|
|
speaking up for nature in singapore
|
| call
on youths of singapore to speak up PM's call on youths | list of all articles speak up for nature: why bother? | what others have spoken | feedback channels Today, 21 Aug 04 Govt engages more young S'poreans in cyberspace NewsRadio 93.8 MORE credit needs to be given to young Singaporeans than they have been given in the past, said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, as he announced plans to engage more of them through cyberspace. On Friday morning, over 4,000 emails were sent to invite Singaporeans abroad to take part in discussions on building a better nation. Speaking to reporters after a dialogue with overseas students, the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said: "My own sense of it is that we have to give more credit to young Singaporeans than people have in the past. "The concerns for the country, the society, the ideals, the energy, the creativity — it's all there. We need to unlock it and give avenues for these to be expressed in real actions." All views will be considered by a focus group led by the Ministry's new Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Mohamad Maliki Osman. The group is gathering feedback from young Singaporeans over six weeks. Dr Balakrishnan was confident that going online was the way to go. "Even locally, the bulk of our interactions and suggestions had been sent through email and SMS." At the dialogue session, Dr Balakrishnan urged young people to go beyond having "high expectations" to having "high aspirations". Converting one into the other was the central challenge facing the new leadership, he said. "We can simply demand that our parents, our community or the Government meet our expectations. We would be 'happy' if they were fulfilled, or grumble and threaten to migrate if they are not. "If this is all that young Singaporeans are capable of, then we deserve to fail," he said. He hoped by involving the youth in setting future policies, they would have a greater sense of ownership and responsibility. "We're also trying to signal very clearly that there are avenues opening for all Singaporeans, not just those overseas, to contribute to the future development of our society." |
||
website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com |