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SINGAPORE: When Gabriel Michael Wong, 17, was summoned to the principal’s office earlier this year, he thought he was in trouble.
The College East student from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) did not expect to be invited to join the REACH oversight panel, which helps shape the direction and activities of the government outreach unit.
This is the first time that the panel will have 15 student representatives, 10 more than the previous panel. In addition to students from autonomous universities, the new panel will feature students from ITE colleges, polytechnics and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
Gabriel, the youngest member of the panel, said he wants to draw the panel’s attention to concerns his peers have about job hunting due to the economic impact of COVID-19, among other things.
“I think that’s a challenge that we face: leaving school with no work experience, will we be able to find a job?” he said.
On youth participation, he said that the conversation should be a “two-way street” so that people know that they are being heard and that something will be done after they provide their comments.
The panel also includes, as in previous terms, representatives of the business community, unions, grassroots organizations and the professions. They will serve a two-year term from October 1.
Minister of Communications and Information S Iswaran and members of the 8th REACH oversight panel in the MCI building on December 4, 2020.
Communications and Information Minister S Iswaran said the composition of the panel is “critical” because it must incorporate diversity in Singaporean society.
“As we think about emerging stronger and going beyond COVID-19, we need to engage in a two-way process,” the minister said at a ceremony to thank outgoing panel members and formally appoint new members.
“On the one hand, there are priorities that the Government has identified but at the same time to involve more citizens to understand what their concerns are and what are the issues they would like to address.”
Despite COVID-19, REACH has involved 56,000 people this year, Iswaran said.
35 ANNIVERSARY OF REACH
REACH’s new president, Tan Kiat How, said the agency has evolved over the years since it started as the Feedback Unit 35 years ago.
The pandemic accelerated their movement online to social media, electronic listening points and engagements using the Zoom video conferencing app and the WhatsApp messaging app.
It will also do everything possible to reach more segments of society, he said.
READ: Teens on REACH panel signal inclusion – President Tan Kiat How
“It’s not just about doing surveys and getting data, but about understanding what drives (citizens’) feelings and anxieties, and what we can do about it,” he said. “That is the important part of REACH’s work, reaching all segments of our society.”
Mr. Tan, who is also Minister of State for National Development and in the Prime Minister’s Office, said that REACH will have three vice-presidents.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Rahayu Mahzam, will lead REACH’s engagement with the community and stakeholders, while Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth, as well as Social and Family Development, Eric Chua, will oversee participation from Young. Labor MP and NTUC Under Secretary General Patrick Tay have been tasked with expanding the scope to Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET).
REACH youth panel members Gabriel Michael Wong, Gavin Girish Rozario, Joan Charlotte Tng, and Mohammed Aizam Abdul Rahman at the MCI building on December 4, 2020 (Photo: MCI)
Together with Tan, the three vice chairs are part of the eighth expanded oversight panel, which now has 39 members. Twelve members have been reappointed, while 27 are new.
In keeping with the Singapore Together movement, members of the REACH youth panel will have the opportunity to run engagement initiatives from scratch with the support of REACH, he said.
Another new student, Mr. Mohammed Aizam Abdul Rahman, 22, said he would like to be a bridge between young people from the field to the government for future policy making.
“I think that especially with COVID-19 … taking into account the voices of the youth and understanding what it is we want to see in the future can play an important role in shaping the future of Singapore,” said the business student. of the Nanyang Polytechnic. .
