Budding minds
> Chili Padi Academy exposes youth to global issues through their training
W Ehave all heard that the future lies in our youth, but are they ready to face the world to come? Targeting high school students from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, the Chili Padi Academy exposes them to innovative ideas and encourages them to explore new possibilities, developing them to greater heights that they have never before achieved.
The idea was conceptualised by Amalina Ariffin, Siti Nisrina Hasna Humaira and Jeffrey Tong from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore respectively, who were brought together by their interest in environmental education for young students. The trio met at the Youth Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) programme held in Hawaii and their project was selected as the winner, bringing home a grant to fund it.
The academy begins with a one-week accelerator programme which brings five youths from each country to Singapore to understand environmental issues in the region, learn the necessary skills to propose innovative solutions, and visit non-governmental organisations (NGOs), start-ups and tech companies.
They then embark on a three-month Home Run where they will return to their home countries to execute their own community plans with guidance from industry-based mentors. The academy ends with the Togethergather where their projects are evaluated and suggestions are given on how to make it sustainable.
"I am personally impressed that many young people are now more aware about environmental problems and have the courage to do something about it," Siti Nisrina said.
"One of the things we give them is international exposure – to understand cross cultural interactions and networking. We expose them to real life solutions through site visits to see that solutions can be implemented from simple ideas. We also bring experts in so each student have guidance from someone who is an expert in it," Amalina said. In the beginning, some of the students were very shy in conveying their opinion but they became more comfortable talking about their initiatives. Some of them are from rural areas in Indonesia with limited access to English lessons, but their interaction with Malaysian and Singaporean students helped them speak better. However, there is a number of areas they could still develop in. "The one issue that I noticed was their time management. They still need to learn how to manage their time effectively; how to balance life between school, projects and social life," Siti Nisrina said. One of the comments made by the mentors is some of them are too ambitious and due to that, solutions become impractical. Some students also feel compelled to pick up issues that aren't something they are passionate about. They also change their minds quite easily after speaking to different people. "Generally, communication is very important when information is highly accessible and everything you say is accountable. Also, being able to stand out so having leadership skills is essential and is something we try to incorporate,” Amalina said. "Many youths have bright ideas and some similar in certain ways, but they are not connected to each other so they struggle on their own. By having a community where they can collaborate with others, making a change would be easier and effective," Siti Nisrina said.
You would think millennials are selfentitled, but Amalina believes they are opposite of what we think of them – passionate, driven and motivated. She trusts there is a lot of hope for the future and considers them work-ready as they have gained all they need at the academy.
As for Chili Padi Academy, the three founders have passed the baton on to the alumni who have recently run it for the second time. Both Siti Nisrina and Amalina hope it could be expanded to other countries, and the former hopes it can be a sustainable movement in generating more young environmental change makers.