Together, our youth will write the next chapter for Asia

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. I would like to thank the All-China Youth Federation (ACYF) for inviting me to speak at today's Youth Parallel Forum.

2. These are exciting times for the young people of Asia. They are coming of age in an era of significant change. We are witnessing a rising tide of nationalism and protectionism, reflecting the sentiments of people who felt left out by economic development. The rise of digital technology and social media is a major change. It has changed the ways we access services, transact business and buy products. Mobile technology has significantly changed the way we receive news and information, and how we stay connected with family members, friends, and communities.

3. Our youth are digital natives. And they are exposed to different thinking and ideas from all around the world.¹ Youth of different nationalities and ethnicities are increasingly coming together, with a spirit of openness towards other societies and cultures, shaping a collective youth identity. A study² has found that youths in our countries value autonomy, self-expression, and wish to ignite positive change in new ways.  If given the right opportunities, our youth can be a positive force for change in our nations.

Opportunities and challenges for youth

4. The emergence of e-commerce and the pervasive use of mobile devices, have made our youth hyper-connected and hyper-empowered³. Through digital platforms such as Alibaba or Lazada, it is easier than ever for young entrepreneurs to access new markets and start a new business. Big data⁴ has created new opportunities to understand consumer preferences and targeted marketing. The economic opportunities for youths, enabled by technology, have grown exponentially compared to just a decade ago.

5. Technology has also created new challenges for youths. They now live in a world where it is increasingly harder to tell fact from fiction. The internet has shifted the power of media from professionals with established communication channels to new individual influencers. Social media platforms “push” information based on personal preferences, effectively filtering out what we don't like to see or have no interest. This creates echo-chambers which reinforce our own perceptions of issues.⁵ And echo-chambers are getting deeper and increasingly segregated.

6. How can we help youths navigate through this increasingly complex landscape, where there are more ideological fault lines and factions? How can we engage with youth better, so that they become more informed citizens, who take keen interest in larger national issues? How can we open up the space for more youths to take action for the common good, so that they play an active role in shaping their communities, and through the process take ownership for the future of our societies?

How Singapore engages and supports our youths

7. In Singapore, youths between 15 and 34⁶ years old constitute 26% of our resident population⁷. To engage our youths well, we first need to understand them better – what drives them, what motivates them. We survey our youths on their attitudes, values and personal background extensively once every 3 years. With statistical tools, we found six archetypes of Youth in Singapore. Meet “Active Aaron, Community Chloe, Old School Olly, Sandwiched Sam, Solo Sonia and Liberal Lionel” – each group having different outlook and attitudes. The profiling helps us better understand the psyche of our youths and guide us in our design of youth engagement programme and strategy.

8. We are introducing different ways of youth engagement. We launched a national engagement exercise last year called Youth Conversations to give youths the opportunity to participate actively in discussions on issues and proposed by them; at the same time, allowing different perspectives to be heard by design of the engagement process, so that they have a better understanding of the issues.

9. Of the 8,000 youths we engaged in 2018, more than 3,000 were engaged in face-to-face dialogues and the remaining through on-line platforms. At these engagements, youths discussed issues, ranging from social equality, climate change, with government policy makers and people sector organisations. Post-engagement surveys showed that 86% were more aware of views of others, which may be different from their own, and 88% were more appreciative of what they had in common with others.

10. Youth Conversations is also a platform to harness youth energy and creativity. Through the Conversations, we saw youths step forward to lead initiatives and bring on positive changes. For example, following a Youth Conversation on mental well-being, two participants came together and co-founded a non-profit to raise support for mental health.

11. Stories like these give me a sense that we are moving in the right direction. To scale our outreach, we have developed a dedicated digital engagement platform which allows us to enable youths to have deeper conversations with one another on-line, without the “noise” that you see on social media platforms.

12. Beyond conversation, we are also empowering youth towards action. We are developing an SG Youth Action Plan, where we will work with youths on our vision of Singapore in 2025. The Action Plan will identify areas of change that youths want to see. It can be policy areas, or ideas that they want to implement (such as in recycling). Our efforts in engaging youth are aimed at enabling our youths to become informed citizens, who take a keen interest on Singapore's issues, and to take action to improve our communities. Through this, we hope that our youths will strengthen their sense of belonging and commitment to Singapore.

Building ties across Asia

13. We often remind our youths in Singapore that they are, we are, citizens of a bigger Asian community, and encourage them to get to know their youth counterparts and to have more collaborations. We want to prepare our youths to take on opportunities in partnership with the rest of Asia. Singapore therefore encourages our youth to attend educational exchanges, service learning expeditions, internships and leadership development programmes in Asia. We leverage on good bi-lateral and multilateral ties by sending them to leadership developmental platforms such as the “ASEAN Young Leaders Training Programme” that is organised by ACYF. The youths who have participated in this programme have brought back deep knowledge and understanding of China, and forged a close network of friends from China and Southeast Asia.

14. Last year, as part of Singapore's chairmanship of ASEAN, we renewed the Singapore-ASEAN Youth Fund and hosted “Hyperplay”, the first-ever ASEAN Esports and Music Festival. This event saw thousands youths from ASEAN region gathered in Singapore, bonding through their common love for music and Esports. The inaugural ASEAN Youth Fellowship brought youth leaders from the region together for a week-long programme to dialogue and learn from one another; they also built friendships and created shared memories.

15. Programmes like these help our youths build a greater understanding of ASEAN and Asia, as we prepare them to seize opportunities and handle challenges in the future.  In time, we hope that these friendships will lead to greater collaborations that will benefit all our youths, and lead to greater prosperity and social well-being in Asia.

Conclusion

16. Ladies and gentlemen, our youths are our future -  they are the next generation who will bring our nations forward. Our youths are also our present, and they have much to give, here and now. Our nations have much to gain when our youths develop friendships, mutual understanding and respect. This strengthens their sense of solidarity and their shared ownership of the region's future. Together, our youth will write the next chapter in Asia's civilisation. It's my wish that their friendships and partnerships will make them a force for good, not just for Asia, but for the world. Thank you.

²McKinsey Centre for Government: Unleashing Youth in Asia [PDF, 331 KB] ↗ (opens in new tab)

³World Economic Forum: “How Technology is Changing Consumer Experience in China” ↗ (opens in new tab)

⁴CKGSB Knowledge: The Power of Big Data in China ↗ (opens in new tab)

⁵ Social Space: “Youth and Social Media: Power to Empower?”

⁶Although MCCY defines youths as between the ages of 15 – 35 years old, Singapore Department of Statistics collects demographic information in 5-year age bands i.e. 15 – 19, 20 – 24, 25 – 29, and 30 – 34.

⁷Source: Population Trends 2018, Singapore Department of Statistics. Resident population comprises of Singapore citizens and permanent residents. The total resident population in 2018 was 3,994,300.