Together, we make Singapore”, that is what unity means to me.
40. I look forward to hearing from all of you, your contributions, your thoughts, your constructive ideas, your criticisms, anything that will make Singapore stronger than the sum of its parts.
41. Thank you very much.