Students
Story and experiences
Students
Story and experiences
Empowering Youth Across ASEAN
Supported By Maybank Foundation and ASEAN Foundation
Empowering Youth Across ASEAN (eYAA), hosted by Maybank Foundation in collaboration with ASEAN Foundation, is a programme that aims to equip and inspire ASEAN youth as prime needle movers in contributing and advocating for sustainable development. By developing these youth, eYAA hopes to effect long-term change and create a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient ASEAN community.
In 2024, 100 youths embarked on a journey in different ASEAN countries to better understand each nation’s social and developmental challenges. Bamboo Builders was chosen to host 10 ASEAN youth leaders as the representative Civil Society Organisation (CSO) for Singapore.
AT A GLANCE
10
Participants
70
Beneficiaries Impacted
30
Hours Served
AT A GLANCE
Why Building Social Enterprises?
Learn Tried-and-Tested Social Entrepreneurship
Methodologies
Develop New ASEAN Friendships
Gain Exclusive Access to Social Entrepreneurs from ASEAN
Gain Career-Relevant Skills and Experience
What Goes On?
Programme Outline
Online Session | Hands-on Project Activity
Conducted in international classroom setting
1
Social Entrepreneurship in ASEAN
Understand how PES factors influence social enterprises differently in different countries.
2
Empathy in Social Entrepreneurship
Understand how empathy impacts the way we view both customers and the social issues we try to tackle.
3
Creative Problem Solving
Understand how to craft business ideas that solve real customer needs in ASEAN.
4
Final Presentation
Learn how others have built on similarities and exploited differences to produce innovations.
Fajris Zahrotun Nihayah
Indonesia
"I urge you to not hesitate because it is actually a very fun program! There are so many things that you could learn from this program and meet people from different countries - you get to know the insights of many social causes or many social problems around the world. So join in, it's very fun!"
Nattanich Lecksiwilai
Thailand
"This program gives me many inspirations to initiate my own social enterprise (to help with) Thai people's livelihood.
I will definitely use Design Thinking and also (my) great experience from this program to start my own social project!"
Yit Kang Yordan
Singapore
"My experience of going through the design thinking stages is going to stay with me for a long time to come. It might even colour the way I approach some of the problems that I face, the way I address or ideate problems nowadays. The process, the framework, and the learning down when it comes to thinking of solutions."
Yew Jun Huo
Malaysia
"I would say that it is meaningful, the experience, even though this exchange was quite short for me. It brings a lot of impact, for example, I got to collaborate with different people from different backgrounds and countries. From here, I got to learn from their perspective of looking at particular issues around the world."
Goh Si Xuan Kymberly
Singapore
"It was an unexpected experience because I signed up for this without much expectations with what I was going to go into or get out of this program at the end of the day. To be quite honest, initially, I thought this program was to learn about the business aspects behind social entrepreneurship. But somehow it became creating my own social entrepreneurship project with a bunch of other teammates from the other ASEAN region. So I thought that was quite interesting that I got to network with other teammates from the ASEAN region so I thought that was quite interesting. Tt was quite fun overall, to meet like-minded people who are passionate about social issues."
Our Approach
Over 2 weeks, Bamboo Builders planned an enriching and meaningful programme to broaden our participants’ horizons on the social landscape in Singapore. We zoomed in on three key focus areas: social isolation, inclusion, and environmental stewardship. These three domains were intentionally selected due to their growing relevance both in Singapore and across ASEAN.
First, social isolation– Bamboo Builders introduced our participants to the issue of elderly loneliness and isolation, a growing problem faced in Singapore due to our rapidly ageing population. In parallel, ASEAN nations are struggling to combat rural depopulation which leaves elderly behind in the countryside while the cities flourish. Our participants immersed themselves in this social issue, not by learning facts, but diving into direct engagement. With our guidance, the youths befriended elderly residents residing in rental flats and engaged them through craft activities and board games. Through this experience, they saw the often concealed side of poverty in Singapore.
Next, social inclusion– our participants were deployed to the Cerebral Palsy Association of Singapore (CPAS), where they led upskilling and training workshops for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). There, the youths equipped the PWDs with life skills such as counting money, as well as digital know-how on how to recognise and respond to scams. Over the two weeks here, our participants grew closer to CPAS’ clients and had a rare insight into the lives of PWDs. This experience sparked the question in their minds: How can we develop without leaving anyone else behind?
Finally, environmental stewardship– the students participated in two beach clean-ups, gaining a deeper appreciation for marine life and the small ways in which we can do our part for the environment. Participants also better understood the unique challenges faced in Singapore’s environmental landscape. For example, the creation of micro-plastics and the stresses caused by humans’ presence are key issues in our urban landscape. While a beach clean-up may be a small act, this activity showed the youth the impact of grassroots work, and how sometimes, the best solution may be the easiest.
About EYAA
Our Testimonials
Bore
Participant from Cambodia
It was a fulfilling experience to plan and conduct our volunteering initiatives in Singapore! Not only do I better understand social causes, I am now also a better leader and stronger collaborator.
Dayah
Participant from Brunei
I appreciated the opportunities to connect with various beneficiaries overseas. It has been amazing learning from my peers and seeing their passion to create impact. Thank you for this programme!
Madam Shamala
Beneficiary from Singapore
While volunteers have visited me before, I have never done such fun activities like what the EYAA participants prepared. I appreciate them, it was great to meet them and learn about their cultures.