Plans to engage the youth of Singapore
With the needs of ‘at-risk’ youth in mind, different religious groups in Singapore are coming together to plan an event for the youth of Singapore in a spirit of harmony.
Brother Eric Woon, Director of the Public Affairs Council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Singapore was pleased to attend a planning meeting on 25 July with representatives from other religious organisations to discuss potential ideas for a youth event.
For press coverage of this meeting, please click
http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/religious-groups-plan-secular-event-young-people
The event is currently titled “Youth Assembly for Peace and Harmony” and it is intended that the event will be secular in nature with the aim to reach as many youth as possible. It is widely acknowledged that the youth of today need a place they can feel safe, secure and accepted – regardless of whether or not they have religious affiliations – and it is important to foster a spirit of tolerance and understanding.
The religious organisations represented at the initial meeting held on 25 July were: Jamiyah Singapore (Muslim missionary society), Singapore Soka Association (Buddhist society), the Hindu Endowment Board, the Mahakaruna Buddhist Society and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The idea for an inter-denominational youth event was first discussed by Brother Woon and Dr Hasbi from Jamiyah Singapore in June 2014. This follows the success of a previous inter-faith collaboration when we organized a public seminar in which Brother and Sister Richard and Linda Eyre spoke at a family-focused devotional co-sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, Jamiyah, and SOKA.
Referring to this event and our role in it, Elder Leonard Woo, Member of the Seventy, remarked “Living in a multi-religious country, our youth and Young Single Adults will benefit greatly from their involvement in a project that is focused on the betterment of society, and to mingle with and to learn from Singaporeans of others faiths.'
This new event will be held in 2015, and the scope will be defined by a Working Committee of which our Church will be a key member.
In the meantime, Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Transport has kindly agreed to be the Advisor of this Working Committee.
Brother Eric Woon is heartened by the motivation and desire of the representatives present at the planning meeting. Objectives for the Youth Assembly for Peace and Harmony were outlined and include motivating youth to widen their own networks and become pro-active in promoting peace among different races and religions.
While there is still a lot of work to be done to bring an event of this size to fruition, it seems that the leaders of these religious groups are ‘walking the talk’ as they set a good example of harmony as they work together for the benefit of youth.
Teena Jelsma