Mr Wong was joined at Saturday’s event by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong and Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and for Health Janil Puthucheary. Also present were Ang Mo Kio GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Nadia Samdin and Jurong GRC MP Xie Yao Quan, members of the PAYM Council’s panel of advisers.
On how the success of the charter will be gauged, Dr Puthucheary said during a media briefing ahead of Saturday’s launch that “we don’t necessarily want to be so prescriptive”.
In response to a question from CNA, Dr Puthucheary, who is advisor to the PAYM, said: “Of course, when it comes to the governance and accountability of specific funding and specific projects, there is a framework for that.
“That process has been going on for some time, and we will apply the same type of governance. But I think that’s distinct and different from the aspirational nature of the Youth Charter.”
Mr Ng Shi Xuan, MacPherson Youth Network’s vice-chairperson, said the point of the Youth Charter is to get young people to go from being consumers to change makers.
He had, together with chairperson Rachel Lee, organised an Eco Day at MacPherson MRT station to raise awareness of sustainability efforts like e-waste recycling programmes. It was one of the examples Mr Wong highlighted in his speech on Saturday.
“I think that’s a very important part of the Youth Charter, where we want the youth to actually lead such projects and lead such conversations,” Mr Ng said during the media briefing.
“If you look at schools and workplaces, you have very structured CSR (corporate social responsibility) programmes, you have very structured volunteering programs.
“But with the Youth Networks, actually, there is a third space where you can come out and explore your own projects and causes that you’re passionate about.”
