Merry Christmas, help is available!

Dear NYF participants,

A Merry Christmas to all.

Groups that have any doubts or problems and need some help, you can look for me at NYC somerset (level 3 conference room, also known as the interview room), 27 December 2008 between 9am and 5pm. You can also reach me at 96315648.

Regards,
Ng Chew Yee
NYF08 Projects Chairperson

Upcoming Events

While you are enjoying your Christmas holidays and working on your projects at the same time (I hope you are!), do also take note of the following important dates.

20 Dec 08, Saturday
Project Presentation to NYF Exco
Venue: NYC Toa Payoh
Time: 10:00 am - 1pm (Rostering of groups have been sent via email)
To Note: Each group will take turns to present. You should keep your presentation to a maximum of 10 min followed by 5-10 min for the exco to give their feedback. This will also be a rehearsal for your presentation to the NYC advisory panel on 3 Jan 08. Please arrive at least 15 min earlier to set up.

3 Jan 09, Saturday
Project Presentation to NYC Advisory Panel
Venue: To Be Confirmed
Time: 10:00 am - 1pm (to be confirmed)
To Note: The format of the presentation will be similar to that of the one to the exco. More details out soon.

9 Jan 09, Friday
NYF 08 Finale
Venue: To Be Confirmed
Time: Evening
To Note: Details out soon.

Looking for help during the Christmas season?

Dear NYF participants,

Please take note, both Yao Long and Jessica will be out station until after Christmas. If there are any problems with your project or anything you are suppose to update/ submit to projects committee, please send it directly to ng.chew.yee@nyf.sg. Any urgent matter please call/sms 96315648 (contactable 24/7).

Thank you.

Best regards,
Ng Chew Yee
NYF08 Projects Chairperson

NYF projects

Dear NYF participants,

I believe by now you would have received the feedback from projects committee on your project. The deadline for the final proposal was 5th December 2008, but up to date I have only one received final project proposal. Only a few groups had asked for extension of deadline. Please send in your project proposal by 9th December 2008, 2359Hrs, to the respective project committee members in charge of your group. If you have any questions or problems, I strongly urge that you give me a call at 96315648 if you are unable to contact the project committee members.

There will also be a meet up with the project committee this coming weekend. Please book a time slot with me either by email, ng.chew.yee@nyf.sg or by sms.

The available timeslots are:
Friday, 12 December 2008, 6-10pm
Saturday, 13 December 2008, 8am-6pm

For this meet up, please ensure that your project proposal is ready. Also, each group should be represented by at least 4 of the group members. Every group is given an hour to discuss their project with the projects committee.

You can download the project template at
http://www.box.net/shared/9h0a606s64

Best regards,
Ng Chew Yee
NYF08 Projects Chairperson

Explorations into Faith Programme 13 Dec 08

Hello folks,

I hope you've all been well since NYF and that your service projects are proceeding nicely! Looking forward to hearing more about them at the Closing Ceremony in Jan 09.

I wanted to draw your attention to an upcoming event organised by the Southeast Community Development Council (CDC) - an interfaith youth forum for under-30s. This will be held at NACLI on 13 Dec, 9am to 5 pm. The event is part of SE CDC's "Explorations into Faiths" (EiF) programme, which aims to deepen diversity and multiculturalism in Singapore by facilitating meaningful and substantive connections among people across the lines traditionally drawn by different faith traditions.

The programme includes introductory sessions with religious leaders, personal reflection sessions and an interfaith dialogue facilitated by trained EiF facilitators. I thought I'd let you know about it as it's a good extension of your initial interactions with faith leaders at NYF.

Do let me know if this is something you might be interested in and I'd be happy to send you details.

Best wishes,
Aaron Maniam

*If you are interested to be part of the Explorations into Faith program, you may email directly to Aaron here.

Download EiF Prog Info | Download EiF Registration Form

Tea with Mr President, SR Nathan on 2 Dec 08 Tuesday

Hi, some updates about this Tuesday's Tea with the President session. Do note that we are meeting directly at NYC (Somerset) and chartered buses will drive us into the Istana. This is the ONLY way you can gain access to Istana for this session. Guards on duty will not entertain any walk in.

You are also required to be dressed in formal attire i.e males in long sleeve shirt, tie and pants and female in collared shirt with sleeves and knee length skirt/pants. There should be strictly no polo T-shirt, jeans, skimpy dress/skirt, running shoes/sandals, T-shirt, slippers, tubes/racer back/spaghetti top etc. You will not be allowed access into Istana if you are dressed in an inappropriate manner!

At the end of the session, the buses will pick everyone up from Istana at 5:00pm and return to *scape at Somerset by 5:30pm. Note that you will NOT be allowed to walk out of Istana on your own accord. The buses will also not drop anyone off at Plaza Singapore as it is a bus lane area.

Lastly, remember to bring your NRIC and NOT bring anything in the list of prohibited items that has been sent to you through email. Enjoy the session and don't forget to bring your cameras! There will be photo ops with the president!

02 Dec 08, Tuesday
Tea session with Mr President,
His Excellency, Sellapan Rama Nathan
Venue: The Istana
Time: 2:00pm - 5:30pm (Tea provided)
Attire: Strictly Formal (gentlemen in long sleeve shirt, tie and pants and ladies in collared shirt with sleeves and knee length skirt/pant)
Meeting Place: NYC *scape at Somerset (Please ensure you are there before 2:00pm. The buses will not wait for those who are late.)
To Note: Bring along your NRIC

Find out more about our President and the presidency from the following sources:
Official Istana Website
Wikipedia

Asia on the Edge 2008 - Thought Leaders Forum

Asia on the Edge 2008 is a festival organised by The Arts House from 28 November to 6 December 2008, with the aim of highlighting the birth, growth and re-emergence of Asia, as well as its contribution to the world. The entire program comprises a great line-up of forums, talks, performances and exhibitions.

The theme for this year is 'Origins', which seeks to explore and examine what it means to be Asian in the 21st century vis-à-vis its historical and cultural landscape, and its constant evolution in this increasingly globalised society. They have brought in some really interesting speakers that you might be interested to listen to. Of particular interest to you all might be the Thought Leaders Forum. Noted speakers include:

1. Prasenjit Duara (India) Director of Research In Humanities and Social Sciences at NUS; Emeritus Professor of History and East Asian and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, US; Author

2. Mechai Viravaidya (Thailand) Social Entrepreneur & Former Politician;

3. Farish Noor (Malaysia) Senior Fellow, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore;

4. Tay Kheng Soon (Singapore) Architect, Public Intellectual;

5. Manuel L. Quezon III (Philippines) Political & History Commentator and Writer

Although you have to pay to participate in the forum, there are also free public lectures which I believe are worth going for. Best thing is, they do not clash with any NYF events! I have signed up for the one with Mechai Viravaidya so do let me know if any of you are interested to go with me!

Find out more here

*Latest update: Mr Mechai Viravaidya will regrettably be unable to make this event due to the closure of the airport in Bangkok caused by the strike.

Photos from Dialogue with AG at Supreme Court

Photos from Launch Party

Watch Fullscreen

Photos from Parliament House Visit

Dialogue with AG on 17 Nov 08, Monday

For the coming session with Singapore's Attorney General, Professor Walter Woon, please download the Briefing Pack and read through so that you are adequately prepared. The briefing document includes the detailed program for the day, an introduction to Singapore's legal system, some suggestions of questions that you might want to ask AG, and also some readings on a recent kidney trading case. Do familiarise yourself with them before the session with Prof Woon. (There will also be printed copies of these available during the session.)

17 Nov 08, Monday
Dialogue with Attorney General,
Professor Walter Woon
Venue: New Supreme Court Building
Time: 9:15am - 1pm (Tea provided)
Attire: Smart casual. No singlets, shorts, sandals, and slippers (please note that this is the Supreme Court’s policy for attire which apply to all members of the public, and not just NYF.)
Meeting Place: New Supreme Court Building
To Note: Please arrive at the Supreme Court Building by 9:15 a.m. as you will have to go through security and make your way up to the 8th Floor. The lifts are very slow so you should go up the escalator.

Download AG's Dialogue Briefing Pack

Parliament House visit on 13 Nov Thursday

Hope you guys are progressing in your project discussions. Please remember that your first project update is due latest this Wednesday. These are the details of your upcoming visit to Parliament House and dialogue session with Speaker of Parliament, Mr Abdullah Tarmugi.

13 Nov 08, Thursday
Dialogue with Speaker of Parliament
Venue: Parliament House
Time: 8am - 1pm (Lunch provided)
Attire: Business attire, (i.e shirt, pants, covered shoes for gentlemen and dress/shirt, pants/skirt, court shoes for ladies.)
Meeting Place: Parliament House entrance
To Note: Please bring your NRIC along for a compulsory security screening. You will not be allowed to enter if you are late, or if you do not bring along your NRIC.

Download detailed program

Speakers' Profiles for upcoming sessions

As we approach the upcoming dialogue sessions with three leading decision-makers of our country, it is important for us to know more about our speakers and the respective offices that they hold. This will also help you in preparing appropriate questions that will make your sessions with them more meaningful. Here is a background of the speakers to start you off. (Click on penguin to download)

You can also download the speakers' profiles from earlier NYF 08 sessions in the Download Manager under Others> Speakers' Profiles.

Project Progress Report due on 12 Nov 08

Projects form one of the most important parts of your NYF experience. They are a way translating what you have learnt and the ideas and ideals that you have, into a practical application that will benefit society. It is also a lesson in being open to new ways of thinking, learning to accept, discuss and stand by your decisions as group, not just as an individual.

By now, most of you would have a sense of what you want to do as a group to effect change. We have come up with a list of pointers to guide you in this initial phase of your discussion. These are in no way conclusive for now but serve as a means for you to explore your issues thoroughly and rigorously. As you discuss these pointers, as a group ask yourselves too how you can think out of the box and come up with creative solutions. That is what "Changing Perspectives" is about.

The pointers will also be the format of your first Project Progress Report to be submitted by 12 Nov 08 (Wed) latest (feel free to email earlier). Please download the word document and email them to the respective people.

Education (Faci: Cell)
Expressions (Faci: Yock Theng)
Environment (Faci: Wackie)
Sports (Faci: Michelle)
Email to Jessica and cc: your group facilitator.

Education (Faci: John)
Expressions (Faci: Pei Shan)
Environment (Faci: Shou Min)
Sports (Faci: Nurul)
Sex: Lies and Reality (Faci: Josephine and Shaheila)
Email to Yao Long and cc: your group facilitator.

Download Report Template

Hey, this is particularly for the education group

Source: Inside Higher Ed

Can Liberal Arts Colleges Be Saved?

By Victor E. Ferrall Jr.

The 2004 Carnegie Classifications identified only 95 liberal arts colleges with no graduate school where 80 percent or more of all graduates are liberal arts and sciences, not career-based, majors. They accounted for a mere 0.8 percent of the total higher education enrollment in the U.S. In a 1990 Yankelovich survey, two-thirds of respondents believed the main reason to go to college was to get the skills necessary for a good job. A 2004 University of California at Los Angles survey reported that three-quarters of all students gave as their reasons for going to college “to get training for a specific career,” “to be able to get a better job,” and/or “to be able to make more money.”

This year, a Special Commission appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings “to consider how best to improve our system of higher education” completed a year long study. Its 55-page report of analysis...

Read more here | Download PDF

Summary of pre-dialogue discussions

(Click image for next slide...)

These are the slides that were presented by Johnston at the PMD on behalf of NYF 08. I have put it up as I think it is a good summary of what was discussed at the pre-dialogue session. These are some of the issues that you might want to keep in mind while you think of your projects. I hope to be able to compile a more comprehensive one too. Look out for that soon!

Watch fullscreen | Download PDF

PM Dialogue With Young Singaporeans

(Click for more photos...)

The need for freer political expression, leadership succession, engaging the new generation of young, web-savvy Singaporeans - these were just some of the issues that PM Lee engaged us in during the Prime Minister Dialogue with Young Singaporeans. While he affirmed and strongly encouraged the passion and convictions of the young people (you guys) who want to make a change in Singapore, PM Lee also advised for a need to balance youth idealism with a consciousness of reality. He suggested that passion, idealism and experience were all needed in balance to create positive change.

I personally enjoyed the session very much and was greatly encouraged to hear from the many passionate and compassionate young people whose questions reflected a desire not to just express personal worries and concerns, but also to engage the government in better solutions. My take-away from the session was that it was time to translate the talk into the walk. Sure, we have the financial upheaval and economic downturn looming. The question is, what can we do to help those around us who will find it more difficult to tide over this period? The solutions do not lie just in the hands of our political leaders but also with us. Instead of asking how much more will I receive from the government, perhaps it is time to say I will decide to give even out of the little that I have. I believe that's what changing perspectives calls for.

Read the Straitstimes report on the dialogue session here and here or download the pdf. It will be great to hear your thoughts and reflections on the dialogue. Feel free to post a blog here.

Detailed program for Policy Appreciation Course

Some of you have been asking for the detailed program for this weekend's sessions. It is now up on the blog for you to download. We have included details such as session timings, speaker names and session summaries for your information too. Click on the icon on the right to download. We will put up the same for future sessions in due time too, so stay tuned!

Risque of teens at risk

This article reports on the statistics of teenagers having casual sex in Singapore and what is being done by various groups to curb the growing trend. The issue is both a health-related one (spread of STDs) and also a social one (more under-aged teens engaging in casual sex and the rise of teenage pregnancy).

Here are some excerpts:

"Sexually active teens are on the rise but many are ignorant of the deadlier aspects of unprotected sex. ..."

"... Even in supposedly conservative Singapore, the number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among teenagers last year hit a high of 820, up from 775 in 2006, according to the Ministry of Health. In addition, there were 833 pregnancies in girls 19 years and under last year, 16 of whom were below 15 years old. There were also 1,363 teenage abortions. ..."

"... Sarah (not her real name), 17, a secondary school student, said: "It's almost like no one's talking about it but everyone's doing it." ..."

"... Sexual health experts Mind Your Body spoke to said that for youths who are already having sex, combining oral contraceptives with the use of condoms is the best form of protection against STIs and prevention of unwanted pregnancy.

However, some, like Focus On The Family - a charity body dedicated to the strengthening of Singapore families - and DrChristopher Ng, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at GynaeMD Women's & Rejuvenation Clinic, mooted teen abstinence. ..."

Read the rest of the article here or download the pdf.

British pre-schoolers to get sex education

With teenagers getting exposed to all kinds of information through the internet and mass media these days, the question is, at what age should sex education begin? The British believe that it is necessary for children as young as 5 to be educated about the birds and bees. When the new policiy is implemented, Britain which has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in Europe, will see sex education brought to all schools, including kindergartens.

Here are some excerpts:

"... At the very earliest stage, sex education will mainly be about self-awareness, he said.'We are not talking about five-year-old kids being taught sex,' he said. 'What we're talking about for key stage one (ages five to seven) is children knowing about themselves, their differences, their friendships and how to manage their feelings.' "

" ... 'I am not the parent who calls her son's penis a wee-wee. But I should decide if the word penis enters my child's vocabulary at five or not,' said Ms Elizabeth Talbot, of London, who has two sons, aged four and six months old. ..."

"... 'When parents fail to educate their kids properly, the government has every right to step in,' said Ms Gayla Coil, a Londoner and mother to two kids aged 13 and 10. 'Me, I welcome the help.' "

In Singapore, there is Breaking Down Barriers - a broad-based sex education programme taught at Secondary 3 level, that is disseminated through science, health education and civic classes. The Ministry of Education will also be introducing a customised programme which aims to raise awareness of STIs in November this year (2008).

Whose responsibility is it to educate our children? Should parents have a right to opt out of a programme if they feel their children are not ready for such lessons? Should sex education in Singapore be targeting teens from Sec 1, since research shows that out of 833 pregnancies in girls 19 years and under last year, 16 are below 15 years old. What do you think?

Download the full article here.

Reading up on case studies

For your session on Understanding Policy Making - Case Study Learning by Dr Kenneth Paul Tan, Asst Dean (Academic Affairs) & Asst Prof, LKY School of Public Policy, you are requested to prepare by reading up on the respective case studies that Mr Tan has prepared. Please download them from the links below and print them out for your own reference.

1. Sports Beyond 2010 (Case Study)
2. Expressions - Yours or Mine? (Case Study)
3. Education For All (Case Study)
4. Taking It Green (Case Study)
5. Sex: Lies and Reality (Case Study)

Coming up: Policy Appreciation Course

Hi participants, hope you had an enjoyable 3 days at NACLI and then at National Library, The Pod. We are moving into Part 2 of your NYF experience with the theme of "Exchanging Perspectives". This is the time where you will get to hear a lot more from people who have been involved in policy-making. So don't miss out! Here are some information on the coming weekend's sessions.

31 Oct 08, Friday
Policy Appreciation Course I
Focus: Understanding Policy Making
Venue: Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Time: 9am - 5pm (*Dinner not provided)
Attire: Smart Casual
Meeting Place: NYC *scape at Somerset (8am sharp)/ 8.45am latest at LKY school if you have indicated to go on your own
To Note: Mr Kenneth Paul Tan has requested that you read up on your respective case studies in preparation for his session. They can be downloaded here.

*Bus back to Somerset is catered for after the course.

1 Nov 08, Saturday
PM Dialogue with Young Singaporeans
Venue: Theatreworks
Time: 4pm - 8pm
Attire: Formal
Meeting Place: To be confirmed.

2 Nov 08, Sunday
Policy Appreciation Course II
Focus: Our People, Our Community
Venue: Grassroots Club
Time: 9am - 6pm (*Dinner not provided)
Attire: Smart Casual
Meeting Place: At Grassroots Club itself

NACLI Induction Course

The participants from this year's NYF just finished the first phase of the forum which was a 3-day 2-night residential induction course at NACLI. The highlight of the course was the World Cafe session on Sunday where the participants got an opportunity to engage various speakers on their respective NYF topics. Guest speakers included Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (MP, Marine Parade), Mrs Josphine Teo (MP Bishan-Toa Payoh), Mr Hri Kumar Mair (MP, Bishan-Toa Payoh), Dr Lim Wee Kiat (MP, Sembawang) and Ms Melissa Kwee (Chaiperson of Halogen Foundation Singapore and a member of our NYF Advisory Panel).

Photos will be up soon!

Talks Mena Trott: Building a friendlier world through blogs

Mena Trott and her husband Ben founded Six Apart in a spare bedroom after the blogging software they developed grew beyond a hobby. With products Movable Type, TypePad, LiveJournal and Vox, the company has helped lead the "social media" revolution.

I remember in the early days of blogs, Movable Type was one of the frontrunners where it came to exploring a whole new medium of self-expression. Today, they are probably the largest paid blogging service in the world. I thought it was an interesting point Mena brought up, about how blogs have a way of flattening the world we live in and connecting strangers together just by reading each other's blog. A cancer patient is able to touch many around the world with her daily musings, her passing away afftecting those who have never met her before but have cheered her on from a thousand miles away. On the other spectrum, we now have blogging celebrities whose daily entries are fodder for the gossip mongers among us. It is even possible to earn a living out of being a full-time celebrity blogger. Imagine that 10 years ago. Welcome to the world of the new media.

Football and the Mass Media in 1920s Bueno Aires

Sports has the power to build culture and bring about a collective national identity. In this article, the author studies how football as a sport might have brought about the emergence of a new urban culture in the city of Bueno Aires in the 1920s. Here's an excerpt:

"... In these accounts, it is the massness of football, its capacity to fill stadiums with thousands of spectators, that makes it a useful hegemonic tool. In this sense, football represents one example of a familiar phenomenon in the history of Latin American popular culture. As the cultural practices of poor people are disseminated and repackaged by the mass media,
they are sanitized for a heterogeneous, multiclass audience, and they lose their oppositional meanings. In this form, they are available for nationalist appropriation by the state. ...

Download the full article here.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli BMM: The Education Landscape - Catering to Excellence

This is the Keynote Speech by Mr Masagos Zulkifli BMM, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education, at the Association of Muslim Professionals' (AMP) Community In Review Seminar in January 2008. He speaks about how as a nation, we have moved from a survival-driven phase of education, to an efficiency-driven model and since 1997, towards an ability-driven and aspirations-based model. It is in this phase that the government hopes to cater to and build on the strengths of our students, so that all Singaporeans are set on a path towards excellence from young. He goes on to highlight 3 principles on which we will do so.

1. Every Singaporean has Access to a Foundation for Excellence
2. We Cater to All Strengths
3. There are Multiple Pathways to Success

Below are excerpts from the speech.

"... In many other education systems around the world, there is often a disparity between public and private schools, in terms of facilities, quality, programmes and outcomes. These disparities in the education system often set the stage for widening gaps between those from privileged and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In Singapore, we want education to be the levelling ground to bring children of all backgrounds to a high average. Not surprisingly then, Singaporean students - all Singaporean students - emerge among the best in the world when their learning outcomes are measured. ..."

"... We cater for the development of a wide range of talents, and in so doing, have extended far beyond the development of academic talents. We have established new specialised schools in the Arts, Sports, and Maths and Science, so as to bring students’ talents in these areas as far ahead as possible. ..."

"... We created NorthLight School to provide another pathway to success for students who are not well-suited for a conventional academic education, and who found difficulty in assessing the PSLE curriculum. The school uses creative and unconventional teaching methods to stimulate its students, and focuses its efforts on building their confidence. ..."

Read the rest of the speech here or download the pdf.

Ernest Madu: Bringing world-class health care to the poorest

Ernest Madu founded the Heart Institute of the Caribbean, a revolutionary clinic for cardiovascular diseases in Kingston, Jamaica -- revolutionary for offering first-class health care in a developing nation. He proves that -- with careful design, smart technical choices, and a true desire to serve -- it's possible to offer world-class healthcare in the developing world.

Alex Steffen: Inspired ideas for a sustainable future

Alex Steffen is co-founder and executive editor of WorldChanging.com, an online clearinghouse of information and inspiration on the environment. He argues that reducing humanity’s ecological footprint is incredibly vital now, as the western consumer lifestyle spreads to developing countries.

Al Gore: 15 ways to avert a climate crisis

Once the US Vice President, then star of An Inconvenient Truth, now Nobel Peace Prize winner, Al Gore found a way to focus the world's attention on climate change. In this video, he spells out 15 ways that individuals can address climate change immediately, from buying a hybrid to inventing a new, hotter "brand name" for global warming.

Alan Kay: A powerful idea about teaching ideas

With all the intensity and brilliance for which he is known, Alan Kay envisions better techniques for teaching kids by using computers to illustrate experience in ways -– mathematically and scientifically -- that only computers can.

Dave Eggers: Once Upon a School

Dave Eggers won the 2008 TED Prize Wish with this personal project. An accomplished novelist in his own right, Dave came up with an idea to partner local schools to help improve the literacy level of students. With spellbinding eagerness, he talks about how his 826 Valencia tutoring center inspired others around the world to open their own centres and reach out to others in their own communities. Dave's passion to create positive change is deeply moving. His idea is a simple one, but extremely portable to our local context in Singapore. Perhaps the way to a better education for Sinagporeans lie not just in our public education system but also on how non-governmental groups can come in to integrate, providing a more wholistic solution to our challenges especially with regards to the less academically inclined.

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity. In doing so, I feel he raises some important questions on how and why we are in the business of education. I thought this is especially relevant for us in Singapore where the Ministry of Education has tried ways to include creative thinking in our local syllabus. While the intention was brilliant and indeed timely, its execution was not always beneficial. Sir Ken Robinson provides some interesting ideas in this video.