Special needs children, homeschoolers to join OBS programmes, as part of inclusiveness push: NYC chief

SINGAPORE — Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) is planning to pilot outdoor education courses for children who are physically and intellectually challenged, as well as those being homeschooled, or from orphanages and madrasahs, in the second half of 2022, and eventually make them a regular feature in its programming. 

By expanding the diversity of children who attend these outdoor education programmes to beyond students who attend schools under the Ministry of Education (MOE), the National Youth Council (NYC) — which houses OBS — hopes that this will help inculcate inclusiveness among Singaporean youth.

These programmes for non-MOE school students will run alongside OBS' usual five-day expedition course for Secondary 3 students. It has temporarily been cut short to a two-day programme due to safe distancing requirements imposed to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Speaking to TODAY earlier this month, NYC's chief executive officer David Chua said that the autonomous agency hopes to provide all youths the opportunity to participate in these programmes and interact with others from a different background and have their perspectives widened. 

The current OBS programme already mixes Sec 3 students from different schools and they are intentionally put in the same group where they have to learn to work together to overcome various outdoor challenges during the programme. 

The aim of piloting this new programme for children with special needs, homeschoolers, orphans and those studying in madrasahs is to enhance social mixing for these children.

Mr Chua said that OBS will try to mix these students along with those from MOE schools wherever possible, but added that it is logistically challenging to make that level of mixing a regular part of the programme. 

This is because OBS is also increasing the number of Sec 3 students participating in the current programme from 20,000 to 45,000 annually, and it requires resources to scale up to these numbers as well. 

The pilot programme will be held on OBS' campuses at Punggol and East Coast for now. But the future Coney Island campus, which is currently being constructed and will be ready only in 2024, is designed to be accessible to wheelchair users. 

Re-introducing outdoor education courses for youths outside MOE schools is one way NYC is looking to support youths' aspiration for inclusiveness, which was one thing they highlighted in an NYC poll in 2019 on their vision for Singapore in 2025, as part of the Youth Action Plan. 

"Inclusiveness is having a shared experience which allows for a shared identity and a shared narrative," said Mr Chua. 

While they have such aspirations, he believes that youths do want some institutions like schools and the Government to have structured ways of being inclusive, to add on to what's really happening on the ground. 

"By themselves, they can curate shared experiences. But for scaled, nationwide shared experience, you do need permission and support from institutions. And so I think we have to be more intentional about it to go in tandem with what the youths are already doing, and aspire to.

"The advantage is we (institutions) can do it at scale. And we can really put groups that have not been in touch or would otherwise not naturally be in touch with each other to come into touch." 

When asked how effective a five-day programme would be in inculcating inclusiveness among youths, Mr Chua said OBS is just a seeding point. 

"The intent has always been to re-engage and offer the young people opportunities to serve, to step up and do something in their areas of interest, their causes that they're passionate about," he said. 

And youths can pursue these interests through the various programmes that NYC runs, or work with other partners. 

"So I'll be happy if the young person is not just plugging into the school system and doing things there. But he or she is also plugged to a group within the neighborhood, or into the grassroots and doing something meaningful. If they're not interested at the grassroots or neighbourhood level, we can also plug in at the national level with the Youth Corps," he added.

SOMERSET BELT 

Besides incorporating inclusiveness into its programmes, Mr Chua also said NYC is also seeking youths' input on what can be done to refresh the Somerset precinct in a way that resonates with them. 

It is part of a wider multi-agency plan to rejuvenate the iconic Orchard Road shopping belt. 

While some of the plans for the Somerset Belt are still under the discussion, Mr Chua revealed that *Scape, a non-profit organisation supporting youth development, is working with food services firm X-Inc to provide youths with an inclusive platform to test new business ideas at the area. 

Mr Chua said there are no limits to the type of products that can be showcased at this space. 

"We try to support young people who have ideas, who are in the early stage phase but need an opportunity and leg-up to test it with the market," he added. 

NYC will work with X-inc to curate the products to showcase and also provide youths mentorship and industry attachment opportunities to help them pursue their interests and aspirations.

PARTNERING WITH YOUTHS

In addition to the Somerset Belt, Mr Chua said NYC is looking to set up more partnerships with youths in the coming year to realise more of their vision for Singapore in 2025. 

Besides inclusiveness, job security, mental well-being and sustainability were also other important aspects youths highlighted. 

“We do really want to give more empowerment to young people. We don't just want to hear their voices,” said Mr Chua. 

He brought some examples of how this has already been done. 

Some panel members in the Youth Action Plan have helped the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices change their guidelines, such that companies are advised not to ask job applicants to declare their personal information such as their mental health conditions. 

“So these are glimpses of what it means now to partner young people to shape regulations, as well as policies that will define the Singapore they want to see,” said Mr Chua.