Tamil Murasu – Youth Skill Development is Crucial for Addressing Societal Challenges – Dinesh Vasu Das

Singapore’s Indian population is increasingly facing challenges such as an aging population, environmental protection, discrimination against foreign workers, and support for low-income families.

Dinesh Vasu Das, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, Minister of State for Manpower and Mayor of South East District, emphasised the importance of Indian youth uniting and enhancing their skills to tackle emerging societal challenges.

Mr. Dinesh was the Guest of Honour at the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) Youth Forum’s SINDA Young Leaders Seminar held on Sunday (15 June).

Commending the innovative thinking of young participants, Mr. Dinesh remarked that such initiatives offer a valuable, lifelong learning experience for Singapore’s Indian Youth.

“This is a crucial step in nurturing the next generation of Indian community leaders,” he said.
The three-day seminar, held at the Ridge View Residential College campus, saw the participation of nearly 80 students from various higher education institutions.

On the final day of the seminar, through a programme called ‘Echoes of Insight’, young participants used their creativity to share the social challenges they had experienced, the strategies they used to overcome them, and the key lessons they learned from them.

One of them, Anderson Serangoon Primary School student Abdul Rahim, 17, shared with Tamil Murasu his experience of visiting the Sree Narayana Mission Nursing Home with his group on Saturday (14 June).

“Elders are the backbone of every family. It is very important to learn from their life experiences,” said Rahim.

To commemorate Father’s Day, young volunteers assisted elderly residents at another nursing home in making Father’s Day cards.

“The experience of making Father’s Day cards with the elderly at the nursing home was an opportunity to connect with them. It was like talking to my grandparents,” said Reshma Sureshkumar, 23, a student at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

He said that he was unable to meet and speak to his grandparents directly because both of them live in India.

Volunteer Balasundari Mamannan, 19, said that the wrong perspective on certain situations may change as young people have such social interests.

“This creates a desire among young people to help many communities,” he said.

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