[Minister Chan interacting with students and teachers at the Service Learning Symposium 2013.]

About 300 students and teachers gathered at the Singapore Management University on Saturday 2 February 2013 for the inaugural Service Learning Symposium, jointly organised by SMU’s Centre for Social Responsibility and Positive Intentions, a social enterprise that specialises in people development. 

The event provided local youths with a platform to learn from their community service work so that they can have a richer community service experience and make a greater positive impact in society.  For the participating teachers, it was an opportunity to share their teaching experiences and discuss how the service learning programmes in their schools could be further enhanced for the benefit of their students.

Students from secondary schools and pre-tertiary institutions broke into groups to discuss their community service experiences, and to generate new ideas on how some of the current social issues faced by youths, the elderly and people with disabilities could be tackled.

[Students at the Symposium responding to an engaging address by Minister Chan.]

Guest-of-Honour Acting Minister for Social and Family Development, and Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing interacted with the students and shared his personal community service experiences, bringing laughter to the floor as he told his stories.

He said that very often, community service starts small.  “It doesn't matter if you cannot convert 500 people at one go, so long as you can convert one person, two persons, then you will grow… And this is the power of two.  I always share this story.  If each and every one of us can go and convince two persons to come and join us in our cause, in five, six steps, how many persons would we have converted? I convert two, two of them convert four, four will convert eight."

He also encouraged the youths to be 4’A’ students, not in the academic sense, but to be ‘Aware’ of the problems and what was going on around them beyond their books , to ‘Analyse’ these issues, to be proactive in ‘Applying’ solutions, and if those solutions don’t work, to come up with ‘Alternatives’ that can make the community or society a better one for all.

[An enthused crowd of about 300 students and teachers participating at the inaugural Symposium.]

Professor Ong Siow Heng, SMU’s Dean of Students, said, “Service learning is a vital aspect which we want to nurture in our youth because it is important that we learn to reflect on our past community service work and learn from those experiences.  We will then be able to make a more meaningful impact on the lives of the people and communities which we serve.”

“At SMU, the spirit of volunteerism and social responsibility features very prominently in our curriculum and programmes.  I am delighted that we are organising this inaugural Service Learning Symposium.  That we are able to garner such a good turnout among the local schools and institutions is a sign that our youth have the empathy and enthusiasm to serve.  Through this platform, we want to make their good efforts even better,” he added.

[Professor Ong presenting a token of appreciation to Minister Chan.]