it is almost impossible to compete on a level playing field
against the juggernaut of a entrenched and established ruling
party
The govt's game plan is to engage the young and let them feel
that their voices are heard and that they can make a difference.
Vivian Balakrishnan is spearheading the engagement.
I guess many ppl are still skeptical and only time will tell
whether the changes are real or cosmetic. Personally I'm hopeful
that LHL understands the aspirations of young ppl better than his
predecessors and that changes will accelerate once LKY passes
on.
Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 07 June 2005 1931 hrs
Govt accepts majority of proposals by youths for
implementation
By Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : Singapore youths have put out more than 90 proposals on
areas they think can help shape the country's future and the
Government has accepted the majority of them.
Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian
Balakrishnan says their acceptance heralds a new level of trust and
engagement between the youth and the Government.
In August last year, 2,000 youths including students, working
adults, disabled youths and overseas Singaporeans took part in a
Youth Consultation Exercise.
120 of them then organised themselves into four work groups and
came up with the proposals which they submitted to the Government
in April.
More than half have been accepted for implementation and some
others are under review.
And where the proposals are rejected, the respective ministries
will reply in writing and in public.
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth
& Sports said: "There have been other proposals including
better integrating the disabled, out-of-school youths and other
potentially marginalised segments of our society into the
mainstream. Again these are ideas which we will work on. There are
a couple of ideas on reducing the hurdles of people to enter
business, to either help them with ideas like start-up funding, and
to reduce regulatory barriers. There are also a few controversial
ones, championing for people with alternative lifestyles and sexual
preferences. These are good, serious-minded proposals. And even
those that we disagree with, we have to respond and explain why we
disagree with it. Overall that level of trust and engagement has
improved. You can see that this is a sincere government open for
ideas."
The Minister was speaking at the launch of the Youth Leaders and
Mentors Programme, which aims to nurture 4,000 young leaders and
active community members over the next three years.
The programme offers a unique opportunity to groom young
Singaporeans, particularly secondary and post-secondary students in
leadership and project management skills.
Guided by older mentors, they will then put the new-found skills to
good use by working on community projects.
Dr Balakrishnan was also impressed by the high standard of ideas at
a service-learning projects competition.
Among the winning projects are learning about the needy and
national harmony through the World's Longest Friendship Band, a
sign language teaching video to help the public communicate with
the deaf, and an online mathematical resource centre for
dyslexics.
"It's about understanding ourselves better, to know how to help
dyslexics. It's a service without expecting anything in return and
we got a lot of satisfaction from it, " said Ho Rui An from Hwa
Chong Institution. His team's project on "A Better Tomorrow For
Dyslexics won the first prize at the primary/secondary category of
the Service-Learning Projects Competition.
To show that the Government is not just paying lip service to
engaging and empowering the youths, Dr Balakrishnan said his
ministry will fund some of these service-learning projects.
While he won't say how much the budget for the funding is, he
assures that money is not a problem. And his message to the youths
- keep the ideas coming.
"Those who say this is just for show are completely mistaken. Look
at this objectively, at how much has been done, what has changed in
our society and how many opportunities there are to express
yourself, organise yourself and make things happen. We've now gone
past the stage of mere feedback. And my conclusion is, which I hope
Singaporeans will share it with me, is there are so many
opportunities. So please, don't give up, even if we say no to some
proposals. We will explain why we say no. Find a way so that we can
say yes, " Dr Balakrishnan said.
He added: "What you'll see at the end of all this is a much more
vibrant youth sector in Singapore. I want every young Singaporean
to feel that Singapore is his or hers, and that your idea and
action makes a real difference to our society. And that really
creates the future we are talking about. I'm looking forward to
more activism."
Details of the youths' proposals are on the MCYS website.
-CNA /ls
