Youth Corps Leaders Commencement Ceremony 2026

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of the Republic of Singapore and Patron of Youth Corps Singapore,

Community partners,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. It’s my pleasure to be with you today at this year’s Youth Corps Leaders Commencement Ceremony. Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to President Tharman for taking time off your busy schedule to show your very strong support for our youth leaders.

2. Today, we celebrate 242 of you who are being conferred as Youth Corps Leaders. Ladies and gentlemen, shall we give our Youth Corps Leaders a big round of applause?

Youth Spirit in Action

3. This generation of youths is growing up in a world that feels more uncertain than ever. You are navigating:

   1. A world that is increasingly divided and uncertain, with several major wars taking place even as we speak.

   2. You are navigating rapid technological change and disruption at work.

   3. The climate crisis and worries about the future of our planet.

   4. Rising cost of living and pressures around studies, careers, and family.

   5. And social media that connects you, but can also leave you feeling alone, judged, or sometimes just like you’re never “good enough”.

4. Many of you carry invisible burdens: anxiety about your prospects, concern for your families, or doubts about whether or not you can truly make a difference. These feelings are real, and they are valid. But, as you have heard from our leaders before, you are not leaders because you do not fear these struggles; you are leaders because you have the courage to work through them even as you support others.

5. In the face of these pressures, you are not alone. The Government, and especially MCCY and Youth Corps, is working to create an environment where young people can thrive, participate, and be heard.

6. Through national engagement efforts like youth dialogues and SG Youth Plan platforms, your views are shaping policies and programmes, from sustainability to mental health to jobs.

7. And we will provide more spaces where youths can experiment and lead – whether through Youth Corps Singapore, ground-up initiatives, or community projects in our neighbourhoods and online communities.

8. We are growing our ecosystem of mental health support – from peer support training and community-based services, to campaigns that tackle stigma and encourage help-seeking.

9. We continue to invest in arts, sports, and volunteerism, not because these are “extras”, but because these are vital ways for you to build community, confidence, and purpose.

10. These are not perfect solutions, and we will not always get everything right on the first try. But there is a very clear message: your hopes, your fears, and your ideas matter in the way we build Singapore.

Growing the Impact of Youth Corps

11. Over the past ten years, Youth Corps has grown in both numbers and diversity.

12. Young people from different backgrounds, with different experiences and causes that they care about, have all come together through Youth Corps to “Ignite Change” and to “Grow Good Together”.

13. As Youth Corps Leaders, you stand at a very special intersection: between government and ground, between policy and people, between ideals and reality.

14. As leaders, you will:

    1. Listen to those who feel left out, and you will help bring their voices into our national conversation.

    2. You will translate national policies into everyday acts of care – in our schools, our workplaces, and our neighbourhoods.

    3. And you will show, by your example, that leadership is not about titles, but it’s about taking responsibility and taking action, one small act at a time.

    4. Leadership today is not about having all the answers. It is about asking the right questions, being willing to learn, and staying kind and courageous even when things are messy or uncertain.

15. In 2025 alone, over 10,000 Youth Corps Leaders and volunteers contributed more than 75,000 hours of service, impacting over 6,500 individuals across various causes.

    1. Youth Corps embodies the “We First” spirit that we want to see in Singapore.

    2. Beyond the numbers, what matters more is the care shown, the trust built, and the difference that all of you have made in someone’s life.

    3. Often, the true impact of service is really not measured in hours, but in every person who feels seen, supported, and less alone because you took the effort to reach out to them.

Journeys of Leadership and Service

16. All of you gathered here today reflects this same commitment and spirit of contribution.

17. Take for example, D’eemeldah. She joined Youth Corps because she wanted to step out of her comfort zone.

    1. Though naturally introverted, she discovered through service that she could lead and she could also connect confidently with others.

    2. Today, as Volunteer Manager at KidsCount @ Woodlands, she leads efforts to support children from lower-income families, guided by her belief that education should be accessible to all.

18. Or Deirdre, who after completing the Youth Corps Leaders Programme in 2022, co-led Films of Gold, an intergenerational project where seniors used photography and storytelling to share their life experiences.

    1. What began as one project became a meaningful platform for seniors to express themselves and to connect with others.

    2. Today, she continues to mentor younger participants and lead overseas service-learning trips.

19. These journeys remind us that when young people like you step forward to serve, you discover new strengths, new purpose, and new ways to lead.

20. And what begins with just a single step forward grows into something much larger: a lasting commitment to others and to the community.

21. This is what we want to nurture under the SG Youth Plan, a five-year action plan that MCCY and NYC are developing to support all of you – our youths – to be confident and resilient citizens with a heart for the community and a heart for Singapore.

Looking Ahead

22. Under the SG Youth Plan, Youth Corps Singapore will continue to create more opportunities for youths to serve meaningfully, across different causes and communities.

23. To every Youth Corps Leader in our midst today:

    1. When you feel anxious about the future, just remember that you are part of a generation that is more informed, more connected, and more compassionate than any before you.

    2. When you feel frustrated by slow progress, remember that lasting change is often built step by step, project by project, conversation by conversation.

    3. When you doubt your impact, just look around you – at your peers, your mentors, the communities you serve – and know that your presence, your listening ear, your small acts of service matter.

24. Singapore’s story has always been written by people who choose to respond to uncertainty with courage and solidarity. Today, you join that line of nation-builders. You are not mere spectators. You are a generation that will co-author our next chapter.

25. Congratulations to all of you once again on being conferred as Youth Corps Leaders.

26. Be the change that you want to see, pave the way for future generations, and always be inspired to make a difference.

27. Thank you.