Lien Centre for Social Innovation

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Singapore Management UniversityInstitutional Knowledge at Singapore Management UniversitySocial Space Lien Centre for Social Innovation1-2009Socially Innovative Youth Projects in AsiaLien Centre for Social InnovationFollow this and additional works at:http://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lien_researchPart of theHigher Education Commons,Social and Philosophical Foundations of EducationCommons,Social Policy Commons,Social Welfare Commons, and theTechnology and InnovationCommonsThis Journal Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Lien Centre for Social Innovation at Institutional Knowledge at SingaporeManagement University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Social Space by an authorized administrator of Institutional Knowledge at SingaporeManagement University. For more information, please emaillibIR@smu.edu.sg.CitationLien Centre for Social Innovation. (2009). Socially Innovative Youth Projects in Asia.Social Space. . Social Space.Available at:http://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lien_research/34.SOCIAL SPACE • 2009SOCIAL INNOVATIONMOSAIC116Socially Innovative YOUTH PROJECTS IN ASIAOn 6 March 2009, Lien Centre organised a Social Conversation for innovation youth projects. Students  from  the  Singapore  Management University  (SMU),  the  United  World  College  of Southeast  Asia  (UWCSEA),  the  National  University The  Lien  Centre  spotlights  the  creative  efforts  of  four  groups  of  tertiary students in spearheading new social projects in Asia.is involved in some form of income-generating activity to supplement his or her family’s meagre income. In Adlaon, Guba and Cambinocot barangays, self-help groups called Family Watch Groups (FWG) are working to stop child labour in dangerous farming areas and plantations and are pushing for the rights of children and their education to be recognised in their barangays.Three project teams from SMU – Project Dawn, Venture and Kinabuhi – partnered with  the  Share-a-Child  Movement  and  the  FWGs  in each  of  the barangays  to facilitate a business model of goat-sharing between families and the community. Share-a-Child is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Cebu that advocates the rights and welfare of children and women in order to empower families by reducing the dependency on child labour and encouraging them to go to school.  The three teams introduced the ‘One family, one goat at a time’ concept, which is a microcredit goat livelihood and outreach initiative. Basically, families can obtain interest-free loans of up to two years to purchase goats, on the condition that they share that benefit by giving up one kid goat to another needy family whenever their goat bears its young. In the 3 barangays, the number of families receiving goats has grown between 30% to 80% since 2008. Up to date, more than 100 students have been involved in the project. Also, the manure from the goats have enabled families to practise organic farming - families shared that they experienced a multiple-fold increase in their crops harvest by using goat manure as natural fetilisers. Through these projects, SMU Business Management students had the opportunity to apply what they have learnt in the classroom to deal with real world situations and address pressing societal issues. To date, SMU’s Office of Student Life has  sent over 90 students to work hand-in-hand with the rural community in Cebu and will continue  to  encourage  submission  of  more  applications for the  2010  summer projects  in  order  to  sustain  the  Goats’  Livelihood  Programme  as  well  as  other community and education programmes.  SMU students tending the goats in Cebu.Advocating Children Rights and Welfare Through Goat-sharing (SMU)Organised by SMU students, the Microfinance Goat Project was conducted in the Philippines and was aimed to improve the livelihoods of families living in rural  provinces  through  goat-rearing  and  the  sale of  goat  meat.  Formulated  as  an  initiative  to  help the  community  fight  against  child  labour  and  to advocate children’s rights and welfare, the project not only attempted to fulfil the educational needs of children but also aimed to create an awareness of the dangers of children working in plantations and encouraged their parents to take them out of such work.In  the  mountain  barangays  (villages)  of  northern Cebu,  there  are  more  children  in  the  workforce compared to those in school and almost every child of Singapore (NUS) and Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) gathered  at  Settler’s  Café  SMU  to  review  the  social enterprise projects that they had conducted.We present here four of the projects:Lien Centre for Social Innovation117SOCIAL INNOVATIONMOSAIC117 The Sole Makers (From left to right: John, Jing Ying and Justine)Launched  under  the  School  of  Humanities,  NP’s new Diploma in Business & Social Enterprise course certainly has something to be proud of. Offered for the first time in April 2008, it has seen three students coming up with the innovative idea of donating a pair of shoes for every pair sold under their ‘SoulE’ brand. ‘SoulE’  is  a  combination  of  the  words  Soul  and Sole,  and  perfectly  exemplifies  their  vision  –  which is to provide a sole for every soul. One of the trio, Justine  Lee,  was  compelled  to  make  a  difference after he discovered that people from poverty-stricken countries could not afford shoes and had to suffer life-threatening infections attributed to ill-fitting footwear. Last year, in June, he set up Project Selfless Shoe with two of his schoolmates. The trio, known as Sole Makers under their Project Selfless Shoe, pledged to donate a pair of shoes to the needy for every pair that is sold under their ‘SoulE’ brand. Their  concept  was  simple  –  whenever  a  student  buys  a  pair  of  the  enterprise’s newly designed and reasonably priced shoes from their website (www.selfless-shoe.blogspot.com), Sole Makers will donate another pair of shoes to someone who is in need. To date, all donations have been given to local recipients but the group has been talking to several Asian shoe suppliers and is considering expansion.In August 2008, Sole Makers accomplished a worthwhile feat when they clinched second place in the Mayor’s Imagine Social Entrepreneurship Challenge (MISE) – an initiative  jointly  organised  by  Central  Singapore  Community  Development  Council (CDC) and NUS students in Free Enterprise and Social Innovation Park. The MISE initiative led to a grant of S$25,000 from the Mayor’s Imagine Fund for their project. Heartened by the efforts of the trio, Joyce Tang – a lecturer from NP’s School of Humanities – stepped in as the project’s advisor and is now guiding them with their business plans.Currently, the project is treading well into its second year and is attracting the attention of fellow students. The group has also started a twitter site (http://twitter.com/Soledier) in light of the project’s popularity. Hoping to inspire new designs for their collection, Sole Makers welcome any kind of contribution – be it in terms of shoe design ideas or shoe sales – from the public to propel their good cause to greater heights.Franco Lim, Project Director of Save3s getting his hands dirty with reforestation work.Small Actions, Big Hearts (NUS)NUS students summarised a project they piloted at the university known  as  ‘NUS  Fights  Climate  Change’.  Targeted  at  all levels, from students to the university president, the project was  developed  in  a  bid  to  raise  awareness  and  action  on environmental  consciousness  as  well  as  influence  policy decisions relating to climate issues. One of six projects under the broad NUS Fights Climate Change initiative, Save3s is a paper conservation venture that aims to minimise the excessive and often unnecessary usage of papers in the NUS campus. Participants and Facilitators discuss issues at the IfP projectInitiative for Peace (UWCSEA)Facilitated by 22 multi-national student facilitators from UWCSEA, this progamme aimed to reduce prejudice and promote understanding and reconciliation amongst youth in the conflict area of Timor Leste. There were 39 Timorese youth, volunteers and seminary students. One of the foci of the programme was communication and rapport building skills. A particularly enlightening activity for the participants was a role-play of the government in planning the country’s budget. Groups were asked to allocate and rationalise how much of the country’s budget should be spent on various areas. At the end, the  actual  allocation  for  both  Singapore  and  Timor  Leste  were unveiled and there was a discussion of the differences between the  two  countries  and  the  reasons  the  Timorese  State  spends the budget the way they do. Participants also discussed specific issues they would pursue upon returning to Timor Leste within their local community or schools. One of the programme’s aims was to encourage participants to return to Timor Leste as passionate, empowered and active youths who can contribute to Timor-Leste’s nation-building process. This year, a Timorese group has set up a youth organisation: Timor Leste Youth for Peace.Source: NUSSoulEd Over for Charity Nanyang Polytechnic (NP)

Socially Innovative Youth Projects in Asia

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Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University