Speech by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State, Ministry of Education, at the Educating for Health Conference VIP Dinner on Monday, 12 November 2007, 1930 hours at Vanilla POD Restaurant, Mandai Orchid Garden

SPEECH BY MR GAN KIM YONG, MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, AT THE EDUCATING FOR HEALTH CONFERENCE VIP DINNER ON MONDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2007, 1930 HOURS AT VANILLA POD RESTAURANT, MANDAI ORCHID GARDEN

Mr Teo Ser Luck
Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports

1. It is my pleasure to join you tonight at the Educating for Health Conference 2007 VIP Dinner. In particular, it is our honour to be the host and I extend a warm welcome to all of you especially our guests overseas. I am truly heartened by the spirit of collaboration that has enabled this conference to be held.

Educating For Health (EFH) Conference
2. I would like to commend the members of the Committee for Healthy and Active Children (or CHAC) and the organising committee for their efforts in successfully launching this first Health Conference for schools. This conference is timely and relevant. CHAC has strategically harnessed from across various agencies and ministries the expertise and resources related to health promotion to benefit our schools and our students.

3. The vision of CHAC is to help schools build healthy lifestyles among students and support the health promotion programmes in our school communities. This conference is a good illustration of the impact and synergy when different groups collaborate to help our students to take ownership of their own health and encourage the community to share the responsibility of promoting healthy lifestyles. It will provide the groundwork for future collaborations not just among the organisations in Singapore but also with our neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region.

4. As a biennial event, this conference will provide the platform for educators and health practitioners from the region to share their knowledge, expertise, policies and strategies, and resources they have for the promotion of Physical, Mental and Social Health for our youths.

Towards a Healthy, Rugged and Vibrant Nation
5. The youths are our future. Providing them with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes to adopt a healthy lifestyle is essential to our future.

6. Social health helps our youths to work well in teams and collaborate with others to advance the interests of the community and the nation. Mental health strengthens the resilience of mind and spirit so that our youths are adaptable, able to manage crises, and be self-directed. Coupled with physical stamina and a rugged spirit, mental and social health prepares our youths to be enterprising and willing to forge ahead to explore new possibilities. Therefore, the Conference is timely and important in engaging our youth to focus on building holistic health.

Networking Opportunities
7. Tonight’s gathering is also a great opportunity to network as we have professionals and experts from the various agencies and ministries, not just locally but also overseas. As we share ideas and our experiences, I am confident that we can learn much from each other and be inspired to break new grounds.