nEbO’s Spirit of Youth Awards 2015 launches SG50 publication and honours outstanding youths

Minister for Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat, presented the awards to youth leaders at nEbO’s annual Spirit of Youth Awards and launched nEbO’s SG50 publication.

Singapore, 18 April 2015 – Amid the neon party at Sentosa Wavehouse, the Labour Movement’s youth community, nEbO, presented awards in recognition of its youth leaders at the nEbO Spirit of Youth Awards 2015. The award ceremony was attended by Guest of Honour, Minister for Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat, who encouraged the youths to continue to have a positive impact on society and inspire others to do good. 

Spirit of Youth Awards 2015
This is the fifth year nEbO is holding the Spirit of Youth Awards, an annual ceremony which recognises the admirable contributions of nEbO youths the past year. More than 550 youths and guests were present this evening to applaud the winners and enjoy a neon party. 

Over the past year, more than 100 community events and activities had been organised by nEbO members. About half of these were events conceptualised and carried out by the nEbO youths themselves. A total of five team Awards and five individual Awards were given out tonight, alongside partner awards to thank organisations for their support of nEbO initiatives throughout the year. 
 
One winner was nEbO’s CAREturn, which won the Blaze of Passion award. CAREturn is one of nEbO’s longest-running interest group. This team is made up of volunteers who have the heart and passion for volunteering work and events. Their vision is to “encourage volunteerism spirit among the youth”. They have organised Care events during nEbO's W.I.S.H. 2014 – Smiles for Fortune, With Love, We Care, Sunkidz Saturday, 关怀心世界, engaging more than 130 volunteers.

These youths all have inspiring and interesting stories to share, and as Singapore turns 50 this year, nEbO has compiled their stories into a lively publication as a tribute to our nation.

Launch of SG50 publication, “Singapore Turns 50! My Story. Our Aspirations. One Heartbeat.”

Written by nEbO youth leaders and activists, this publication is divided into sections “Nice”, “Expressive”, “Bold”, and “Original”, which forms the acronym nEbO. In it, 50 nEbO youths share their learning experiences and personal stories on how their work and aspirations contribute to a brighter Singapore. 
 
In the “Original” section, Ms Angela Tay, chairperson of Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium (YES): The Epilogue, talks about how nEbO prepares youth members to be Work-Ready. 

“In 2012, I worked with a team of 20 youths to give about 400 junior college students an insight to entrepreneurship. We connected with young successful entrepreneurs to put together this Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium (YES). It was definitely an eye-opener for young people like us to hear their creative ideas and alternative perspectives,” said Ms Tay. 

She went on to organise YES: The Epilogue, which reconnected past years’ YES participants for sharing and networking sessions, with 11 guest speakers from different entrepreneurship backgrounds. This event was attended by more than 70 participants, many of whom became young entrepreneurs after being inspired by the speakers and mentors from YES.

Angela herself is one of the winners of the EXCEL Award, which awards outstanding leaders who inspire their peers and other nEbOians. Passionate about helping others, especially the less fortunate, she is also actively involved in cross community events within nEbO. She takes part in Care community events such as nEbO's W.I.S.H. 2014, Food Rations Distribution, and many more. She also took on a leadership role in the World Learner Student Exchange Programme 2014 where she encouraged like-minded youths like herself to volunteer and give back to the society. 

“It is heartening to see our nEbO youths today – passionate and dedicated, playing an active role in giving back to society. nEbO cares for our members and we want to equip them with the life skills to be Work-Ready, World-Ready and Life-Ready. We expose them to issues in society, such as fair workplace practices. We also provide opportunities and platforms for them to grow and develop their individual potential. As we look back at our pioneers’ achievements this SG50, we can look forward with confidence too because our youths’ aspirations and hard work will continue to contribute to a better Singapore in the next 50 years to come,” said Ms Lim Kay Min, Director, Community Engagement & Membership, NTUC Club.