» Address by Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Social and Family Development, at the SINDA Youth Awards 2024 on Saturday, 26 October 2024 at Marina Bay Sands

SINDA Executive Committee Members;

SINDA Youth Sub-Committee Chairman, Dr Hamid Razak;

CEO, SINDA, Mr Anbarasu Rajendran;

Award Recipients, Parents;

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Introduction

A very good morning to one and all. I am very happy to join all of you this morning as we celebrate our youth at the SINDA Youth Awards.

Firstly, congratulations to all 150 award recipients for the remarkable accomplishments in SINDA Youth Programmes. The awards you will receive are a recognition of your resilience and commitment to excellence.

Importance of Youth Development

SINDA has been and will continue to be committed to inspiring and nurturing potential of our young ones. Programmes like the SINDA Youth Leaders Seminar, SINDA Youth Club and the SINDA IBR Corporate Mentoring initiative catered to the various needs of our youths. Some cultivate leadership skills and values through immersive camps and others, real world experience and insights through mentorship. Collectively these programmes provide youth with the resource to navigate the brittle anxious often non-linear and at times incomprehensible world.

Now we recognise the need to embrace the broader definition of success in Singapore, therefore, the government is committed to provide more opportunities for our young ones to chart your own path to pursue diverse aspirations.

On the education front, Full Subject Based Banding has been fully implemented in secondary schools this year, to cater to different strengths and learning needs. We are also supporting youths who want to develop their interests in fields like the arts and sports. For instance, Singapore’s first arts university, the University of Arts, UAS, welcomed its first cohort in August this year.

Now we have also enhanced support for athletes, through various schemes such as increased allowances for spexScholars, as well as a new spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarship to make sports a more viable career pathway right here in Singapore. And I do hope that our youths realise that the world is indeed your oyster.

Valedictorian

At this juncture I want to take a moment to recognise this year’s valedictorian Rakshanaa Pandian. A big round of applause for her. She is an inspiring role model who embodies the spirit resilience and determination. Rakshanaa first joined SINDA’s programmes in 2018 and has since come a very long way. SINDA’s programmes have allowed her to develop her skillset – both technical skills like coding as well as other soft skills that has shaped her into the leader that she is today.

Having personally benefitted from SINDA’s programmes, she is eager to pay it forward and support others in their journey. Driven by passion for community service and leadership, Rakshanaa continues to take time out to mentor her younger peers despite her demanding school schedule at PSB Academy. In fact, I am very glad to hear that just like Rakshanaa, many of our award recipients in the audience today have also given back to the community in various ways. Some pay it forward by returning as peer mentors and volunteers, whereas others are actively involved in community activities.

Youth in the Community

Now at a much larger societal level, it is this exact same spirit that we are looking at that will take us forward as one Singapore. Recognising them even as we pursue our own individual aspirations, all of us, each of us have a part to play, a meaningful stake in Singapore’s society and that we are more collectively invested in our country’s future.

In addition to supporting SINDA’s programmes, you can also contribute in other ways, if I may suggest, for instance, consider joining the Youth Corps Singapore to serve causes in a community that you care about. And I know our young ones care about a variety of issues in the world today, mental health, sustainability, climate change, disability inclusion, social equality and many more.

Another way is to contribute your ideas and views on national and policy issues by participating in dialogues and presentations such as The Joint Youth Dialogue organised annually by the self-help groups. Such platforms offer an opportunity for you to meet and interact with people from diverse backgrounds and different races, hear varied viewpoints as well as to be inspired to put on different thinking caps.

Conclusion

So, to conclude, to all award recipients today, your achievements today symbolise just the beginning. I am confident that you will grow and you will uplift others around you in the same way that your parents, your teachers, your mentors and the SINDA community have uplifted you. So congratulations once again and I wish you every courage to dream big and turn your dreams into reality.