In conjunction with the United Nation’s Universal Children’s Day on Nov 20th (Sat), Singapore will hold its first children’s social exposition at the Raffles Girl’s Campus at 10:30am.
Dubbed the “Social Change By Children”, this exposition is organized by a group of Singapore-based volunteers who go by the same name. The group, Social Change By Children (SoCh) aims to nurture the role of children in bringing about meaningful social change.
“SoCh unequivocally believes in children and is committed to empowering them. Being young is a strength; not a weakness,” says Madhu Verma, head of the SoCh organizing committee. She adds that young minds spark bright, spontaneous ideas for social change and SoCh would like to encourage them to celebrate that ability and nurture it.
The SoCh expo is open to all free of charge. Visitors to the expo will get to see this year’s Design for Change entries and a collection of creative social projects by Singapore school children. They can also immerse themselves in various interactive workshops and hands-on activities happening on the sidelines.
SoCh is an extension arm of the Singapore chapter of the Design for Change Contest, an international program reaching out to 50,000 schools in 25 countries.
“Design for Change is an innovative and exciting competition for 9 – 14 year-olds that was launched this year in Singapore. SoCh basically builds on the vision of Design for Change by providing a creative and inspiring platform for children to interact and share their ideas for social change programmes, and for adults from all walks of life to learn about the children’s efforts,” says Ms Verma.
Here’s what the kids have to do to submit their entries to the contest:
1.) Feel the change – You have to express your own views about what bothers you in your community.
2.) Imagine the change – Think about how you can create this change and plan how and when you will make this act of change happen.
3.) Do the change – Gather the resources that you will need and make the change happen. Record what you do, the impact it had and how it made you feel.
4.) Share the change – Document YOUR STORY and upload your video to You Tube and send the documentation to “Design for Change”
5.) Sustain the change – Reflect on your act of change and think about how you can build on what you have achieved.
For more information on SoCh and its expo, visit https://soch.asia.