Singapore Democrats
That’s what the SDP will be doing in the coming months. We will be approaching our schools and universities to initiate a conversation with our youth on national issues that concern them and their future. The objective is to bring politics and policy-making closer to our students, challenging them to engage in thoughtful analysis on issues facing Singapore.
By doing so, the SDP hopes to stimulate open discussion regarding the various socio-political viewpoints in the student population and to encourage our youth to think critically by providing them with alternative viewpoints.
In 2013, then Senior Minister of State for Education Ms Indranee Rajah said: “We would need to collaboratively rethink, seek and develop ways to strengthen the development of thinking in our students, in particular, creativity, or what is often referred to as ‘inventive thinking’.”
If the goal is to cultivate independent thinking among our students, exposure to alternative points of view is essential. And if the objective is to foster creative thought, injecting open-minded enquiry into the educational system is necessary.
Singapore’s continued progress into the future will have to increasingly depend on its people engaging in open discussion. For this to take place, they must be equipped with the necessary information as well as skills to strengthen enquiring minds.
In a changing world where creativity and innovation are premium assets, there is an urgent need for more, not less, open and robust discussion. Encouraging a desire for enquiry among our students is a good place to start.
The SDP will be writing to the Ministry of Education and schools with our request to conduct the talks.