Welcome Remarks by Ms Elim Chew, SIF Governor, at Singapore-China Appointment Ceremony of the YBA Programme

Your Excellency Ambassador Wei Wei of the People's Republic of China
Distinguished guests
Young Business Ambassadors, past and present
Friends

Good evening and welcome to the appointment ceremony for this year’s Singapore-China Young Business Ambassadors programme.

We are once again delighted and deeply honoured by the presence of the Chinese Ambassador at this evening’s event and for his gracious hospitality. At last year’s appointment ceremony, which coincided with the 20thanniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore, Ambassador Wei Wei spoke of the rapid progress in relationship-building between both countries. He has been steadfast in his support for this SIF exchange programme that seeks to enrich and strengthen the tapestry of relationships between the peoples of Singapore and China. Thank you Ambassador.

The Young Business Ambassadors or YBA programme contributes significantly to the Singapore International Foundation’s mission of bridging Singapore and world communities for a better world. As YBAs work and experience living in a foreign city, they gain new perspectives and enriching life experiences, while building professional and personal networks. Since the inception of the YBA programme in 2000, we have built an alumni network of 76 YBAs from Melbourne, Sydney, Shanghai and Singapore. At this point, I would like to congratulate the eight Singaporean and Chinese professionals who will be appointed as our Young Business Ambassadors for 2011 and wish you an enriching experience.

Dear friends,

I am pleased to share with you that in the last 12 months, the YBA programme has grown in both breadth and depth. The SIF will be launching YBA Mumbai and London in 2012. This contributes greatly towards our vision for the YBA programme of a global network of business ambassadors.

We have also harnessed the relationships forged through the programme to organise two YBA alumni engagement activities in Shanghai. These were the YBA Exchange forum on sustainable businesses in May, and the SIF Connects! Shanghai in April, where YBA alumni were invited to dialogue with Singapore and Chinese film makers on social entrepreneurship. The alumni activity in May had added significance as we appointed YBA alumnus Mr Zhou Ji of the Shanghai Electric Group as the SIF programme alumni representative in Shanghai to partner us to strengthen the Singapore-China YBA network and grow the friends of Singapore community in Shanghai.

We are embarking on the seventh run of the Singapore-China YBA programme which I am fully confident will be as successful as previous editions. This is attributed to the good cooperation and excellent partnership between SIF and the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship for Foreign Countries and the Shanghai Municipal Bureau for Foreign Experts, as well as the eight YBA partner companies and organisations. These are the OCBC Bank, DBS Bank, The Old Parliament House and the Land Transport Authority from Singapore, and the Shanghai Electric Group Finance Company, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Research Institute, and Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Institute. For the first time, all partner companies and organisations are both sending and hosting YBAs. We thank all organisations for their partnership in the YBA programme.

Our appreciation also extends to past YBA host and sending companies. Many of whom are represented here this evening. We look forward to your support and partnership in future YBA programmes, be it YBA Shanghai, Mumbai or London.

Looking ahead, the Singapore-China YBA programme is poised for further growth. Just two weeks ago, The SIF met with the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship for Foreign Countries Association to discuss YBA programme development and new areas for collaboration. It was a very fruitful meeting which resulted in a preliminary list of initiatives that included YBA Exchanges on topical issues such as social entrepreneurship, talent development and sustainable living, as well as exchanges between Singapore and Shanghai art communities.

The YBA programme is clearly a catalyst for nurturing enduring relationships between Singaporean and Chinese communities, and for bridging world communities. The SIF looks forward to your partnership in taking the YBA programme to the next level.

I wish you all an enjoyable evening ahead. Thank you!