Young Initiatives Programme
Young Initiatives is a new program which provides seed funding and technical expertise to youths for sustainable projects of their own initiation. Youth Challenge will adopt these co-owned initiatives for long-term sustainable development under the International Aid Programme.
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Earth Hour In The Heartlands
At 8pm on the 29 March, 2008, millions of people in some of the world's major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane, Tel Aviv and Manila will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.
On 31 March 2007, Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turned their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight took on a life, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydney-siders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.
This year, Singapore wants to be part of this unique moment where ordinary Singaporeans would be involved in Earth Hour and switch off their lights for one hour from 8pm on the 29 th March 2008.
Montfort Service Learning Club , Punggol CC Youth Executive Committee & ECO Singapore are co-organising the main Earth Hour grassroots movement event in Singapore at Punggol Community Club, called Earth Hour In The Heartlands on the 29 th March. This momentous event would involve the residents in Bedok Reservoir-Punggol Division and students from all over Singapore. Youth Challenge is participating in this event by provision of financial assistance and support during the launch event .
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Acts of Random Kindness
A group of compassionate students from Temasek Junior College who are inspired to touch hearts and enrich lives, aims to promote graciousness in our society. They will be introducing Singapore's first A.R.K (Acts of Random Kindness) cards. Recipients of the cards are encouraged to perform a simple act of kindness and later spread the kindness by passing the card to others.
Youth Challenge made a small contribution to defray their costs for the project and launch event. This project is strongly supported by the Singapore Kindness Movement and will take off in April 2008, coinciding with the Singapore Kindness Week from 5 th to 12 th April 2008
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Weekend's Fair @ SMU
Youth Challenge sponsored a Weekend's Fair held at SMU over the weekend of 7 th to 9 th March 007. The fair was organized by the Nee Soon South Community Club Youth Executive Committee (YEC) Youth Entrepreneurship Programme. Students and volunteers used the bazaar stalls to teach and train other youths on the practical aspect of entrepreneurship outside the classroom. The project fosters and facilitates youth enterprise and interest through consultation, experimentation and mentoring.
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Monfort Service Learning Club & Bedok Reservoir-Punggol Youth Executive Committee Student Leaders Bonding Session 2007
Youth Challenge contributed to the bonding session held on 20 th October 2007. It was an informal session for youths to share their experience, initiate service-learning and create leadership training roadmap for their schools. It gathered student leaders from different schools in Singapore.
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Palestinian Youth Exchange
Youth Challenge invited two Palestinian youths currently residing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a two-hour dialogue with members and volunteers of Youth Challenge on 20 th October 2007. The dialogue focused on understanding the living condition in Palestine and the humanitarian problems they face. It also allowed for cultural exchange with the local participants.
The session was moderated personally by Executive Director Ms Hong to enforce a strict restriction on any political agenda.
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NorthLight School Scholarship
NorthLight School is the only school in Singapore that offers a three-year enhanced vocational programme to students who attempted the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) twice. This means that students who would have otherwise left the education system without even a PSLE certificate get an opportunity at NorthLight to equip themselves with vocational skills.
Many of the academically challenged children come from poor, lowly educated families that cannot provide for them. Their poor financial situation makes it hard for the children to stay motivated and continue with their studies. In addition, these students are often misunderstood as failures in life due to Singapore's highly competitive environment.
Youth Challenge believes that youths should be nurtured according to their strengths and talents if they do not conform well to a standardized system of formal education. They may find learning mathematics or science more difficult than most but they can still make positive contributions to the community if they are given another chance to develop their talents at their own pace. This year, Youth Challenge gave out 10 scholarships to financially strapped students at NorthLight School.
Ten students were awarded the above scholarships based on their academic and motivational achievements. On the evening of 30 th November 2007, an award ceremony, coinciding with NorthLight School's first anniversary was held at the school. It was a touching and inspirational evening for the students, their parents and all the staff of NorthLight School.
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"Saving Mother Earth" Environmental Video
With the kind contribution of $19,000.00 by the Singapore Environment Council a few years back, Youth Challenge was able to produce an environment education video this year. Three media production inclined students from NorthLight School collaborated with renowned independent film producer Mrs Elizabeth Long to produce this video. NorthLight School was very enthusiastic about working with Youth Challenge on this project as their curriculum was a perfect fit for the project. Media education is in the school's curriculum and their students were featured in the film as ambassadors while they learned the process of media production with a professional producer. The theme of the video is on how youths can do their bit to improve the environment in Singapore.
For a free copy of the video, please write to programme@youthchallenge.org.sg
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Wishing Sphere Marina Bay Countdown
The Marina Bay Countdown is about bringing people together to share their aspirations in a warm and meaningful way. The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore, the Development Agency for Marina Bay, and Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay--the producers of this celebration--sought Youth Challenge's help in rallying the members and residents of Voluntary Welfare Organizations (VWOs) to participate in the event. The community project took off in October 2007 with a team of dedicated volunteers. The members and residents of the VWOs were invited to pen their hopes and wishes for the New Year on wishing spheres that were launched into Marina Bay - the Bay of Celebration in December 2007. The volunteers dispatched and collected a total of 500 wishing spheres from over 300 VWOs in Singapore, making the project a big success.
