SPEECH BY MR CHAN SOO SEN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR EDUCATION,  AT THE SINGAPORE YOUTHS’ CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS PRIZE-PRESENTATION CEREMONY, ON FRIDAY, 10 SEPT 2004, AT 3.00 PM AT COMMUNITY HALL, MCYS BUILDING, LEVEL 17, 512 THOMSON ROAD

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen

1      Today’s event marks the culmination of National Family Week 2004 which is into its 20th year.  Over the past three months, MCYS, together with its supportive partners, held numerous activities from seminars to outdoor events to bring families together.  National Family Week activities seek to bond parents and teens together specifically through understanding each other’s thinking and perception better.  The message to all of us is that teenagers and adults are not so different after all.  Whether young or old, we face similar challenges at school or in the workplace.  

2      With two-parent working families on the rise in Singapore, parent-teen relations are under heavy stress with many teens feeling that they are often misunderstood and not listened to – and that there is no common ground and nothing to talk about.  In one of the winning essays by Priscilla Ong, she said, “Why must they always compare me with other children?  Why can’t they accept me for who I am?  Why can’t they spend time with me, listen to me and talk to me nicely?”  I am sure this sounds familiar as we may have relatives or friends facing the same situation, or even ourselves and our children. 

3      It is very sad that some parents, as described by the youths in their essays, do not understand what their children are going through.  These parents think that their primary duty is to work hard so as to be able to satisfy the children’s material needs.  They very often fail to understand that what their children need most is care and concern, and most importantly, their time. 

4      In both the Pen Awards and the “Ain’t That Different” short film competition, teens and youths used highly creative expressions to illustrate their parent-teen relationships.  It was encouraging to know that over 900 teens and young adults submitted their work in these two competitions.  Some of the essays expressed open and honest feelings of family life and some of the films were indeed gripping and others, heart-warming.  One of the winning essays by Sarah Poornima had this paragraph saying, “It was a really great feeling to be able to speak to my father once more.  Since then, we have continued our car conversations and they often cause me to remember those long ago talks we used to have.  Nowadays both my father and I share our experiences and we both offer advice and encouragement.” 

5      This is the point we adults must remember – that our teenagers can be our friends…friends that need our listening ear and at times, are even able to teach us a lesson or two when they share their perspectives on our own struggles.  This is the basic foundation for any close family bonding.  The parents are struggling with their work stress and the teens are trying hard to carve an identity for themselves.  Therefore, both parties must put in effort to understand each others’ needs.  And to do so, they need to communicate. 

6      Understandably, generation gaps are likely to continue to exist.  We had our own issues with our parents during our growing up years.  Indeed, we can say not much have changed as many teenagers today may still think their parents are “uncool” or simply do not understand them.  In one of the videos produced by a group of Nanyang Polytechnic students, they had a slogan that goes, “为着同一个目标努力，分歧的意见也没什么不同。”.  It means that so long as both of you are working towards a common goal, the differences in perspectives are not that different after all.  With this, we hope that both parents and their children can move towards a common objective despite their differences in views.

7      This collaboration between the private sector and MCYS has certainly helped to create awareness for both parents and children to understand each others’ perspectives.  So, let us move ahead to build strong families and nurture a generation of youth that will be committed to their family and community.

Thank You.