Transcript SOCIAL PARTICIPATION - 青年事務委員會

PARTICIPATION
AMONG YOUTHS IN SINGAPORE
IN THE AREA OF POLITICS
First, let’s take a look at social
participation amongst youths in
Singapore…
Youths involved in Community Service…
Youths involved in Interest Groups…
Youths involved in Uniformed Groups…
Youths involved in Arts
and Cultural Groups…
Youths involved in Sports-Related Groups…
Presentation Highlights
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Youths in Singapore – Definition
Encouraging Participation through the
National Youth Forum
Survey Results on Social Participation in
Singapore (2002)
Benefits of Social Participation
Definition of “Youths”
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Between 15 to 30 years old
Approximately 700K of Singapore
population, meaning, youths form about
21 per cent of total population
More than 40 per cent have post
secondary education
Mostly singles (about 80 per cent)
Encouraging Participation
… through the National Youth Forum
-Currently, there are existing forums to express
their views on national issues, egs, ITE
Students’ Seminar, Polytechnic Forums etc
-However, more could be more done. Hence,
the establishment of the National Youth
Forum(NYF)
- to provide a formal platform for youths from
a variety of backgrounds to study policy
formation and debate national issues
Encouraging Participation
… through the National Youth Forum
- to target youths from ages 17 to 21
- to target about 200 to 300
representatives from various education
institutions, youth groups and community
organisations
Remaking Singapore 2003 Report
Encouraging Participation
… through the National Youth Forum
-Objective:
gives youths a chance to deepen their
understanding of rationale behind various
government policies, to think through and
put forward recommendations for
changes they would like to see in national
policies
Remaking Singapore 2003 Report
Encouraging Participation
… through the National Youth Forum
-Mechanics
The NYF will be held on an annual basis,
comprising the following phases:
-Foundation phase
-Conceptualisation phase
-Debate and decision phase
-Follow-up phase
Survey on Social Participation
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In 2002, the National Youth Council did
a survey on the state of youths in
Singapore
The sample size was 1,504
The survey explored indicators such as
health, values and attitudes, and rate of
social participation of youths
Table 1: Age, occupational status and social involvement
Overall sample (N=1504)
Involved in one or more
group
Not involved in any group
15-18
76 %
24 %
19-22
43 %
57 %
23-26
29 %
1%
27-29
27 %
73 %
Student
74 %
26 %
Non-student
30 %
70 %
AGE
OCCUPATIONAL STATUS
Table 2: Youths involved in social groups
Types of Groups
Percentage of Youths
Involved (%) out of 1504
Sports-Related Groups
24
Arts and Cultural Groups
10
Religious Groups
10
Uniformed Groups
8
Interest Groups
4
Community Groups
4
Welfare and Self-Help Groups
3
Others
2
Benefits of social participation (Part 1)
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Leadership skills are taught through informal learning
processes such as experiences in social groups
Leadership experiences in social groups are excellent
means for youth development, because
a) provide a context for young people to learn team building,
strategic planning, etc
b) leadership roles provide opportunities for youth to be
mentored by adult role models
c) experiences in leadership equip young people with skills
necessary to participate in everyday life
Benefits of social participation (Part 2)
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Social support and interaction
eg, having adult mentors for advice
Social competency
eg, finding it “easy” to make new friends
Citizenship values
eg, aware that “service to others” is important
Life satisfaction
eg, feeling “happy” with life
What some youths say…
“The time is well spent, we
actually learn a lot more, and
we treasure a lot more stuff,
because we know we are
more fortunate than other
people.” – Secondary school
student, male
What some youths say…
“For me, even one lone ranger
has a good idea, but without
the support of others, he or
she cannot carry out.” –
Secondary school student,
female
What some youths say…
“I do quite a range of activities with
my volunteer group. I do
management committee work. I am
also involved in direct service work. I
work with the intellectually disabled.
That’s what I do every Saturday” –
University student, male
In Summary,
Participation in social groups not only yields
personal benefits, but also channels the
creative energy of youths towards the
betterment of society. Participation in social
groups nurtures the imagination, ideals,
energy and vision of young people in a
supportive environment. – Youth.sg
Thank You!