Singapore's Youth Are Changing the Social Sector

OpenJio, a network of young change-makers and social sector professionals from a wide range of community backgrounds in Singapore, had its first community gathering hosted by the group's founders at its "OpenJio Opens Up".

Theophilus Kwek, who has been shortlisted twice for the Singapore Literature Prize and now works in the healthcare sector, shares his experience at the community gathering.

Kwek noticed how many of the participants had gone beyond just being volunteers. They have founded nonprofits to support underserved communities, advocacy groups to push for policy change, or public campaigns to rally on national issues they cared about.

Kwek also notes the importance of volunteering. According to Kwek, volunteering has become an established part of Singapore's citizenship curriculum, where students are taught to make good on the privilege of education by giving back to the community.

With OpenJio, Kwek points out that it has equipped his peers with a "deeper knowledge of social issues, and thus give them a better starting point to get involved."

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