Speeches
Speech by Guest-of-Honour Mr Masagos Zulkifli BMM, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Home Affairs, at the Singapore 2010 Friendship Camp Opening Ceremony on 8 December 2009 at 5.30pm at Singapore Sports School
Your Excellencies
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Bonsoir! Bienvenue à Singapour.
Good evening and welcome to Singapore.
Singapore 2010 Friendship Camp occupies a special place in the history of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Like the Asian Youth Games, it is a key milestone in Singapore’s journey to the YOG.
True to the spirit of the Youth Olympic Games, it is a camp that integrates sport, culture and education to promote the Olympic values among participants and provides them with the opportunity to make friends from all over the world.
417 local and overseas youth athletes have gathered from around the world including over 130 National Olympic Committees (NOCs). Tonight we will celebrate the rich diversity of global cultures and arts, through a night-long World Festival which features an intriguing blend of sports, arts and cuisine, and a fusion of East and West.
During the camp, our participants will get to experience a sneak preview of the Youth Olympic Games through the Culture and Education Programme. They will learn about skills development, healthy living and well-being through the Discovery Activities. The youths will have the opportunity to work together in teams at the Island Adventure and learn about the environment through the Exploration Journeys.
Participants will get to enjoy the sights and sounds of Singapore’s diversity, through a Downtown Rendezvous to some of our distinctive cultural districts. Our Community Project: Environmental Conservation offers participants opportunities to turn learning into practice and contribute back to society through conservation works in our national parks.
Through the Sports Exploration, participants will also get to try new sports such as Pencak Silat, Dragonboat and Tchouckball and learn more about elements of sports science in a fun and engaging manner.
At this juncture, I would like to extend a special welcome to our invited Champions Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell, Dexter Lee from Jamaica and Michael Klim from Australia. The next few days will see a rare opportunity for our young participants to chat with these Champions, hear their stories and be inspired by them.
As suggested by the theme song, ‘Together’, this camp will let us come together and celebrate as friends. In the spirit of Friends@YOG, local participants from the respective twinned schools will be both buddies and hosts to the NOC-participants. I encourage our young participants to foster new friendship bonds across borders grounded in true Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect, and bring home their experiences to share with their fellow athletes.
Finally, to express our warm welcome to each and every one of our National Olympic Committee friends, our Singapore students have put together an exciting line-up of performances this evening. I wish you an enjoyable evening and a meaningful learning experience during this camp.
Merci Beaucoup. Thank you.