5 days ago
New mentoring programme for S'pore youth to develop solutions for social issues
Mr Josiah Cheng (right) from NUS presenting the university's initiative to bring digital access and digital literacy to disadvantaged groups to Senior Parliamentary Secretary Goh Hanyan at Gen2025 on June 5. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
SINGAPORE – Under a new mentoring programme, Singapore's young people are encouraged to come up with solutions to social issues such climate change and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs.
The Gen2050 youth action programme, launched on June 5, will provide mentoring through structured modules to the first batch of 100 students from i nstitutes of higher learning.
In one of the modules, participants can receive up to $5,000 in funding for each project from the National Youth Council (NYC), which will run the programme with KPMG in Singapore and the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore.
At the launch event, NYC chief executive David Chua said that even if the projects do not come to fruition, 'just the fact that (the youth) take action and go halfway is also a good outcome. That seeds something for the future that they can come to again, to take action in other ways and forms'.
'They will still gain invaluable lessons, connections and insights that will shore up their confidence,' he added.
Gen2050 has four modules, where experts will cover identifying pressing social issues and analysing the scope of the problem; creating proposals and measuring the effectiveness of potential solutions; managing stakeholders; and creating compelling pitches.
The module on crafting compelling pitches includes a practical section where teams can receive up to $5,000 from NYC to fund a project and pitch their ideas to industry partners.
Dialogues will be held as part of a second track of the programme, giving young people an opportunity to hold conversations with policymakers and industry professionals on topics concerning youth.
The dialogues and modules are collectively expected to reach more than 1,000 young people.
After the participants have completed the four modules, they will develop ideas and solutions to social issues, and pitch their projects to different organisations. Seed funding will be given to selected teams, and their ideas will be piloted if they are feasible.
Those who have completed the modules may be considered for other national youth leadership programmes.
The programme aims to reach youth from all backgrounds, and will tap institutes of higher learning to find suitable participants. NYC will also use its links with social service agencies to find youth facing adversity who may be interested to join the programme.
The team will conduct outreach events to recruit prospective applicants.
(From left) President of the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore Ross Gan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Goh Hanyan and managing partner from KPMG Singapore Lee Sze Yeng at Gen2050 on June 5.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Goh Hanyan, who attended the launch event, said that youth today have enjoyed stronger education and greater exposure.
Addressing the young people in the audience, she said during a dialogue session: 'Being connected globally gives greater awareness and understanding of what is happening around the world, to know what problems you want to solve and what has been done out there.
'I think there is a lot of power in your hands that you can wield if you find something that you are truly passionate about.'
Policymaking in the past could have seemed like a black box as the Government would roll out policies on its own, but this is no longer the case, she added.
'Now within the Government, they are giving space to bring in voices of the citizens and youth to better inform how our policies should look like,' she said.
'We have come a long way as a society – we are genuinely interested in co-creation and it is not just lip-service. .. There is funding out there, there is support. The question is, what are you interested in? And how are you intending to come up with a solution for it? '
Managing partner of KPMG in Singapore Lee Sze Yeng said that young people have the passion and energy to address pressing challenges like social sustainability and climate change.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary Goh Hanyan taking a wefie with participants at Gen2050.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate Josiah Chieng, 22, is part of a team of communications and new media (CNM) students running a programme on digital literacy. He shared his project with event attendees on June 5.
CNM Connects was launched in 2020 to improve digital literacy among disadvantaged groups in Singapore. It was among projects showcased at the event as examples of student-led initiatives looking into social issues.
The programme has worked with social service agencies like Allkin Singapore and Morning Star to teach children coding and AI skills.
Mr Chieng, a first-year student, said: 'We hope that since Singapore is continuing to invest in AI to be a Smart Nation, no one is getting left behind.'
CNM Connects plans to reach 200 people in 2025.
Mr Chieng said programmes like Gen2050 are important as the youth can easily get confused or overwhelmed by the resources that are available to make their projects a reality.
'It is also in part due to our need to be perfect, as we really want our projects to be successful and make real impact, so we worry about failing because we did not make the right choices,' he said.
'Having such support from experienced professionals gives us the assurance and confidence in making mistakes, and innovating and executing our projects, as we have a safety net to fall back on for support.'
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