MEDIA RELEASE

“Yes/ No” Youth in Relationships – A Forum

The 1st National Youth Forum focusing on issues facing Indian Youth

Singapore , 24 February 2007 – Youth matters take centrestage at a forum held at Republic Polytechnic this Saturday, 24 February 2007 . Entitled “YES/NO” Youth in Relationships, this forum addresses the Indian youth and is jointly organized by Narpani Pearavai Youth Executive Committee and Republic Polytechnic’s Indian Cultural Group.

An estimated 400 youths from polytechnics, junior colleges and secondary schools will attend this forum, the first of its kind from all over Singapore . The main objective of the forum is to provide an avenue for Indian youth to discuss issues that they face critically.

Through this initiative, the organizers aimed to create greater social awareness by changing the prevailing lack of interest towards societal issues and youth empowerment to a sense of involvement.  Feedback gathered during the forum will be shared with the Feedback Unit of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

There will be two (2) parts to the forum – a focus group discussion and a panel discussion.  Both discussions will cover topics relating to relationships among the youth.  These topics are:

-           What is a relationship?

-           How a Relationship Goes Wrong

-           Abusive / Violent Relationships

-           Pre-Marital Sex

-           Teenage Pregnancy

-           Abortion

-           Abstinence and Protection

-           Society and Families Involvement

Guest –of-Honour:     Dr Balaji Sadasivan

                                    Senior Minister of State

                                    Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts

                                    & Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Thanendran s/o Davendran (Mr.)

Chairperson, Narpani Pearavai Youth Executive Committee

Email: thanendran@rp.sg   Mobile : 9145 4375

Geetha Vivekhananthan (Ms)

Media Relations, Narpani Pearavai Youth Executive Committee

Email: psygv@nus.edu.sg   Mobile : 9489 0372

Lisa Koh (Ms)

Admin Officer, Office of Corporate Communications, Republic Polytechnic

Email: lisa_koh@rp.sg Mobile : 9694 0557

About Republic Polytechnic

The first educational institution in Singapore to adopt the Problem-Based Learning approach for all its diploma programmes, Republic Polytechnic has five schools offering twenty-three diploma courses in Information & Communications Technology, Engineering, Applied Science, Technology for the Arts, and Sports, Health & Leisure. Republic Polytechnic is committed to nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial learning in an environment that develops problem-solving process skills and a life-long learning attitude. Its holistic, broad-based curriculum, covering culture, enterprise development and cognitive processes, prepares students for an active and meaningful role in society. Republic Polytechnic strives for excellence by achieving various national and international accreditations, including People Developer Standards, ISO9001, ISO14001, OH SAS 18001 , Singapore Quality Class , Singapore Innovation Class, and the Singapore Health Awards (Gold). For more information, visit http://www.rp.sg.

About Republic Polytechnic Indian Cultural Group(RPICG)

RPICG was established to create a conducive environment for Indian students to promote, nurture and deepen their Indian cultural roots for the holistic character development of the Indian youth community.

This student body provides opportunities for Indian students to participate in various cultural, performing arts and community outreach initiatives to further enhance and contribute to our multi-cultural landscape.

About Narpani Pearavai Youth Executive Committee

Narpani Pearavai Executive Committee (NPEC) was formed in 1987 as an umbrella body to coordinate the activities of the 91 Indian Activity Executive Committees (IAEC) islandwide. The IAECs were first introduced by the People’s Association in 1977, t o facilitate increased minority representation, participation in community and grassroots activities and also to promote social cohesion and nation building.

In line with the objectives of the People’s Association, the Narpani Pearavai has also tasked itself to play a pro-active role in enhancing the awareness of socio-economic issues affecting the Singaporean Indian community today. This year, the Narpani Pearavai has decided to focus its energy on the youth of today. Most events organized will target youth members in our society.