APATHETIC NO MORE LOH CHEE KONG Associate Editor
[email protected] It was not too long ago when Singa- pore youths had to constantly fend off the label of being apathetic. Back then, we were accused of being fixated on the paper chase and material com- forts, being out of touch with politics and oblivious to the plight of others. It even got to a point where the then-Prime Minister had to address the issue at a national forum — in his most important political speech of the year, no less. At the 2002 National Day Rally, Mr Goh Chok Tong challenged the youth to show that they have the same never-say-die, can-do spirit as the pioneer generation: “Has the younger generation of Singaporeans gone soft? Look yourself in the mirror and ask: Am I a stayer or a quitter? Am I a fair-weather Singaporean or an all-weather Singaporean?” Those words — and labels — stuck. But today’s youth has risen to the chal- lenge, aided in no small part by the medium that they grew up with — the much-maligned Internet. In our National Day Special this year, TODAY profiles 10 youths who have never known life without the In- ternet (the true-blue digital natives, if you will) and are harnessing the power of the Web and social media to make a difference — not your typical “keyboard warriors”. COMETH THE HOUR Take haze-hero Jeremy Chua, for ex- ample. After witnessing how many people were complaining about the smog and the authorities’ response — though few were doing anything about the situation — the 25-year- old school-dropout-turned-scholar sprang into action. He started a Facebook page call- ing for people to donate their ex- cess masks and mobilised hundreds of volunteers to distribute masks to the needy. Soon enough, like-minded people joined his cause and the team tapped online platforms to channel manpower and resources to, for ex- ample, estates with a large proportion of elderly. A Google document was al- so set up for volunteers and donors to list the ways they can contribute, such as cash or mask donations, or air-con- ditioned rooms for others to sleep in. Then, there is Youth for Ecology — a group of youths who were stirred in- to action by the debate over the White Paper on Population. Ms Huang Xin- yuan and Mr Eric Bea, both 19, saw how little was said about the environ- mental impact of the projected popu- lation growth — save for a speech by Nominated Member of Parliament Faizah Jamal in Parliament. Despite their lack of expertise in environmental science, they started a youth group advocating environ- mental issues. Armed with passion and tech-savvy, the group has held dialogues with their peers and is putting together a paper based on the views shared, to be published this month. Thanks to the Internet, the young are making a difference and debunking the myth that they are only interested in the 5Cs PHOTO: ERNEST CHUA TOD PHOTOS: ERNEST CHUA T m cl whole pap There are programm will be just day people chase ... I thi you impose were taught into the unkn Ms Elisha Tan (p CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFI From tech noob to CEO of online marketplace ALFRED CHUA
[email protected] SINGAPORE — Six years ago, a mo- ment of self-realisation struck Elisha Tan as she made her way home from class. “It’s quite morbid ... Suddenly, I realised that everyone in the train was going to die (some day), and all their memories and beliefs will fade,” she says. That made her resolve to “break out of the routine of studying, getting a job and having kids and then die; and I am going to help people break out of this cycle”. The 25-year-old is now the proud Chief Executive Officer of Learnemy, an online marketplace where users can take or give classes to people in their communities. Anyone with skills to share and teach can post an offer on the site — from guitar lessons to HTML coding — and interested stu- dents can sign up. Thanks to that “epiphany mo- ment”, the psychology major also went from “just (being) a cog in the wheel, to wanting to help people make a liv- ing doing what they like to do”. After graduating from the Nation- al University of Singapore some two years ago, Ms Tan found herself back to class again — this time at a four- month programme at The Founder In- stitute, an American-based company helping to train tech start-ups. Les- sons at the course included branding and fund-raising. It was intensive and gruelling — “by the second lesson, I was the youngest and the only female student left. Imagine the pressure I faced!” she exclaims. As part of the course requirements, students were required to incorpo- rate a business, and thus, Learnemy was born. Today, Learnemy sees 3,600 monthly visitors, with almost 100 instructors posting lesson offers. Learnemy will help match the users to their respective instructors. Ms Tan admits that the website is not profitable yet, and while she did not want to disclose how much the website takes in monthly, she said recent earn- ings have been looking hopeful. routine and start Learnemy DON’T WANT TO JUST GET A JOB, HAVE KIDS AND THEN DIE’ Change the mindset of “not enough”, into the mindset of wanting to take risks. Take advantage of what we have now; there are already tools available for you to make it big, and there is a good safety net here, so do not be afraid to use them to your advantage. Don’t harp on the paper chase. Some people centre their entire lives on the paper chase, and I think it is taking precious time away from skills development. Stop complaining so much — whether it is the haze or Hello Kitty. There’s more to life than complaining and blaming the authorities. Be adaptable to whatever situations may come your way. Also, I would like to see more action, less talk when such incidents strike. THE THREE THINGS SHE WANTS TO SEE IN SINGAPORE To date, Lear 420 users, or “le their respective c the girl who had anything tech. When Ms Tan s after graduating fr tute, she wanted to ner on board, but fai one who shared the s as me”. It was also aro that she was awarde Singapore Young E Scheme (YES) grant. Eventually she “pi ing from my friend”, a the first page of Learne form for interested users sports classes. “I coded that entire p she says with pride. Th some 60 requests in only th she adds. Even though she faced along the way, Ms Tan say start-up scene is slowly evo “It’s not as male-centric to be, and we see more grou ing females who want to st she says. Indeed, she ventures that female in the tech start-up s not the easiest journey. Ms Tan having “to sound more assertiv be less relaxed in my body lang when having to communicate w group of male tech entrepreneu When the going got tough, so times, a Facebook post was all it for her to get help. “(That’s why) I don’t think I alone in (this venture), because th is a community of people out the supporting me,” Ms Tan says. Indeed, she tells TODAY that th Internet and social media have bee pivotal to her business, in helpin to drive costs down and expand her reach. While she is thankful for the op- portunities she had while starting up Learnemy, Ms Tan thinks true entre- preneurship is still in its infancy. She says: “The entrepreneurial mindset is directly clashing with the whole paper chase mindset. There are a lot of such programmes in school, but it will be just child’s play until the day people truly give up the chase.” And while some have told her she was “brave” to strike out on her own, Ms Tan only has this to say: “I think fear is something you impose on your- self — if you were taught to fear (ven- turing into the unknown), you will.” PHOTOS: ERNEST CHUA
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