APEC Voices of The Future 2009 kicked off with a grand opening this year on Tues. Of course, as one of the 40 local VOF youth delegates, I was very excited at the prospects of interacting with influential figures from the 21 APEC member economies, as well as making new friends from many parts of the world.

We had a skills-building session with Nominated Member of Parliament, Mr Viswa Sadasivan, to prepare us for handling interviews with these important figures like pros. The media veteran with over 25 years of television experience has handled interviews with famous personalities including Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kwan Yew. During the session, he shared his experiences with us, such as the proper way to approach the APEC delegates for granting interviews, to body language etiquette. Still, he says that we can make mistakes because we are young, while mistakes are unpardonable when we are much older.


I had some very inspirational encounters with the important figures I met. I had a great experience interviewing Chinese entrepreneur, Mr Jack Ma, on the first day. The Alibaba Group CEO talked about the difficulties faced by internet portals in China, as well as his business philosophy—he believes in doing things differently from everyone else. For example, he says that small enterprises have big dreams and are able to exercise flexibility in generating unique business ideas, while big players often lack the insight and personal touch in business. Small businesses often lack resources, which is why they are often willing to work extra hard to make a name for themselves in the business world. Jack Ma has proven himself to everyone that his company is one such good example.

In addition, the visit to the Istana was fruitful too. Despite being a true-blue Singaporean, this was my first time in the Istana compound—and get up close with President Nathan that. He talked about juggling  national concerns to world issues. Our several foreign delegates were very excited to take photographs with him and share their experiences as youth leaders back home.

At the Kay Siang headquarters of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee, its Chief Operations Officer Mr Eric Tan envisioned great things for the Youth Olympic Games. He believes that the YOG will have the added imperative of encouraging budding athletes to give back to society. How so? The Youth Olympics will not merely be about competition with others, but about constant improvement through competing with oneself. This spirit will follow them throughout their lives, even if they eventually pursue a career outside the sporting arena.

Although VOF ends in two days, I am looking forward to the APEC CEO Summit, and the gala dinner on the last day of the session, where all of the VOF delegates will perform on stage and manage a booth on our unique cultures. And certainly, I am very excited about knowing more about the cultures of places that I am not familiar with, such as Peru and Mexico.

The VOF experience has certainly been an eye opener for me. I have had the chance to hone my skills and prepare myself for an exciting academic journey ahead of me: to pursue a degree in journalism. JN

Find out more about APEC Voices of the Future 2009 here

PHOTO: APEC VOF 2009

Jiunn Ngee has a lil' bit of flair for most things creative and loves photography and writing. He volunteers for various community activities and is a passionate advocate for youth and arts initiatives.

THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF Nov 9-15 :: The Now Issue