Muhd Khalis
Developing tomorrow’s leaders of Asia
The opening day of the Young Liberals and Democrats from Asia’s (YLDA) workshop saw participation from Asian youths representing various political parties and NGOs, including several from Singapore.
The first topic of discussion was on the role and structure of an organisation’s secretariat. Workshop participants were required to brainstorm in small groups on the structure, responsibilities and characteristics of a secretariat.
Youth leaders from Nepal (Youth Initiative), Malaysia (Gerakan Party’s youth wing), and Singapore (SDP’s Young Democrats) presented their secretariats’ structures and roles within their respective organisations. Mr Teoh Tian Jing represented the Young Democrats.
Working hard in the day
From the discussions, participants were able to compare how each organization set up their organisational stuctures. It was a chance to exchange ideas and seek out best practices in as far as efficient management was concerned.
We gained valuable insight into how a secretariat is able to function responsibly and productively. Comparisons with how other youth groups organised their secretariat functions enabled the Young Democrats to get an idea of how to better organise our own set up.
…and eating hard in the evening
Following lunch, SDP’s Assistant Secretary-General John Tan made a presentation on how individuals can more effectively achieve their work objectives by sorting out their tasks based on priority and urgency.
Mr Tan also spoke on how to get one’s office space organized because a well-organised work space is much more conducive for productive and focused work.
Delegates posing with invited guests at the welcome dinner
The main objective of the day’s discussions were extremely useful for youth organizations to create a solid structure for greater and more efficient output.
I look forward to the Young Democrats putting into practice some of the things that we learned today in the hope of developing our youth wing into a formidable organisation.
Muhd Khalis is the Programme Director of the Young Democrats.