Teens in REACH panel signal inclusion: President Tan Kiat How

SINGAPORE: At the end of a lengthy interview on Tuesday night (December 1), REACH President Tan Kiat How almost ran off to get home to his family.

She was rushing home to bathe four-month-old Isaac in a narrow window of time that she tries to reserve for her newborn, before heading back to home visits in her constituency.

The future of Singapore, how he wanted it to be a better place for his son and the hopes, dreams and anxieties of the young people here came up more than once as he spoke about how REACH hopes to engage Singaporeans in the future.

It was Mr. Tan’s idea to have more students on the new REACH oversight panel, the youngest of whom is 17 years old.

Of the 39 members of the panel, which will sit for a period of two years, 15 are representatives of tertiary institutions, compared to five from the last committee.

Ten members come from the polytechnics, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, the Singapore Institute of Technology and ITE universities. Five are from the autonomous universities, which were represented in the last panel.

READ: More young people, including ITE and poly students, join the REACH panel

“I wanted to point out inclusivity, inclusivity. There is no reason why only representatives from universities are on the REACH panel. Having interacted with young people from ITE and polytechnics. I think they have a very strong perspective, very good perspective on the issues,” Mr. Tan, who is also Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister and for National Development, said.

He shared how he met many students when he attended their graduation ceremonies and dialogue sessions as CEO of the Media Development Authority and Infocomm (IMDA), when he worked closely with the media industry and schools with training programs. in media.

“There are some young people who can express themselves in different ways. They don’t write essays, but they can express themselves through art, making video clips, movies, or just talking about things in a more informal session, like going to a cafe, talking about things … (that) doesn’t mean your voice matters less, “he said.

The youth members have already provided some fresh ideas for renewing their engagement with youth and given them insights into the issues that people their age have at the “top of their minds,” he said.

While they are concerned about job opportunities amid the pandemic, young people are also very concerned about climate change and sustainability, as well as mental well-being.

The East Coast GRC Member of Parliament (MP) shared how he himself had to adjust to a different pace when he became a deputy, civil servant and father at the same time about four months ago.

“It’s very difficult to juggle time between work, constituency, family … it’s very difficult; I’m still adjusting, I’m still learning. I think one of the biggest changes was actually finding time for myself. and my wife, “he said. “And this is one of the topics that has come up very often among young people: mental health.”

REACHING THE MIDDLE AGES

This focus on youth engagement comes as REACH is nearing middle age.

At its 35-year mark, REACH has evolved from its days as the Feedback Unit, which began in 1985 when there were far fewer ways for the man in the street to make his voice heard.

Then, in 2006, the Comments Unit was restructured and renamed REACH, becoming the lead agency for engaging and connecting with citizens, and adding more online comment channels in addition to the traditional ones.

Now, in 2020, it will have its eighth president and will renew its mission. Today, with a plethora of communication options available to anyone with a laptop and smartphone, the situation seems to have been turned upside down – is there too much noise out there? Is REACH necessary?

According to Tan, REACH is much more than just collecting feedback: it reaches out to segments of society that may have been overlooked and experiments with new ways of engaging citizens, while building trust and relationships with different segments of the community. society over time. .

“We want to reach all segments of society in the way that they feel comfortable and create a safe space to have that conversation, because we want to hear from them.

“And not just cursory comments, but understanding what drives them, what are their anxieties or concerns, what are their hopes and aspirations, what Singapore do they want to build,” he said.

FEEDBACK “SINKS INTO THE DEEP SEA”?

But do these conversations have a practical impact on public policy? Mr Tan admits that some Singaporeans feel they give their opinion, but then it “sinks to the depths of the sea” and never comes to the surface. It’s a misperception, he said.

“We take every feedback, every suggestion very seriously, and the team studies it carefully, analyzes it, collates it and sends it to the ministries. We also try to go back … We keep trying to do more to close the feedback loop.

When he received comments on IMDA, he was happy for them, he said, especially when they came from groups that the technology and media agency generally did not reach out to. This came in handy when the agency tried to digitize street vendor centers.

“When we started the program, there was a lot of apprehension from street vendors and traders. But REACH approached them through listening points or involving them with the IMDA team, and we got very helpful feedback,” he said.

The agency also tries to make sure they hear the voices of those who are “hard to reach,” such as those living in rented apartments and prisoners.

“It’s not just about conducting surveys, because many times it’s about building a relationship with the person,” he said.

REACH said it spoke with more than 120 inmates at the Lloyd Leas Community Supervision Center earlier this year, an idea from the younger team members to reach deeper into the community.

In personal conversations with REACH officers, they shared their aspirations to be able to find a job, have the courage to walk away from their old friends and start over, be forgiven by their families, as well as its cost. life worries.

ESCROW

REACH continues to test new ways to reach people, even during the “circuit breaker” when they were unable to organize physical events.

That’s when WhatsApp chat groups were created to find out how people were coping during the coronavirus outbreak. The response was “overwhelming,” he said.

REACH said it has been able to engage more Singaporeans using digital platforms this year and has more than 1,200 members on its WhatsApp group chats.

While fewer participants have attended his dialogues due to COVID-19 security measures, he established electronic listening points for citizens to provide comments online. About 49,000 people were reached compared to 35,815 in 2019 and 21,300 in 2018.

Over the years, REACH has also helped change the government’s mindset on engagement, Tan said. Each ministry now has a communication and engagement unit.

“It was not a natural state or the natural inclination of most legislators 35 years ago,” he said, but added that there were still gaps to fill.

“Ultimately, the way I see the role of REACH is not just to get feedback, but to build platforms and build that trust, that relationship on those platforms so that people feel comfortable sharing their views with each other,” he said. .

“In the future, we want to create more spaces where citizens can come in and talk about things.”