Student Delegates, Teachers, Distinguished Guests;
I am delighted to join you virtually today at the 2022 Hwa Chong Asia-Pacific Young Leaders Summit (APYLS).
From the Summit’s inception in 2006, Hwa Chong Institution has hosted young delegates who collaborated in devising innovative solutions to global problems, and formed productive networks of youth leaders.
The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled us to make many changes in our lives, including how APYLS was organised. Last year’s event was held virtually, but the warm reception from the delegates was testament to the ingenuity and enthusiasm of the student and teacher organisers. This year, with the easing of COVID-related restrictions, I am happy that the Summit is holding a physical day camp for the delegates from local partner schools. These youths have the opportunity to make site visits to various organisations and ministries, and the face-to-face interactions would certainly invigorate the proceedings. The APYLS also continues to engage our foreign friends through the online medium, with about 90 delegates from 12 countries, including new participating schools from Germany and Israel this year.
This year’s Summit theme is “Cyberspace: Connecting Leaders, Conceptualising Ideas, Catalysing Change”. This is indeed an inspiring call-to-action relevant to today’s world. The myriad activities and transactions in cyberspace have improved living standards, accelerated the pace of education, revolutionised the workplace, and fostered creative connections within society.
We witnessed this first-hand during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a significant portion of our lives had to be shifted online. We had to work and study from home, while making effective use of our computing, communication and learning devices. New workplace practices evolved, as employees exercised flexibility in meeting the demands from their professional and personal lives. Students became more empowered through their access to diverse sources of information, ranging from professionally created educational sites to in-depth discussions held on social media. All these shifts are taking place in a rapidly-evolving cyber-landscape with increasing uses of frontier technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Yet, this presupposes that every digital user is working towards the benefit of the wider community. Without the grounding of robust values, insidious actors could paradoxically exploit the powers that cyberspace grants them to enrich themselves, and bring peril to others. For instance, the increased connectivity has created an ever-expanding realm for cyberattacks. Nation-states remain vulnerable to cybercrime. These offences could vary from catastrophic attacks on critical infrastructure, such as hacks into the healthcare system and disruptions to the national power grid, to the personal, but no less devastating, in the form of cyber bullying, cyber scams and invasions of privacy.
This Young Leaders Summit is an opportunity for youths to show us how our cyber-defences and digital literacy education could be enhanced to protect everyone. Through the Summit’s enriching activities, you get to apply your judgement in analysing these issues from different stakeholders’ perspectives. You ponder over how the inculcation of values such as integrity, compassion and respect for others is a necessary step to deter wrong-doers, while encouraging positive behaviour. To this end, schools offer fertile ground for meaningful investigation and debate in cyber-issues, as students explore the best ways in sieving information from the Internet, finding fruitful avenues to promote causes, and forming networks to catalyse change.
Indeed, locally, the Education Ministry’s National Digital Literacy Programme is supporting this initiative by enabling students to have access to digital devices. Apart from educating students on using these digital devices and tools to drive self-directed learning, cyber wellness is also a crucial element. The refreshed Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum, inculcates in students the proper dispositions, knowledge, and skills to navigate cyberspace safely.
Hwa Chong Institution is also at the forefront of nurturing cyber-literate leaders through its Computing Talent Programme, which is tailored for students who have a burning passion for, and the ability to take Infocomm Technology as a specialisation. Recently, the school has also successfully held the 4th edition of Cyberthon, a cybersecurity competition jointly organised with Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies and Defence Cyber Organisation. Student participants pitted their cybersecurity and data science skills against the best in their cohort, while acquiring a range of skills including data forensics, machine learning and cryptography. Schools and educators can involve youths in this burgeoning area through a variety of purposeful learning activities.
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, said, “Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace.” Similarly, I urge you to lead your generation in seeking out ethical solutions, with the wisdom that you have acquired from the digital realm.
In conclusion, I encourage everyone to work towards a better future by leveraging the opportunities offered through cyberspace and collectively overcoming the challenges. As you forge rich connections with one another during this Summit, I hope that your ideas will catalyse positive change. In this exciting time, your youthful energy is an essential asset to us in navigating this transformative environment. I wish the 2022 Hwa Chong APYLS a roaring success.
Thank you.