Featuring the dreamers and doers who took action to shape the future. Each one of them has their own story. Now it’s your turn to write your chapter.
Sim Ann
Edward Chia
Andrew Pang
Bryan Choo
Dedric Wong
Gavin Chan
Inch Chua
Khairul Rusydi
Lai Chang Wen
Mohamed Abbas
Rachel Lim
Shafiee Razali
Shahira Abdullah
Swedha Rajaram
Sylvia Chan
Wendy Tan
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ANDREW PANG
Vice-president Eurasian Association Youth Sub-Committee
A free spirit with boundless imagination and a desire to experiment, reinvent and grow, Andrew uses his unique background in psychology with his experience as an entrepreneur, coach, and bartender to create social eco-systems that
build on the strengths of the community.
As a SG Youth Action Plan panelist, he has worked with youths in the Eurasian community for over a decade, and has strengthened community relationships by supporting causes that youths are passionate about. His team has conducted workshops on mental health
and aims to build a stronger social support system within micro-communities.
He believes that his keen sense of innovation will help drive conversations to actions that will benefit future generations.
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EDWARD CHIA
Co-founder and Managing Director of Timbre Group
Edward is the co-founder and Managing Director of Timbre Group. Through his work at Timbre, he has been supporting and developing Singapore musicians and culinary talents for the past 14 years. He also currently serves as the co-chair
of an NEA work group on sustaining the hawker trade, and sits on the council of the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Council.
He is also the co-chair for the SG Youth Action Plan, and a panel speaker for the Youth Action Challenge (Environment). Edward strongly believes in developing youths' talents and potential to the fullest, focusing on getting youths
involved in their community and building an inclusive and environmentally conscious society.
To do so, he is leading the way by building an organic waste recycling installation and a first responder for mental health with the Youth Alliance.
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Sim Ann
Former Senior Minister of State Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth Ministry of Communications and Information
Former Senior Minister of State Sim Ann is the co-lead for the SG Youth Action Plan panel, and served as a Youth Action Challenge judge.
She encourages youths to step up and lead changes they want to see in our society, and has organised collaborations between youths, community partners, and the Government through partnerships and policy-making in support of mental health! A platform that
she supports is The Youth Mental Well-being Network, that was formed with the aim to drive change in the area of mental well-being for youths.
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Bryan Choo
Founder and Managing Director The Smart Local
Bryan is the founder of several local lifestyle sites including TheSmartLocal, Eatbook, ZULA and MS News, which share the same philosophy of creating positive content for youths. By starting conversations about various societal topics, these platforms
have helped shaped youths' perceptions.
As a SG Youth Action Plan panelist and a judge for the Youth Action Challenge (Open qualifiers), Bryan has a passion for causes relating to inclusivity and mental health. He has worked on Youths try Therapy”, “TSL 99 – Youths share the last time they
cried”. He also worked with Sylvia to create Singapore’s own “Bandersnatch” on Vision 2025, and is currently working on a TSL x IFPAS video series on financial planning.
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Dedric Wong
General Manager and Assistant Conductor Ding Yi Music Company
Dedric is the General Manager and Assistant Conductor of Ding Yi Music Company, and the Conductor of the Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra and Temasek Polytechnic Chinese Orchestra.
Through the SG Youth Action Plan, he has prepared youths for future challenges by giving them a voice and sense of ownership in the community. Ding Yi Music Company organised an online concert on 14 Feb to show concern and support to Singaporeans who
are affected by the Covid-19 Virus.
Dedric was also featured in an episode of Channel 8’s “Be my guest”, which highlighted youths who pursued their dreams and took an unusual career path - featuring Dedric's musical journey to becoming an orchestra conductor.
He is currently working with the Purple Symphony to provide a platform for artists with special needs to showcase their talents and celebrate Singapore’s racial diversity by incorporating ethnic music.
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Gavin Chan
Principal Geotechnical Engineer CPG Consultants
Gavin is a Principal Geotechnical Engineer and a member of the BCA Young Leader's Programme, who actively contributes to the community and is driven to support youth causes. He gives back by volunteering with the Association of Consulting Engineer’s Youth
Profession Connection Executive Committee, grassroots organisations and events.
His passion for youth causes include strengthening youth aspirations in the engineering industry, and building a Singapore identity that youths can relate to.
Gavin was also a judge for the Youth Action Challenge (People's Association track).
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Inch Chua
Singer/Songwriter
Inch is an avid singer-songwriter who has performed at major local and international events (such as the Singapore International Festival of Arts, Singapore F1 Grand Prix, Youth Olympic Games, South By South West, TEDxWomen in Washington
DC, Canadian Music Week and many others).
She is dedicated in pursuing her passion and giving back to the community - both of which has earned her a Singapore Youth Award in 2018!
Inch believes that the process is more important than the outcome. She is currently working on an album in collaboration with 3AM collective, featuring a collection of songs from various artistes to de-stigmatise seeking help for mental health.
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Khairul Rusydi
Co-Founder and CEO of Reactor
Rusydi is the co-founder and CEO of Reactor, a company that provides entrepreneurship training for youths. With his passion for engaging youths, he spends most of his time mentoring youth-led startups and designing Entrepreneurship
Education programmes for schools. He also served on the board of *SCAPE, and is Singapore's youth delegate to the Commonwealth.
As a SG Youth Action Plan panellist, Rusydi supports issues on inclusiveness, future of education, youth entrepreneurship, development of small businesses and encouraging youths to be Asia ready. He is also developing an Edu2025 Policy Hackathon later
this year.
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Lai Chang Wen
Co-Founder and CEO of Ninja Van
Chang Wen is the co-founder and CEO of Ninja Van, Southeast Asia’s leading technology-enabled logistics company.
As an SG Youth Action Plan panellist, he believes in the importance of creating the right platforms and opportunities to represent young Singaporeans' views. He led a panel discussion together with Tech-in-Asia on “Youth in Tech: What Singaporeans should
know when building a career in a fast-growing industry”, which looked at how youths can be confident in navigating the future economy amidst tech disruptions.
Chang Wen also took part as a panelist in a ‘Future of Education’ Conversation organised by Access Singapore, encouraging the youth audience to source for more internship and work experiences as grades do not define their eventual work performance.
Additionally, together with Sylvia and Wendy, they are leading an ambitious #SGpaysitforward initiative to encourage Singaporeans to support the vulnerable communities in light of COVID-19. The drive aims to deliver 100,000 care kits
containing sanitary essentials to low-income households.
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Mohamed Abbas
Co-Founder Rely
Abbas is the co-founder of Rely, a Singapore-based financial technology company. Having grown up in a lower-income family, he relates to the struggles of youths from vulnerable communities, and cares deeply about giving these youths
access to opportunities. Abbas is also part of the Youth Corps Advisory Committee.
Through the SG Youth Action Plan, Abbas strives to engage youths better and support vulnerable groups in building a more caring and inclusive society. Abbas also served as a mentor for the Youth Action Challenge (Societal issues track).
He is also running a mentoring programme, “project firefly” on connecting low-income youths with a group of mentors over a period of 6 months. Through this programme, the youths will have the opportunities to visit places like Google and Facebook, or
just to cycle with their mentors.
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Rachel Lim
Co-Founder Love, Bonito
Uncontented with the status quo, Rachel studied business and leadership books and started her own online fashion business, Love Bonito, at just age 19. It is now a successful local label that is expanding fast in the region. She was honoured by Forbes
as Asia's 30 Under 30 in 2016, and was also a speaker and consultant for the Youth Action Challenge Springboard Programme.
Rachel believes in providing the next generation of Singaporeans with the right support to make their mark, have a voice in issues that matter, and shape the future of Singapore. She cares deeply about women empowerment and has
used Love Bonito as a safe space for women to discuss issues and attend workshops.
As many youths aspire to be entrepreneurial but do not know where to start, Rachel also helps provide opportunities and resources that youths can tap on to do so.
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Shafiee Razali
CEO Majulah Community
Shafiee has dedicated his life towards youth causes, engaging with at-risk youths, and working with ex-offenders and their families. As CEO of Majulah Community, he leads a team of changemakers to empower youths from diverse backgrounds
and lead changes in the community. He finds that adopting a sense of responsibility is the first step to building a community that cares for one another.
He strongly believes that all youths should be given a chance to harness their true potential, and is running a mentoring programme for youths from the Boys and Girls Home in partnership with 3 social enterprises.
Shafiee also served as a speaker for the Youth Action Challenge (Societal Issues track).
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Shahira Abdullah
Immediate Past Vice-President Mendaki Club
Shahira is an Orthodontic Registrar at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, a mentor for the Youth Action Challenge (Jobs and Future of Work track), and a dedicated youth leader. She joined the Mendaki Club (MClub) in 2014, where she co-founded
The Numbers Story, a project that aims to bridge the learning gap by teaching Mathematics to children from lower-income families through storytelling and technology. She previously served as one of the Vice-Presidents in MClub,
focusing on career development.
Shahira is passionate about building a more inclusive and compassionate society, and believes that the SG Youth Action Plan will empower youths to mould the Singapore that they envision. To do so, Shahira runs the MClub career mentoring programme to help
promote representation of Malay/Muslims in competitive industries.
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Swedha Rajaram
Chief Networks Officer Advisory
Swedha serves as Chief Networks Officer of Advisory, a youth-led non-profit organisation dedicated to help youths make informed career and further education choices, and a judge for the Youth Action Challenge (Societal Issues track).
She is also a member of mental health collective Your Head Lah!, a grassroots volunteer, and a legislative assistant to a Member of Parliament.
Swedha cares deeply about building an inclusive society, and exploring issues surrounding mental health - especially on reducing the stigma and strengthening a peer support network. She was also involved in Penggal on Vasantham to introduce contributions
of minority women made to Singapore.
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Sylvia Chan
Co-Founder Night Owl Cinematics
As co-founder of Night Owl Cinematics (NOC), Sylvia has five registered companies and an impressive social media presence - all of which earned her a place in the inaugural Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2016.
Beyond her fun and wacky online persona, she is a strong believer in giving back to society. She has engaged youth sector organization leaders on mental health issues and got involved as a key partner for Beyond the Label Festival
organized by National Council of Social Service (NCSS). She has also hosted talk shows to support digital engagement efforts, such as one with the co-founder of Carousell on future of work and pre-budget with SMS Janil, and an
upcoming one on mental health.
A special episode she ran on “Do It For The Money” has also helped to increase awareness of causes like inclusivity and active citizenry, motivating youths to step and be a part of it.
Additionally, together with Chang Wen and Wendy, they are leading an ambitious #SGpaysitforward initiative to encourage Singaporeans to support the vulnerable communities in light of COVID-19. The drive aims to deliver 100,000 care
kits containing sanitary essentials to low-income households.
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Wendy Tan
Head (Covering Director) Youth Development NTUC
Wendy currently leads the Youth Development Unit at the National Trades Union Congress (also known as Young NTUC). She and her team provide avenues for youths to achieve their goals through career-based and cause-based programmes, often working alongside
youth workers to gain a better understanding of their needs and aspirations.
Wendy desires to help youths navigate the journey of their working lives, from discovering career paths to securing better career prospects. She was a mentor to teams who participated in the Youth Action Challenge (Jobs and Future of Work), and one of
her bigger commitments to this would be LIT: ASEAN, to help youths to navigate into the ASEAN job market.
Her team has also been actively supporting and caring for the frontline workers who have been working tireless to combat Covid-19. Over the course of 2.5 weeks, Young NTUC rallied over 180 volunteers in packing and distributing more
than 15,000 care packs for workers across industries.
Additionally, together with Chang Wen and Sylvia, they are leading an ambitious #SGpaysitforward initiative to encourage Singaporeans to support the vulnerable communities in light of COVID-19. The drive aims to deliver 100,000 care
kits containing sanitary essentials to low-income households.
