Well, this question can be answered with a recent event I have partaken in 11 November, Youth Dialogue 2025! This opportunity was presented to me after I was no...
Well, this question can be answered with a recent event I have partaken in 11 November, Youth Dialogue 2025!
This opportunity was presented to me after I was nominated by my teacher to present ASRJC for this dialogue session, where youths get the chance to discuss prevalent issues in our society along with asking deep and meaningful questions to our Minister of Law, Mr Edwin Tong. When I attended this session, I got the chance to meet my small group of people (ones in the picture), and we came from all kinds of backgrounds — ranging from Science to Arts. Regardless of our educational backgrounds and different perspectives on the topic of Mental Health, I could tell we were passionate and well-versed in this, talking from personal statements as well as general trends observed from Singapore, where the social stigma of mental health is gradually declining over the years. For the second half of the segment, all the youths present had the chance to pose questions to Mr Tong, such as racial prejudice and blending in multiculturalism with politics.
Throughout this experience, no amount of words could highlight how much I have learnt. Starting with how inspiring people can be, and how they rise up to life challenges, this event personally impacted me through how mental health is such a meaningful topic to discuss with like-minded individuals. I also managed to explore my own opinions towards this issue, which helped me discover more about myself. I believe this dialogue is so important in not just uniting youths, but also providing a safe space for youths to discuss what they truly feel in our society, such that our society can grow and lead our future generations to embrace and appreciate mental health and build social cohesion in Singapore. This dialogue also shows how Singapore does value the mental health of our young, and how the government can improve in fostering social cohesion amongst diverse races and religions: Singaporeans.
I believe in the long run, this event is great, especially for youths like me, who would understand its importance of these issues through the dialogue. It is a reminder to our generation and the future that we can still improve these current societal issues.
