MOE Speech - SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, ACTING MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE 8TH ANNUAL BP MENTORING AWARDS CEREMONY & CARNIVAL 2003

SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, ACTING MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE 8TH ANNUAL BP MENTORING AWARDS CEREMONY & CARNIVAL 2003 AT ST. ANDREW扴 JUNIOR COLLEGE ON SATURDAY, 16 AUGUST 2003 AT 2.40 PM

Dr Wu Shen Kong, President & Regional HR Director, BP Asia Pacific

Mr Mathew Yap, Founder-President, National Mentoring Network

Mrs Lim Chye Tin, Principal, St. Andrew's Junior College

Mentors, Mentees and Friends

INTRODUCTION

1 I am very happy to join you today at the 8th Annual BP Mentoring Awards Ceremony and Carnival. Today we recognise the contributions of a group of young people who have given time, talent and energy to help others through the various mentoring schemes under the umbrella of the National Mentoring Network.

2 Five hundred of you have served between 100 and 600 hours in voluntary mentoring in the past year to reach out to your younger counterparts. We also have in our midst, those who have graduated from the scheme but continue to offer their help as mentors. Listening to the personal accounts of the three mentors who just shared their experiences with us, I must say that I am touched by their dedication and nurturing spirit.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

3 We all take tumbles in our lives. And there would be times when each of us would need a guiding hand to help pick ourselves up, regain confidence and get back on path. Someone who would nudge us to look at things in a different light, or help us realise our mistakes, and advise us on the best way forward. This guiding role may not be from someone much older than yourself. As the BP mentoring network itself shows, mentoring can be very effective when it comes from someone close to your age - someone who may have gone through similar experiences and who can empathise with you.

4 Mentoring is about building bonds. Young mentors, like yourselves, being closer in age to the children and youth who require help, can reach out to them and help them be more open to discussing their thoughts and feelings. This is what makes youth mentoring unique and distinct from other forms of support relationships.

5 You act as potential agents of change for students who may be under-performing for various reasons; these reasons could include mild depression, poor home support and other personal factors. Through the simple act of joining them in games and sports, or encouraging them on in their schoolwork, you build a friendship with them, earn their trust and help them to overcome their limitations. Often, the positive change comes about because the mentees feel that they are valued.

6 I would like to bring up some interesting findings thrown up by the latest BP Mentoring Survey (of 369 pupils and 38 teachers). Over 90% of the mentees surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that with the help of their mentors, they had gained greater confidence and a positive self image of themselves by the end of the mentoring attachment. Over 90% regarded their mentors as a very close friend, with 86% acknowledging that they had become more interested in their class work and studies. The findings are supported by teachers' observation as well, with a strong 95% of the teachers agreeing that the behaviour of pupils had improved after undergoing mentoring. The survey results are very encouraging, and I commend your efforts.

A LEARNING JOURNEY

7 The mentors here are our social entrepreneurs-in-the-making". As Mr Mathew Yap has told me, at the heart of this BP-linked mentoring programme is the belief that young people are precious resources - assets and problem-solvers in their communities. Your dedication to community work is inspiring. Even as you make a difference in the lives of your mentees, I am certain that you have learnt a lot about yourselves in the process. You would have developed qualities like patience and humility. Many of you would have developed a better understanding or your peers of different races and backgrounds in the process. Through organising activities and looking for new ways to help your mentees, you pick up other useful skills, in organisation and people-management, that would remain relevant when you venture out to the working world. Above all, the experience of serving others, and of making a difference to someone in need of help, would I am sure have made each of our mentors stronger and fuller individuals.

MENTORING NETWORK

8 I am pleased that the Singapore National Mentoring Network in partnership with BP has turned the concept of mentoring into a strategic, systematic and structured program. This initiative has spawned several benefits for our young people, both in terms of uplifting our students who need help as well as developing our youth-mentors to be leaders. I understand that since its inception eight years ago, the network has raised a 15,000-strong team of mentors from polytechnics, universities and junior colleges, who have helped and inspired 30,000 children and youths to aspire to greater success in life. This is a heartening trend for our society, It helps our young tertiary students grow into caring, socially responsible and proactive citizens.

9 The BP International Mentoring initiative is also a good example of how a business enterprise with a sense of social responsibility can achieve much in the people sector. I thank BP for its pioneering efforts and its contributions in steering this initiative into what it is today.

CONCLUSION

10 Finally, I am delighted to witness the official launch of five more new mentoring schemes undertaken by the National University of Singapore BP Mentor Graduates, the students of the Singapore Management University, Nanyang Polytechnic, Raffles Institution and the Riverside Secondary School Alumni.

11 Please join me in commending all the mentors for their contribution to society. My heartiest congratulations to all the well-deserving award recipients today. You have done yourself, your institution and Singapore proud.