This document discusses the evolving perception of Singaporean youths, shifting from a label of apathy to proactive engagement, largely facilitated by the internet. It highlights the initiatives of several young individuals, including Jeremy Chua, who mobilized efforts to address environmental issues and Elisha Tan, who founded an online marketplace for classes called Learnemy. Through their actions, these youths demonstrate a desire to break free from traditional expectations and make meaningful contributions to society.

1. Online marketplace for in-person classes

2. day special
TODAY•FRIDAY9AUGUST2013
SINGAPORE
YOUTH:
APATHETIC
NO MORE
LOH CHEE KONG
Associate Editor
cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg
It was not too long ago when Singa-
pore youths had to constantly fend
off the label of being apathetic. Back
then,wewereaccusedofbeingfixated
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
mostimportantpoliticalspeechofthe
year,noless.Atthe2002NationalDay
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?”
Thosewords—andlabels—stuck.
Buttoday’syouthhasrisentothechal-
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,estateswithalargeproportion
of elderly. A Google document was al-
so set up for volunteers and donors to
listthewaystheycancontribute,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
clwhole papThere areprogrammwill be justday peoplechase ... I thiyou imposewere taughtinto the unknMs Elisha Tan (pCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFI
From tech noobto CEO of onlinemarketplace
ALFRED CHUAtoday@mediacorp.com.sg
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
ajobandhavingkidsandthendie;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
theircommunities.Anyonewithskills
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”,thepsychologymajoralsowent
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-
monthprogrammeatTheFounderIn-
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.Aspartofthecourserequirements,
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
notprofitableyet,andwhileshedidnot
wanttodisclosehowmuchthewebsite
takesinmonthly,shesaidrecentearn-
ings have been looking hopeful.
routineand 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 tomake it big, and there is agood safety net here, so do
not be afraid to use them to
your advantage.
Don’t harp on the paperchase. Some people centre
their entire lives on the
paper chase, and I think it is
taking precious time awayfrom skills development.
Stop complaining so much— whether it is the haze or
Hello Kitty. There’s more to
life than complaining andblaming the authorities. Be
adaptable to whateversituations may come yourway. Also, I would like to see
more action, less talk whensuch incidents strike.
THE THREE THINGS SHE WANTS
TO SEE IN SINGAPORE
To date, Lear420 users, or “letheir respective cthe girl who hadanything tech.When Ms Tan safter graduating frtute, she wanted toner on board, but faione who shared the sas me”.
It was also arothat she was awardeSingapore Young EScheme (YES) grant.Eventually she “piing from my friend”, athe first page of Learneformforinteresteduserssports classes.“I coded that entire pshe says with pride. Thsome 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
nottheeasiestjourney.MsTan
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
wholepaperchasemindset.Thereare
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

7. Startups are hard, lol

8. h

9. You will fuck up

10. Know your priorities