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The Halo Circle: National Day Singapore 2024 – How can You(ths) Feel Less Alone?

08 Aug 2024

08 August 2024

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The Halo Circle: National Day Singapore 2024 – How can You(ths) Feel Less Alone?

Halogen Youth: National Day Singapore 2024

The Halo Circle - a space where Halogen's team share their collective insights and thoughts on key happenings around the globe. Here, you'll get an exclusive behind the scenes look at reflections from our journey, and decisions that help shape our organisation, bringing us full circle to where we are now and beyond.

Today's circle insight is by Ivy Tse, Chief Executive Officer here at Halogen - where she writes with notes of joy and celebration for our Nation's 59th Birthday, while delving deeper into the official National Day song this year, "Not Alone," by Benjamin Kheng. Loneliness and feelings of disconnect are increasing amongst young people, and here, Ivy highlights ways we can help the youths around us, or even ourselves, navigate these feelings of isolation.

Ivy Tse
Chief Executive Officer, Halogen (Singapore)

It’s that time of the year, where everyone is gearing up to celebrate the Nation’s birthday. Perhaps you managed to snag coveted seats to watch the National Day Parade (NDP) at the Padang, plan to put on your reds and whites to swing by the heartlands, or even just spending the day at the comfort of home and tuning in to the celebrations on television, we'll all feel some sense of pride for Singapore on this day.

For me? It's humming along to the all too familiar National Day Songs that I grew up listening too, and having a meal at my go-to fast food featuring their August specials. This year’s official National Day theme song, “Not Alone”, by local singer and songwriter Benjamin Kheng, has us feeling the warm and fuzzy vibes of both nostalgia and hope.

The themes about looking to one other as a community and journeying the distance as a collective, resonates with a lot of what we do here at Halogen, as we work with young people to help them uncover their inner potential to lead themselves, lead others and lead change.

Research has shown sobering trends that youths of today feel increasingly alone or disconnected from the world, and even find it harder and harder to communicate in person (Lau, 2024). Even as technology gives us many platforms for humans to connect and engage, even as we have ample opportunities in Singapore to physically gather and have unifying experiences (like that of celebrating NDP) that bring us out of momentary solitude, the threat of a "social isolation epidemic" is still imminent before us.

There's no real magic way to escaping isolation, other than putting in the intentional effort to learn to slow down, be present, lean in and make effort to stay connected. Here are some ideas to get the work started, so that you can support the youths around us, or even ourselves, navigate feelings of isolation:

Make pockets of quality time count

Young people are facing increasing levels of anxiety, stress, fear and anger in their lives. Managing these feelings can be difficult for us all, and studies have found correlation of these negative feelings with that of social isolation. Spending quality time with people you love - whether family or friends - results in a lower sense of loneliness. Spending time with one another can vary from the most simple activities - cooking and having meals together, watching a movie, reading books side by side, or taking leisurely walks around the neighbourhood. What makes a real difference while doing these activities together, is putting aside anything else going on in your mind, and just being completely present in the moment.

Tip: Craving for a bubble tea fix? Instead of reaching for your delivery app, invite someone to join you and head to the nearby bubble tea shop on foot. A walk there makes for great conversations, and it's a quick detour that you can easily fit into your day.

Build off-screen routines

Despite having connections at our fingertips and endless amounts of dopamine-boosting entertainment, Gen Zs are reported to have the least positive life outlook, coupled with lower levels of emotional and social well-being compared to older generations. The digital enablement brings lots of access and convenience, but has also eroded our ability to be human over time. To avoid having the screen take over my life, I try to build off-screen routines in my personal schedule. Making an effort to reach out to a close friend and meeting up in person, instead of chatting online, is a great start. While commuting, instead of resorting to our default habit of constantly looking at our phones (everyone’s guilty of this!), take 5 - 10 minutes of simply resting your eyes or looking out the windows at the greenery, the buildings.

Tip: Make your gadgets work for you. Schedule downtime away from the screen and set alarms or time limits on apps that you frequently use. Plan non screen activities like leafing through a magazine, go window shopping or whip out some pen and paper to doodle, and build your ability to focus on something that is not screen driven. You may find yourself being more present, not needing social media as much, and learn to use it as a supplement to your daily life instead.

Meet people from diverse walks when you volunteer with us!

Boost your soft skills through volunteering

After the pandemic, there was a surge in unemployment rates, raising concerns and anxiety among young people in regards to job attainment and security. Research shows that volunteering plays a huge role in building leadership skills, including socio-emotional skills and cultural awareness and are considered as “must-haves” for successful leaders, making you a more attractive job candidate (Woo & Hartung, 2019).

Living in a bustling city state, our day to day goes by quickly with school, internships, work, and well, everything else. Volunteering might come across as an additional commitment we may be able to squeeze somewhere in between. But what if we started integrating volunteering engagements as hobbies into our daily routines? Hobbies that help nurture our soft skills? Giving back to our community and people around us, benefits us more than we think. Now is as good a time as any, to make it a natural part of our lifestyles.

Tip: Start small, and don’t overcommit. Even an hour or a day of volunteering on your weekends or after work/school hours, can make a genuine difference. *Secret hack: Halogen offers a great volunteer programme with our Halogen+ community, with different types of cool, flexible opportunities for you to choose from.

Make your gadgets work

Get sufficient sleep (or more)

It’s no secret that us Singaporeans are not getting enough sleep. A study of residents’ sleeping habits across 43 cities showed that Singapore was the third most sleep-deprived city (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, 2023). On average, teenagers require eight to ten hours of sleep per day, while adults require seven to nine hours. Getting sufficient sleep is essential to our general health, impacting both our physical and mental well-being. It affects our daily mood, the way we go about our routines, and even how we socialise or communicate with people around us.

Tip: For a week, try sleeping half an hour earlier than your usual bedtime, just to see the difference it can make. Make small changes to adjust your sleep routine and body clock, so that you don’t procrastinate, or find it a hassle to adjust.

We even have curated playlists for trainings

Refresh your playlist!

We all love a good, sad tune when our mood calls for it. In fact, listening to music can help improve our sleep quality, mental alertness, mood, it can even reduce pain in our bodies. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Sad music, however, has both positive and negative effects on us. Positive effects include feelings of peacefulness, nostalgia, empathy and wonder (Bogt, 2019). Sad music can help the listener release pent-up emotions, but depending on the listener, it could prolong a state of rumination, where the mind replays and revisits emotional situations, resulting in the listener feeling even sadder afterwards (Garrido, 2018).

Tip: Audit and customise your own playlists! I build my personal playlists for happy days, emo days, exercise days, thinking days, and random days... and more. My favourite cantopop is reserved for days where I need to let out some frustration in my day. You can most certainly listen to sad songs, just pay attention to your mood and pick the tunes that can help you feel better after. 🙂

--

Why is it important for young people around us to navigate these feelings of disconnect or loneliness? Last year, Halogen did a study (Navigating A Volatile World – Preparing Our Youth For The Future) to identify the different challenges young people are facing in our world, how they feel about said challenges, and what key attributes they need, in order for them to lead themselves, lead others, and lead change with creativity, idealism and resilience. A big part of young people realising their self-worth and abilities, is for them to have clarity about their beliefs and values, which leads to the development of stronger self management and interpersonal skills.

At Halogen, we are committed to helping young people grow and flourish in their communities, because we know it will lead to a better future, better world, and definitely a much less lonely one. Join us in making a real difference, and contribute your time, skills, or resources to help empower our youths of today, and tomorrow.

--

References:

more

The Halo Circle: National Day Singapore 2024 – How can You(ths) Feel Less Alone?

The Halo Circle - a space where Halogen's team share their collective insights and thoughts on key happenings around the globe. Here, you'll get an exclusive behind the scenes look at reflections from our journey, and decisions that help shape our organisation, bringing us full circle to where we are now and beyond.

Today's circle insight is by Ivy Tse, Chief Executive Officer here at Halogen - where she writes with notes of joy and celebration for our Nation's 59th Birthday, while delving deeper into the official National Day song this year, "Not Alone," by Benjamin Kheng. Loneliness and feelings of disconnect are increasing amongst young people, and here, Ivy highlights ways we can help the youths around us, or even ourselves, navigate these feelings of isolation.

Ivy Tse
Chief Executive Officer, Halogen (Singapore)

It’s that time of the year, where everyone is gearing up to celebrate the Nation’s birthday. Perhaps you managed to snag coveted seats to watch the National Day Parade (NDP) at the Padang, plan to put on your reds and whites to swing by the heartlands, or even just spending the day at the comfort of home and tuning in to the celebrations on television, we'll all feel some sense of pride for Singapore on this day.

For me? It's humming along to the all too familiar National Day Songs that I grew up listening too, and having a meal at my go-to fast food featuring their August specials. This year’s official National Day theme song, “Not Alone”, by local singer and songwriter Benjamin Kheng, has us feeling the warm and fuzzy vibes of both nostalgia and hope.

The themes about looking to one other as a community and journeying the distance as a collective, resonates with a lot of what we do here at Halogen, as we work with young people to help them uncover their inner potential to lead themselves, lead others and lead change.

Research has shown sobering trends that youths of today feel increasingly alone or disconnected from the world, and even find it harder and harder to communicate in person (Lau, 2024). Even as technology gives us many platforms for humans to connect and engage, even as we have ample opportunities in Singapore to physically gather and have unifying experiences (like that of celebrating NDP) that bring us out of momentary solitude, the threat of a "social isolation epidemic" is still imminent before us.

There's no real magic way to escaping isolation, other than putting in the intentional effort to learn to slow down, be present, lean in and make effort to stay connected. Here are some ideas to get the work started, so that you can support the youths around us, or even ourselves, navigate feelings of isolation:

Make pockets of quality time count

Young people are facing increasing levels of anxiety, stress, fear and anger in their lives. Managing these feelings can be difficult for us all, and studies have found correlation of these negative feelings with that of social isolation. Spending quality time with people you love - whether family or friends - results in a lower sense of loneliness. Spending time with one another can vary from the most simple activities - cooking and having meals together, watching a movie, reading books side by side, or taking leisurely walks around the neighbourhood. What makes a real difference while doing these activities together, is putting aside anything else going on in your mind, and just being completely present in the moment.

Tip: Craving for a bubble tea fix? Instead of reaching for your delivery app, invite someone to join you and head to the nearby bubble tea shop on foot. A walk there makes for great conversations, and it's a quick detour that you can easily fit into your day.

Build off-screen routines

Despite having connections at our fingertips and endless amounts of dopamine-boosting entertainment, Gen Zs are reported to have the least positive life outlook, coupled with lower levels of emotional and social well-being compared to older generations. The digital enablement brings lots of access and convenience, but has also eroded our ability to be human over time. To avoid having the screen take over my life, I try to build off-screen routines in my personal schedule. Making an effort to reach out to a close friend and meeting up in person, instead of chatting online, is a great start. While commuting, instead of resorting to our default habit of constantly looking at our phones (everyone’s guilty of this!), take 5 - 10 minutes of simply resting your eyes or looking out the windows at the greenery, the buildings.

Tip: Make your gadgets work for you. Schedule downtime away from the screen and set alarms or time limits on apps that you frequently use. Plan non screen activities like leafing through a magazine, go window shopping or whip out some pen and paper to doodle, and build your ability to focus on something that is not screen driven. You may find yourself being more present, not needing social media as much, and learn to use it as a supplement to your daily life instead.

Meet people from diverse walks when you volunteer with us!

Boost your soft skills through volunteering

After the pandemic, there was a surge in unemployment rates, raising concerns and anxiety among young people in regards to job attainment and security. Research shows that volunteering plays a huge role in building leadership skills, including socio-emotional skills and cultural awareness and are considered as “must-haves” for successful leaders, making you a more attractive job candidate (Woo & Hartung, 2019).

Living in a bustling city state, our day to day goes by quickly with school, internships, work, and well, everything else. Volunteering might come across as an additional commitment we may be able to squeeze somewhere in between. But what if we started integrating volunteering engagements as hobbies into our daily routines? Hobbies that help nurture our soft skills? Giving back to our community and people around us, benefits us more than we think. Now is as good a time as any, to make it a natural part of our lifestyles.

Tip: Start small, and don’t overcommit. Even an hour or a day of volunteering on your weekends or after work/school hours, can make a genuine difference. *Secret hack: Halogen offers a great volunteer programme with our Halogen+ community, with different types of cool, flexible opportunities for you to choose from.

Make your gadgets work

Get sufficient sleep (or more)

It’s no secret that us Singaporeans are not getting enough sleep. A study of residents’ sleeping habits across 43 cities showed that Singapore was the third most sleep-deprived city (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, 2023). On average, teenagers require eight to ten hours of sleep per day, while adults require seven to nine hours. Getting sufficient sleep is essential to our general health, impacting both our physical and mental well-being. It affects our daily mood, the way we go about our routines, and even how we socialise or communicate with people around us.

Tip: For a week, try sleeping half an hour earlier than your usual bedtime, just to see the difference it can make. Make small changes to adjust your sleep routine and body clock, so that you don’t procrastinate, or find it a hassle to adjust.

We even have curated playlists for trainings

Refresh your playlist!

We all love a good, sad tune when our mood calls for it. In fact, listening to music can help improve our sleep quality, mental alertness, mood, it can even reduce pain in our bodies. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Sad music, however, has both positive and negative effects on us. Positive effects include feelings of peacefulness, nostalgia, empathy and wonder (Bogt, 2019). Sad music can help the listener release pent-up emotions, but depending on the listener, it could prolong a state of rumination, where the mind replays and revisits emotional situations, resulting in the listener feeling even sadder afterwards (Garrido, 2018).

Tip: Audit and customise your own playlists! I build my personal playlists for happy days, emo days, exercise days, thinking days, and random days... and more. My favourite cantopop is reserved for days where I need to let out some frustration in my day. You can most certainly listen to sad songs, just pay attention to your mood and pick the tunes that can help you feel better after. 🙂

--

Why is it important for young people around us to navigate these feelings of disconnect or loneliness? Last year, Halogen did a study (Navigating A Volatile World – Preparing Our Youth For The Future) to identify the different challenges young people are facing in our world, how they feel about said challenges, and what key attributes they need, in order for them to lead themselves, lead others, and lead change with creativity, idealism and resilience. A big part of young people realising their self-worth and abilities, is for them to have clarity about their beliefs and values, which leads to the development of stronger self management and interpersonal skills.

At Halogen, we are committed to helping young people grow and flourish in their communities, because we know it will lead to a better future, better world, and definitely a much less lonely one. Join us in making a real difference, and contribute your time, skills, or resources to help empower our youths of today, and tomorrow.

--

References:

Realising A World Made Better

03 Jan 2024

03 January 2024

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Realising A World Made Better

Halogen’s vision is to realise a world made better by future-ready young people, who step up and catalyse change in their communities.

And that is why we create opportunities for young people to understand that they have influence that matters, and they can make a difference.

more

Realising A World Made Better

Halogen’s vision is to realise a world made better by future-ready young people, who step up and catalyse change in their communities.

And that is why we create opportunities for young people to understand that they have influence that matters, and they can make a difference.

[20th Anniversary Series] When I Grow Up

11 Jul 2024

22 August 2023

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[20th Anniversary Series] When I Grow Up

Who do you want to be when you grow up?

We asked our youths about their aspirations for the future, the communities that have shaped their journeys and growth, and the support that has led them to where they are today.

more

[20th Anniversary Series] When I Grow Up

Who do you want to be when you grow up?

We asked our youths about their aspirations for the future, the communities that have shaped their journeys and growth, and the support that has led them to where they are today.

Meet: Rachel Poon

17 Aug 2023

17 August 2023

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more

Meet: Rachel Poon

Rachel Poon Halogen
more

Meet: Rachel Poon

Meet: Alexandra Tan

29 Jul 2024

17 August 2023

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more

Meet: Alexandra Tan

Having first encountered Halogen through the National Young Women Leaders’ Day (NYWLD) 2009, Alexandra Tan was inspired to effect change by being a part of NYWLD 2011, where she supported the organising team in helping the event run smoothly.

Hi, I’m Alexandra! I got to know about Halogen as a participant at National Young Women Leaders’ Day (NYWLD) 2009, and remember being blown away by the inspirational speakers. I felt very lucky that Halogen and these speakers believed strongly enough in empowering young leaders to come together for the day’s event to share their stories with us.

What was one of the highlights of your NYWLD experience?

A highlight was getting the chance to shadow the organising team at National Young Women Leaders’ Day 2011. I was tasked to support the backstage crew to ensure that the programme ran smoothly and on schedule. It was my first time working with “adults” outside of a school setting. It was an empowering experience getting to work with adults who welcomed us into the team, and being entrusted with small tasks to keep the programme moving.

How did NYWLD transform your perspective on women in leadership, and how have you carried that into your life today?

The kindness of the 2011 National Young Women Leaders’ Day organising team left a lasting impression on me. It showed me that the warmth and patience of a leader can go a long way in inspiring others to be confident, valued and motivated. I appreciated that especially as a young student, and it is something I try to emulate in and out of work, especially when I meet people younger than I am.

more

Meet: Alexandra Tan

Having first encountered Halogen through the National Young Women Leaders’ Day (NYWLD) 2009, Alexandra Tan was inspired to effect change by being a part of NYWLD 2011, where she supported the organising team in helping the event run smoothly.

Hi, I’m Alexandra! I got to know about Halogen as a participant at National Young Women Leaders’ Day (NYWLD) 2009, and remember being blown away by the inspirational speakers. I felt very lucky that Halogen and these speakers believed strongly enough in empowering young leaders to come together for the day’s event to share their stories with us.

What was one of the highlights of your NYWLD experience?

A highlight was getting the chance to shadow the organising team at National Young Women Leaders’ Day 2011. I was tasked to support the backstage crew to ensure that the programme ran smoothly and on schedule. It was my first time working with “adults” outside of a school setting. It was an empowering experience getting to work with adults who welcomed us into the team, and being entrusted with small tasks to keep the programme moving.

How did NYWLD transform your perspective on women in leadership, and how have you carried that into your life today?

The kindness of the 2011 National Young Women Leaders’ Day organising team left a lasting impression on me. It showed me that the warmth and patience of a leader can go a long way in inspiring others to be confident, valued and motivated. I appreciated that especially as a young student, and it is something I try to emulate in and out of work, especially when I meet people younger than I am.

Meet: Nazra Zafar

29 Jul 2024

17 August 2023

more
more

Meet: Nazra Zafar

Nazra Zafar was a finalist from the National Young Leader Award (NYLA) 2021, an experience that inspired her to join Halogen as an intern. Her time with Halogen inspired her to enter the youth advocacy space to effect change in the lives of youth, and shaped her outlook on empathy and leadership.

Hi, I’m Nazra! I first interacted with Halogen through NYLA 2021, having been one of its five winners. I found Halogen’s mission very powerful, as a lot of my work consisted of reaching out to and impacting youth directly, a direction that I saw echoed in Halogen’s ethos. With this in mind, I immediately jumped at the offer to intern with Halogen, through which I saw some of my most impactful experiences, made some of the best friends, and worked on projects I never thought I had the capacity to spearhead. Today, I harness the learnings of these lived experiences in the impact work I continue to do, as well as through my leadership roles.

I’m currently a pre-medical student in Chicago, and I’m constantly learning to lead in different communities. Outside of academia, some of the projects I’ve embarked on include serving on the board of a leading Chicago youth leadership programme, Chicago200, and setting up initiatives to help my fellow university mates excel in school through better career and financial literacy. A lot of my work still advocates inspiring and improving the lives of youth — a core purpose that Halogen has ingrained in me.

What was one of the highlights of your NYLA experience?

As part of the lead-up to the finals, we were invited to speak in a panel with Mrs. Cherie Tseng, the Chief Operating Officer of Secur Solutions Group, to engage in what I initially thought was a casual conversation on our thoughts on leadership. I left the filming set with more than a conversation; what happened seemed like articulated introspection for me, because I finally got to share my purpose that drives me – why I do what I do – with my community, and discover what impact looked like from the lens of my beneficiaries. That panel discussion alone served as affirmation for me to continue speaking up for causes that matter, until today.

What were some of the key messages you took away from your NYLA experience and how have you carried that into your life today?

The word ‘thank you’ is a moving yet underused term today. Something I learned from NYLA is to never stop saying thank you: firstly, to appreciate yourself for your hard work, and secondly, to appreciate all the people that have in some way contributed to your growth and accomplishment. I take lots of risks in leadership, and I recognise that not every venture I take on today goes according to plan. But my ability to appreciate the people, events, and circumstances that have led me here has allowed me to see the good even in hard times, and motivate myself.

I learnt from the shared stories of my NYLA finalists that empathy is a superpower, and that every leadership, growing, learning, and teaching experience should come from a place of empathy. With empathy comes passion, purpose, and alignment, and that is how projects should be started.

Yet another lesson I gained was that NYLA wasn’t about competition; it was about collaboration. There is no point in leaders who align in purpose to one-up each other simply in the name of achieving accolades, and I saw that in how my fellow finalists were in some way keen to collaborate or learn about each others’ passion projects.

What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt from your journey with Halogen and how has it inspired you to be a part of the youth development ecosystem?

Never underestimate yourself and your voice, because you seem ‘young’ and therefore ‘inexperienced’ by face value. The trust the staff had in me to take on big projects and events is testament to the fact that my time in Halogen was the perfect time to apply and stretch all the skills I learnt, with my most significant leadership role being the founder of a non-profit initiative. Today, I sit in meeting rooms with much older people that hold fancy titles and positions of power as the youngest person in the room, but I choose to hold that lesson close to my heart and speak up the way I should.

I also love being a trainer with Halogen because I value mentorship, and I see impact made directly from our beneficiaries: through the content I deliver as a trainer, in the heart-to-heart conversations my youth have with me, and the stories and pep talks I share to somewhat help them find their way through the complexity that is teenagehood and self-discovery. Being a youth myself makes it easier for those I work with to see importance in the things I teach them, and I appreciate all the moments in which I see them embracing their personal development.

more

Meet: Nazra Zafar

Nazra Zafar was a finalist from the National Young Leader Award (NYLA) 2021, an experience that inspired her to join Halogen as an intern. Her time with Halogen inspired her to enter the youth advocacy space to effect change in the lives of youth, and shaped her outlook on empathy and leadership.

Hi, I’m Nazra! I first interacted with Halogen through NYLA 2021, having been one of its five winners. I found Halogen’s mission very powerful, as a lot of my work consisted of reaching out to and impacting youth directly, a direction that I saw echoed in Halogen’s ethos. With this in mind, I immediately jumped at the offer to intern with Halogen, through which I saw some of my most impactful experiences, made some of the best friends, and worked on projects I never thought I had the capacity to spearhead. Today, I harness the learnings of these lived experiences in the impact work I continue to do, as well as through my leadership roles.

I’m currently a pre-medical student in Chicago, and I’m constantly learning to lead in different communities. Outside of academia, some of the projects I’ve embarked on include serving on the board of a leading Chicago youth leadership programme, Chicago200, and setting up initiatives to help my fellow university mates excel in school through better career and financial literacy. A lot of my work still advocates inspiring and improving the lives of youth — a core purpose that Halogen has ingrained in me.

What was one of the highlights of your NYLA experience?

As part of the lead-up to the finals, we were invited to speak in a panel with Mrs. Cherie Tseng, the Chief Operating Officer of Secur Solutions Group, to engage in what I initially thought was a casual conversation on our thoughts on leadership. I left the filming set with more than a conversation; what happened seemed like articulated introspection for me, because I finally got to share my purpose that drives me – why I do what I do – with my community, and discover what impact looked like from the lens of my beneficiaries. That panel discussion alone served as affirmation for me to continue speaking up for causes that matter, until today.

What were some of the key messages you took away from your NYLA experience and how have you carried that into your life today?

The word ‘thank you’ is a moving yet underused term today. Something I learned from NYLA is to never stop saying thank you: firstly, to appreciate yourself for your hard work, and secondly, to appreciate all the people that have in some way contributed to your growth and accomplishment. I take lots of risks in leadership, and I recognise that not every venture I take on today goes according to plan. But my ability to appreciate the people, events, and circumstances that have led me here has allowed me to see the good even in hard times, and motivate myself.

I learnt from the shared stories of my NYLA finalists that empathy is a superpower, and that every leadership, growing, learning, and teaching experience should come from a place of empathy. With empathy comes passion, purpose, and alignment, and that is how projects should be started.

Yet another lesson I gained was that NYLA wasn’t about competition; it was about collaboration. There is no point in leaders who align in purpose to one-up each other simply in the name of achieving accolades, and I saw that in how my fellow finalists were in some way keen to collaborate or learn about each others’ passion projects.

What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt from your journey with Halogen and how has it inspired you to be a part of the youth development ecosystem?

Never underestimate yourself and your voice, because you seem ‘young’ and therefore ‘inexperienced’ by face value. The trust the staff had in me to take on big projects and events is testament to the fact that my time in Halogen was the perfect time to apply and stretch all the skills I learnt, with my most significant leadership role being the founder of a non-profit initiative. Today, I sit in meeting rooms with much older people that hold fancy titles and positions of power as the youngest person in the room, but I choose to hold that lesson close to my heart and speak up the way I should.

I also love being a trainer with Halogen because I value mentorship, and I see impact made directly from our beneficiaries: through the content I deliver as a trainer, in the heart-to-heart conversations my youth have with me, and the stories and pep talks I share to somewhat help them find their way through the complexity that is teenagehood and self-discovery. Being a youth myself makes it easier for those I work with to see importance in the things I teach them, and I appreciate all the moments in which I see them embracing their personal development.

Meet: Xavier Tan

29 Jul 2024

17 August 2023

more
more

Meet: Xavier Tan

Xavier Tan was an alumnus of the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) programme in 2015, and a youth volunteer with Halogen. His encounter with NFTE sowed the seeds for his entrepreneurship journey, inspiring him to kickstart his own venture.

Hi, I’m Xavier! I’m a 25-year-old entrepreneur currently running a Fashion Graduate Programme Company and Advertising Firm in London! My first encounter with Halogen was back in 2015 where I was a student of the NFTE Programme, and subsequently went to New York City for the NFTE Global Showcase in New York. In 2016, I became a youth volunteer with Halogen, during which I helped to run the NFTE programme up till 2017. Since then we have also run various collaborations to raise funds for the organisation such as the Invenio Totebag Project and You.th Campaign.

Tell us about the highlight of your NFTE journey!

The highlight of my NFTE experience will be the 10 day BizCamp [Business Camp] that I went through with Halogen. When I first joined the programme, I was a lost 15-year-old with no direction or aim toward anything in my life.

The NFTE programme proved to be a turning point in my life. Through the series of opportunities I underwent during the programme, such as the chance to visit corporate offices, build business plans and train my presentation skills, I found the motivation to achieve more in my life. On top of that, the NFTE Showcase in New York was an eye-opening experience for me, where we got to witness so much more talent across the globe that underwent the NFTE programme too.

How has your perspective changed since?

Before entering the NFTE programme, my concept of entrepreneurship was predominantly focused on the financial aspects of running a business, and was monetary driven. While that remains a key part of running a business, through the NFTE programme, I discovered that entrepreneurship is beyond just monetary value, but more about how we can improve or help a certain aspect of other people’s lives. Through this value that has been instilled in me during NFTE, we are more intentional with our decision making in the company that helps us to create more impactful moments for the people that we are helping.

What was one of the most impactful lessons you’ve learnt from your NFTE journey? How did this change the way you lead your life in the present?

One of the most impactful lessons I have learned through my NFTE journey would be the “perspective of seeing your self-worth”. Throughout my journey in NFTE, there have always been a lot of uplifting moments, from trainers that believe in you, to corporate partners who advise you and cheer you on, and judges who encourage you. The activities I encountered during the NFTE programme are heavily focused on self-development, which I appreciated deeply. After the programme, I discovered a brand-new perspective of myself which has helped me to gain confidence, and continues to spur me to carry on whenever I feel inadequate or demotivated.

What were some of your most memorable moments with Halogen and how has it shaped your approach to life?

The most memorable moments I’ve had with Halogen was coming back to join the team as a facilitator for the NFTE programme. It was one of the most life-changing experiences I’ve been through. I remember being excited to wake up everyday, and head to the school that we are training at, together with a group of Halogen trainers who share the same goals and vision for the youths that we are teaching. Seeing the students’ growth during the programme was one of the most satisfying experiences I have ever encountered, and the adrenaline that allowed us to push through two months of back-to-back training with five different schools was truly amazing!

Being with Halogen over the past eight years has definitely impressed upon me the spirit of “never try, never know”. My experiences with Halogen have instilled in me the importance of always trying first, before jumping to conclusions. This mindset has opened many doors of opportunity for me, and enabled me to adopt a different approach to life.


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Meet: Xavier Tan

Xavier Tan was an alumnus of the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) programme in 2015, and a youth volunteer with Halogen. His encounter with NFTE sowed the seeds for his entrepreneurship journey, inspiring him to kickstart his own venture.

Hi, I’m Xavier! I’m a 25-year-old entrepreneur currently running a Fashion Graduate Programme Company and Advertising Firm in London! My first encounter with Halogen was back in 2015 where I was a student of the NFTE Programme, and subsequently went to New York City for the NFTE Global Showcase in New York. In 2016, I became a youth volunteer with Halogen, during which I helped to run the NFTE programme up till 2017. Since then we have also run various collaborations to raise funds for the organisation such as the Invenio Totebag Project and You.th Campaign.

Tell us about the highlight of your NFTE journey!

The highlight of my NFTE experience will be the 10 day BizCamp [Business Camp] that I went through with Halogen. When I first joined the programme, I was a lost 15-year-old with no direction or aim toward anything in my life.

The NFTE programme proved to be a turning point in my life. Through the series of opportunities I underwent during the programme, such as the chance to visit corporate offices, build business plans and train my presentation skills, I found the motivation to achieve more in my life. On top of that, the NFTE Showcase in New York was an eye-opening experience for me, where we got to witness so much more talent across the globe that underwent the NFTE programme too.

How has your perspective changed since?

Before entering the NFTE programme, my concept of entrepreneurship was predominantly focused on the financial aspects of running a business, and was monetary driven. While that remains a key part of running a business, through the NFTE programme, I discovered that entrepreneurship is beyond just monetary value, but more about how we can improve or help a certain aspect of other people’s lives. Through this value that has been instilled in me during NFTE, we are more intentional with our decision making in the company that helps us to create more impactful moments for the people that we are helping.

What was one of the most impactful lessons you’ve learnt from your NFTE journey? How did this change the way you lead your life in the present?

One of the most impactful lessons I have learned through my NFTE journey would be the “perspective of seeing your self-worth”. Throughout my journey in NFTE, there have always been a lot of uplifting moments, from trainers that believe in you, to corporate partners who advise you and cheer you on, and judges who encourage you. The activities I encountered during the NFTE programme are heavily focused on self-development, which I appreciated deeply. After the programme, I discovered a brand-new perspective of myself which has helped me to gain confidence, and continues to spur me to carry on whenever I feel inadequate or demotivated.

What were some of your most memorable moments with Halogen and how has it shaped your approach to life?

The most memorable moments I’ve had with Halogen was coming back to join the team as a facilitator for the NFTE programme. It was one of the most life-changing experiences I’ve been through. I remember being excited to wake up everyday, and head to the school that we are training at, together with a group of Halogen trainers who share the same goals and vision for the youths that we are teaching. Seeing the students’ growth during the programme was one of the most satisfying experiences I have ever encountered, and the adrenaline that allowed us to push through two months of back-to-back training with five different schools was truly amazing!

Being with Halogen over the past eight years has definitely impressed upon me the spirit of “never try, never know”. My experiences with Halogen have instilled in me the importance of always trying first, before jumping to conclusions. This mindset has opened many doors of opportunity for me, and enabled me to adopt a different approach to life.


Meet: Ella Sun

29 Jul 2024

17 August 2023

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more

Meet: Ella Sun

Driven by a passion to inspire youths, Ella Sun’s first brush with Halogen was in 2008 at National Young Leaders’ Day (NYLD). The conference marked a key turning point for her, redefining her perspective on the challenges she faced, and inspiring her to make a mark through a career in the non-profit sector. She subsequently joined Halogen as an intern, where she relished the opportunity to effect change through her work with events such as NYLD and Halogen Charity Golf.

Hi, I’m Ella! My story with Halogen started as an attendee of National Young Leaders Day (NYLD) 2008. The event inspired me to reframe how I was thinking about challenges I was facing as a youth, prompted my interest in the self-help space, as well as inspired me to explore careers in the non-profit sector.

As I wanted to be a part of inspiring youths to discover new perspectives, I applied for an internship at Halogen in 2015 and became an Academy and Events Intern. During my three-month internship, I had the privilege of supporting the execution of key events such as NYLD by managing ushers, and our Charity Golf event. In 2018, I also came back to volunteer as an usher for NYLD.

I’m currently working for a non-profit, Generation Singapore, where we seek to support people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible. It’s a role that is aligned with what I’ve learned at Halogen – to provide people with opportunities and new perspectives.

What was one highlight of your NYLD experience that resonated with you, and how have you carried that into your life today?

I had the privilege of attending a speech by Nick Vujicic, who was a speaker that year. I still remember how he moved the audience by asking people to share their stories, and empowered individuals to believe in themselves – reinforcing the message that they are in control of their own lives. I’m pretty sure most of the room was in tears that day.

I think the key message from NYLD is that everyone faces challenges, and everyone has a story.

The people that we see as great leaders have all had ups and downs, but what makes a great leader and individual is a person who knows they have the agency to change their life, and who has the resilience, strength, and power to take tiny steps and build themselves up to where they are today. This is something that I work towards everyday: instead of complaining or wondering why life is sending challenges my way, I reframe my thoughts and think, “What can I do in this situation that is best for myself at this moment?” and take action from there.

You were also an intern with Halogen! What were some of the biggest lessons that you learned from your internship?

One of the highlights of my internship experience was going into the schools as an Academy intern to deliver sessions on leadership. It felt like I came full circle: from always looking forward to these types of workshops as a student, to having the privilege of actually delivering them. Having said that, I faced a steep learning curve, but I also appreciated the opportunities I had to learn from experts like Vanessa [a former Training & Development Executive] at that time – from observing how she took ownership in managing the students, to how she delivered workshops.

One of the biggest lessons I learnt from Halogen was how to take courage in the things I do. My internship with Halogen marked my first experience at a workplace! It took a lot of courage on my part to stand in front of a class and deliver a leadership workshop. It also took a lot of courage to step up and take ownership over the process of event organisation with NYLD. I also learnt a lot about the power of a debrief from my time at Halogen. It taught me the importance of giving a good wrap up of the event, to make sure that we are always learning and can move forward with closure.

How did your time with Halogen inspire you to be a part of the youth/youth development ecosystem?

My time with Halogen inspired me to believe that every youth has potential. With enough investment in our youths, we can enable them to grow, share new perspectives, and build a better life for themselves. As a People, Culture & Volunteers Manager, I keep this in mind whenever we have interns working for us in our non-profit – to ensure that they emerge from our organisation better than where they started, and grow from the experience.

more

Meet: Ella Sun

Driven by a passion to inspire youths, Ella Sun’s first brush with Halogen was in 2008 at National Young Leaders’ Day (NYLD). The conference marked a key turning point for her, redefining her perspective on the challenges she faced, and inspiring her to make a mark through a career in the non-profit sector. She subsequently joined Halogen as an intern, where she relished the opportunity to effect change through her work with events such as NYLD and Halogen Charity Golf.

Hi, I’m Ella! My story with Halogen started as an attendee of National Young Leaders Day (NYLD) 2008. The event inspired me to reframe how I was thinking about challenges I was facing as a youth, prompted my interest in the self-help space, as well as inspired me to explore careers in the non-profit sector.

As I wanted to be a part of inspiring youths to discover new perspectives, I applied for an internship at Halogen in 2015 and became an Academy and Events Intern. During my three-month internship, I had the privilege of supporting the execution of key events such as NYLD by managing ushers, and our Charity Golf event. In 2018, I also came back to volunteer as an usher for NYLD.

I’m currently working for a non-profit, Generation Singapore, where we seek to support people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible. It’s a role that is aligned with what I’ve learned at Halogen – to provide people with opportunities and new perspectives.

What was one highlight of your NYLD experience that resonated with you, and how have you carried that into your life today?

I had the privilege of attending a speech by Nick Vujicic, who was a speaker that year. I still remember how he moved the audience by asking people to share their stories, and empowered individuals to believe in themselves – reinforcing the message that they are in control of their own lives. I’m pretty sure most of the room was in tears that day.

I think the key message from NYLD is that everyone faces challenges, and everyone has a story.

The people that we see as great leaders have all had ups and downs, but what makes a great leader and individual is a person who knows they have the agency to change their life, and who has the resilience, strength, and power to take tiny steps and build themselves up to where they are today. This is something that I work towards everyday: instead of complaining or wondering why life is sending challenges my way, I reframe my thoughts and think, “What can I do in this situation that is best for myself at this moment?” and take action from there.

You were also an intern with Halogen! What were some of the biggest lessons that you learned from your internship?

One of the highlights of my internship experience was going into the schools as an Academy intern to deliver sessions on leadership. It felt like I came full circle: from always looking forward to these types of workshops as a student, to having the privilege of actually delivering them. Having said that, I faced a steep learning curve, but I also appreciated the opportunities I had to learn from experts like Vanessa [a former Training & Development Executive] at that time – from observing how she took ownership in managing the students, to how she delivered workshops.

One of the biggest lessons I learnt from Halogen was how to take courage in the things I do. My internship with Halogen marked my first experience at a workplace! It took a lot of courage on my part to stand in front of a class and deliver a leadership workshop. It also took a lot of courage to step up and take ownership over the process of event organisation with NYLD. I also learnt a lot about the power of a debrief from my time at Halogen. It taught me the importance of giving a good wrap up of the event, to make sure that we are always learning and can move forward with closure.

How did your time with Halogen inspire you to be a part of the youth/youth development ecosystem?

My time with Halogen inspired me to believe that every youth has potential. With enough investment in our youths, we can enable them to grow, share new perspectives, and build a better life for themselves. As a People, Culture & Volunteers Manager, I keep this in mind whenever we have interns working for us in our non-profit – to ensure that they emerge from our organisation better than where they started, and grow from the experience.

Meet: Evan Ismadi

29 Jul 2024

17 August 2023

more
more

Meet: Evan Ismadi

An alumnus from the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) 2021 programme, Evan Ismadi’s exposure to business skills and entrepreneurial mindsets marked a turning point in his life, enabling him to develop more confidence, and redefine his perspective toward approaching challenges and entrepreneurship.

Hi, I’m Evan! I was an alumnus of the NFTE programme from 2021, and a mentee from the 2022 NFTE Graduate Mentorship Programme (GMP). I’m currently studying sports management at ITE College East.

What was one of the highlights of your NFTE experience, and how did your learnings from this programme expand your perspective?

There’s many to name, but one of them is the e-learning journey to Google’s office, which was conducted via Zoom. As it was held during the later stages of the pandemic, we didn’t get to visit Google’s physical office in-person, but it was still deeply engaging, and one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had through this programme.

This was our first ever e-learning journey, and we had the chance to interact with stakeholders such as the head of Google Singapore. One of them was the social media department, where part of their scope included choosing the right influencer to sponsor one of their products. It was interesting to learn about Google’s role in connecting and promoting other businesses. This made me reflect on how I would push my business idea – a care package, where I aim to offer online lifestyle coaching and nutrition and health products to keep everybody active – further.

Prior to joining NFTE, I had zero ideas about business, but completing the whole NFTE journey gave me a better understanding of entrepreneurship. Now, I’m in a business school in ITE, and I can see how the exposure to business skills and the entrepreneurial mindset that I’ve gained with NFTE have helped a lot with my current course, enabling me to guide teams who are new to business through my projects, and give them a deeper understanding of entrepreneurship.

What was one of the most impactful lessons/mindsets/qualities you’ve learned from your NFTE journey? How did this change the way you lead your life in the present?

Having to communicate and interact with others from different backgrounds encouraged me to be more confident and outspoken when meeting a new community. Because if you can’t talk to people, you’re not going to go further in life.

As you go on, there are a lot of people that you need to talk to, especially when you are going out into the working world. Being confident and able to talk to others is the most important part. I used to be concerned about what others would think of me from my first impression. But now, I just focus on being myself and being confident.

What were some of your most memorable moments, and what were some things you learned and experienced that left an impression on you?

The NFTE Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (NYEC) 2021! I never expected to learn so much from those four memorable days. It was challenging because we stayed in school working on our business ideas, from 9AM to 5PM. On the last day, we stayed from 8:30AM to around 9PM, just hustling all the way, improving our business deck, and creating our prototypes.

I found myself getting to be more outspoken than usual, as I moved from presenting my idea to my classmates, to showcasing my idea to students from other schools, and external judges. That taught me to not let myself be affected by what others think of me.

In imparting entrepreneurial mindsets and skill sets, how can NFTE inspire young people to enact change in their own lives and how has it shaped your own approach to life?

Young people can change their point of view when they look at something, such as a business. With a new discovery, it is possible that you can help others, which is one of the things I wish to do in my life – helping others. I’ve learnt to appreciate what I have, and make the most of chances and opportunities given to me as they are hard to come by. Sometimes, you have only one chance at something that could change your life.

more

Meet: Evan Ismadi

An alumnus from the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) 2021 programme, Evan Ismadi’s exposure to business skills and entrepreneurial mindsets marked a turning point in his life, enabling him to develop more confidence, and redefine his perspective toward approaching challenges and entrepreneurship.

Hi, I’m Evan! I was an alumnus of the NFTE programme from 2021, and a mentee from the 2022 NFTE Graduate Mentorship Programme (GMP). I’m currently studying sports management at ITE College East.

What was one of the highlights of your NFTE experience, and how did your learnings from this programme expand your perspective?

There’s many to name, but one of them is the e-learning journey to Google’s office, which was conducted via Zoom. As it was held during the later stages of the pandemic, we didn’t get to visit Google’s physical office in-person, but it was still deeply engaging, and one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had through this programme.

This was our first ever e-learning journey, and we had the chance to interact with stakeholders such as the head of Google Singapore. One of them was the social media department, where part of their scope included choosing the right influencer to sponsor one of their products. It was interesting to learn about Google’s role in connecting and promoting other businesses. This made me reflect on how I would push my business idea – a care package, where I aim to offer online lifestyle coaching and nutrition and health products to keep everybody active – further.

Prior to joining NFTE, I had zero ideas about business, but completing the whole NFTE journey gave me a better understanding of entrepreneurship. Now, I’m in a business school in ITE, and I can see how the exposure to business skills and the entrepreneurial mindset that I’ve gained with NFTE have helped a lot with my current course, enabling me to guide teams who are new to business through my projects, and give them a deeper understanding of entrepreneurship.

What was one of the most impactful lessons/mindsets/qualities you’ve learned from your NFTE journey? How did this change the way you lead your life in the present?

Having to communicate and interact with others from different backgrounds encouraged me to be more confident and outspoken when meeting a new community. Because if you can’t talk to people, you’re not going to go further in life.

As you go on, there are a lot of people that you need to talk to, especially when you are going out into the working world. Being confident and able to talk to others is the most important part. I used to be concerned about what others would think of me from my first impression. But now, I just focus on being myself and being confident.

What were some of your most memorable moments, and what were some things you learned and experienced that left an impression on you?

The NFTE Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (NYEC) 2021! I never expected to learn so much from those four memorable days. It was challenging because we stayed in school working on our business ideas, from 9AM to 5PM. On the last day, we stayed from 8:30AM to around 9PM, just hustling all the way, improving our business deck, and creating our prototypes.

I found myself getting to be more outspoken than usual, as I moved from presenting my idea to my classmates, to showcasing my idea to students from other schools, and external judges. That taught me to not let myself be affected by what others think of me.

In imparting entrepreneurial mindsets and skill sets, how can NFTE inspire young people to enact change in their own lives and how has it shaped your own approach to life?

Young people can change their point of view when they look at something, such as a business. With a new discovery, it is possible that you can help others, which is one of the things I wish to do in my life – helping others. I’ve learnt to appreciate what I have, and make the most of chances and opportunities given to me as they are hard to come by. Sometimes, you have only one chance at something that could change your life.

Halogen20 Birthday Bash Event Highlights

11 Jul 2024

16 August 2023

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more

Halogen20 Birthday Bash Event Highlights

In July 2023, Halogen held a Birthday Bash in honour of its 20th anniversary.

Over an evening of fun and laughter, our community of educators, volunteers, partners, and youths bonded over performances by our staff, live activity stations, workshops, and more!

more

Halogen20 Birthday Bash Event Highlights

In July 2023, Halogen held a Birthday Bash in honour of its 20th anniversary.

Over an evening of fun and laughter, our community of educators, volunteers, partners, and youths bonded over performances by our staff, live activity stations, workshops, and more!

[20th Anniversary Series] When We Were Young

02 Sep 2024

25 July 2023

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more

[20th Anniversary Series] When We Were Young

Growing up, we’ve all experienced moments when all we needed was a listening ear.

Three of our Halogen volunteers - Hazel, Reina, and Cheng - share about the struggles they faced when they were young, and what led them to become volunteers for the youth today.

more

[20th Anniversary Series] When We Were Young

Growing up, we’ve all experienced moments when all we needed was a listening ear.

Three of our Halogen volunteers - Hazel, Reina, and Cheng - share about the struggles they faced when they were young, and what led them to become volunteers for the youth today.

A Message From Our CEO

31 Jul 2024

18 July 2023

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A Message From Our CEO

A Message From Halogen's CEO, Ivy Tse

This message was extracted from our Annual Report 2022. Learn more about our role in the youth development landscape over the past 20 years in the full report.

Voyage on the sea

We have a metaphor within our team that likens our organisational journey to one of a sea quest. We are members on board a water vessel, and are constantly learning to navigate changing environmental elements whilst steering this vessel across an open ocean, towards a destination.

The voyage mission for our team has always been one that never wavered. We believe that young people have the ability to make a positive difference with their actions and words, wherever they are. To do this well, young people need to develop positive character, mindsets, and skill sets, so that they can steward their influence to create meaningful change in their personal lives and for the communities around them.

On Halogen’s part, we aim to create learning and experiential opportunities for young people from all walks of life to uncover this hidden potential, and equip them with skills to navigate the uncharted waters of life.

Steering Ahead

We have stayed the course while enduring much transitional change in 2022. Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Halogen team had to embark on a number of shifts to keep our organisation and work relevant to young people.

We pivoted most of our activities back into on-site modes for greater in-person engagement of our youth participants. While technology and teleconferencing tools bring great efficiency, they cannot compare to the power of genuine, human connections forged face-to-face, as we saw at our National Young Leaders Fellowship and NFTE Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. We learned new ways to run tech-enabled engagements, without sacrificing the ability to build deep dialogue and create memorable in-person experiences for our young people.

To prepare ourselves for the dynamically evolving youth landscape, we built a library of developmental attributes to sharpen our articulation of the character, mindset, and skill sets growth we want to see in the youth we serve. This library of knowledge is research-informed, providing a basis for an attributes-based approach that we can apply to our curriculum curation, programme development, implementation and evaluation.

The Halogen team also went through an internal organisational restructuring to consolidate and redesign our work scopes. We took on several digitalisation initiatives, and optimised relevant work processes to avail bandwidth for growth and innovation. The newly modelled teams can focus on developing new competencies, and establishing fresh offerings that will allow us to serve young people in areas beyond training. Serious, hard work was accompanied by inspiration and cheer, through the many stories we get to tell through our work. In many ways, our developmental work with youths help them navigate their futures, regardless of their chosen pathways. It is this single mission that continues to fuel our hearts, through the changing tides and waters.

Two decades of impacting young people


We have been privileged to have a whole ecosystem of supporters who also seek to invest in young people with us. As Halogen reaches its 20th year of inception this year, we share a sense of overwhelming gratitude to the community of benefactors, volunteers, partners and supporters who have contributed to our journey. Thank you for helping us make our youth development work possible through your time, expertise, sponsorship and belief.

In 2023, we want to celebrate the many people who’ve made their mark in one form or another:

These inspiring Halogen stories will continue to illuminate the minds of our youths, inspiring them to always dream brighter and do bigger things, in their individual journeys and collective ventures.

The Next Frontier


As Halogen ushers in the next phase of growth, we also have dreams of new frontiers to attain, and new adventures to embark on. We want to see a world made better by future-ready young people, and build an environment where young people have the courage to step up and catalyse change in their communities. We will amplify our efforts to equip and enable young people to lead themselves and others, and empower them to lead change. In time to come, we will also enable this sphere of impact to grow beyond Singapore’s shores, to enable our youth to explore new aspects of collaborating with like-minded young people from the region.

The next decade of youth development will be a volatile and complex one. But we know that with the strong anchor of our mission, and guidance from the compass of our values, we will navigate through the turbulent waters, and stay the course to help our youths pursue a brighter future. We truly hope you will come on board with us to invest in our next generation of young people. As these youths grow to take the helm for issues around the world, our actions of today matter the most. The journey we’re on is a crazy adventure, but one that is worthwhile and deeply fulfilling. Come be a part of our mission, and join us for our third decade of making an impact in the lives of youth!

more

A Message From Our CEO

This message was extracted from our Annual Report 2022. Learn more about our role in the youth development landscape over the past 20 years in the full report.

Voyage on the sea

We have a metaphor within our team that likens our organisational journey to one of a sea quest. We are members on board a water vessel, and are constantly learning to navigate changing environmental elements whilst steering this vessel across an open ocean, towards a destination.

The voyage mission for our team has always been one that never wavered. We believe that young people have the ability to make a positive difference with their actions and words, wherever they are. To do this well, young people need to develop positive character, mindsets, and skill sets, so that they can steward their influence to create meaningful change in their personal lives and for the communities around them.

On Halogen’s part, we aim to create learning and experiential opportunities for young people from all walks of life to uncover this hidden potential, and equip them with skills to navigate the uncharted waters of life.

Steering Ahead

We have stayed the course while enduring much transitional change in 2022. Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Halogen team had to embark on a number of shifts to keep our organisation and work relevant to young people.

We pivoted most of our activities back into on-site modes for greater in-person engagement of our youth participants. While technology and teleconferencing tools bring great efficiency, they cannot compare to the power of genuine, human connections forged face-to-face, as we saw at our National Young Leaders Fellowship and NFTE Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. We learned new ways to run tech-enabled engagements, without sacrificing the ability to build deep dialogue and create memorable in-person experiences for our young people.

To prepare ourselves for the dynamically evolving youth landscape, we built a library of developmental attributes to sharpen our articulation of the character, mindset, and skill sets growth we want to see in the youth we serve. This library of knowledge is research-informed, providing a basis for an attributes-based approach that we can apply to our curriculum curation, programme development, implementation and evaluation.

The Halogen team also went through an internal organisational restructuring to consolidate and redesign our work scopes. We took on several digitalisation initiatives, and optimised relevant work processes to avail bandwidth for growth and innovation. The newly modelled teams can focus on developing new competencies, and establishing fresh offerings that will allow us to serve young people in areas beyond training. Serious, hard work was accompanied by inspiration and cheer, through the many stories we get to tell through our work. In many ways, our developmental work with youths help them navigate their futures, regardless of their chosen pathways. It is this single mission that continues to fuel our hearts, through the changing tides and waters.

Two decades of impacting young people


We have been privileged to have a whole ecosystem of supporters who also seek to invest in young people with us. As Halogen reaches its 20th year of inception this year, we share a sense of overwhelming gratitude to the community of benefactors, volunteers, partners and supporters who have contributed to our journey. Thank you for helping us make our youth development work possible through your time, expertise, sponsorship and belief.

In 2023, we want to celebrate the many people who’ve made their mark in one form or another:

These inspiring Halogen stories will continue to illuminate the minds of our youths, inspiring them to always dream brighter and do bigger things, in their individual journeys and collective ventures.

The Next Frontier


As Halogen ushers in the next phase of growth, we also have dreams of new frontiers to attain, and new adventures to embark on. We want to see a world made better by future-ready young people, and build an environment where young people have the courage to step up and catalyse change in their communities. We will amplify our efforts to equip and enable young people to lead themselves and others, and empower them to lead change. In time to come, we will also enable this sphere of impact to grow beyond Singapore’s shores, to enable our youth to explore new aspects of collaborating with like-minded young people from the region.

The next decade of youth development will be a volatile and complex one. But we know that with the strong anchor of our mission, and guidance from the compass of our values, we will navigate through the turbulent waters, and stay the course to help our youths pursue a brighter future. We truly hope you will come on board with us to invest in our next generation of young people. As these youths grow to take the helm for issues around the world, our actions of today matter the most. The journey we’re on is a crazy adventure, but one that is worthwhile and deeply fulfilling. Come be a part of our mission, and join us for our third decade of making an impact in the lives of youth!

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New Bridge Centre #07-303,
Singapore 050336

Tel: +65 6509 6700

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