"Word (World) of Yours" is a yearly writing competition organised by International New York Times (INYT). This year's topic is "Global Youth" and SMU's law student Chow Zi En won the runner-up in the University category.

The INYT Writing Competition began in 2009 in Hong Kong as part of INYT’s InEducation program, which encourages students to engage with current affairs and become globally-minded by reading the daily newspaper. Since 2015, the competition has been expanded to include all of Asia and all entries are judged by INYT’s award-winning newsroom.

To celebrate the win and participation of 15 SMU students who participated in the competition, Li Ka Shing Library hosted a tea reception on 7 March 2017. Said Prof Ong Siow Heng, Dean of Students, who gave his opening remarks at the certificate presentation ceremony held at The Hive, “Although reading and writing helps sharpen our knowledge skills, it is quite rare to find people holding a book in one’s hands and walking along the streets. You (participants of the competition) are fine examples for our entire student body and congratulations on your feat!”

Zi En’s essay explores the concept of the global youth and what it means to her and to most youths – a description of the people we often see and interact with on global platforms. She goes on to explain that conceptualising of the global youth based on what we see and are commonly exposed to can blind us to our privilege and lack of inclusiveness. According to her, “In our conversations about the global youth, we must not assume lightly that what we have before us is the global youth; instead we must always remember and fight to include more underprivileged youths in the discourse”. She argues that the global youth should be an aspirational and inspirational standard that we constantly strive towards. 

When asked why she thought she did well in this competition, she said, “It may be the angle that was taken in the essay, which was to explore the concept of 'global youth' – what it means to us as compared to what it should mean. Hopefully it serves either as a reality check for some, or an affirmation of what others have been striving to do.” She also credited the school environment and pedagogy for helping her to develop critical thinking skills and Assistant Professor Chen Siyuan for encouraging her to try new activities beyond her comfort zone. 

On her future plans, Zi En said she would definitely continue writing, most probably drafting legal memorandums as a commercial litigator or in the field of international arbitration. But she added that this competition has certainly encouraged her and if there were another opportunity, she would try her hand at writing (non-legal issues) again.

You can read the essays by Zi En and other students on InK, SMU's institutional repository.

To take part in the 2017 edition, click here.

[Featured Photo: L-R: Prof Ong Siow Heng, Dean of Students; Fern Long, Senior Development Manager, The New York Times; Chow Zi En, SOL student; Prof Pang Yang Hoong, Vice Provost (Undergraduate Matters & Student Development); Gulcin Cribb, University Librarian; Vani Swarupa Murali, SoSS student and Gloria Chan, SOL student]