Almost 60 professionals and volunteers from the non-profit and social impact space, as well as students from SMU filled up our cosy venue at B3 at SMU for Be An Idea’s 10th Fuze Night.
Bringing together the best people in the social impact sector, Fuze Nights serves as a platform for our humble, local superheroes to relax, connect and learn from others in the same space. We were psyched to hear and learn from our speakers.
“Societal Leadership is asking, ‘How can I make a difference within my sphere of influence?’””
Martin Tan, Executive Director of the Institute for Societal Leadership at SMU, was our learning speaker for the evening, and a truly inspirational one at that. He spoke about the only constant in the world, “Change”; the different kinds of changes and why it is important. He shared that the two kinds of changes include, “evolutionary change” and “revolutionary change”, and that every challenge came with an opportunity. He also pointed out that when it came to dealing with change, there were 3 types of people – those who made things happen, those who waited for things to happen and lastly, those who wondered what had happened. He ended with his favourite quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.
“To provide a range of quality services for the well-being and growth of the community based on the principle of ‘care’.”
The first of our inspiration speakers, Daniel Ong, Head of Corporate Partnerships and Youth Services at Care Corner Singapore, shared about his organisation's various service groups, especially its youth services. He focused on the Youth Rangers Programme, which is a leadership development programme for community youths, from 13 to 17 years old, who are at low to medium risk of falling into juvenile delinquency. Activities include life skills workshops, mentoring and leadership camps. Daniel also shared testimonies and success stories such as how a ex-gang member turned into a good dad.
Up next was our performer, singer-songwriter Rebecca Tan, also known as Becka, who has recently released her self-titled EP, Becka, in July. Our audience were captivated by Becka's moving voice who sang original songs.
“It is about cultivating more actively engaged residents and a greater ability to influence the decision making process in the design.”
Our next speaker was Mizah Rahman, who is co-founder of Participate in Design, an organisation that designs with people, not for people. Mizah shared that participatory design involved bringing people together, people who were usually not involved in the decision making process in the design. It is about building ownership of the outcome, and by encouraging greater ownership, there will also be a better sustainment of the design solution.
“Find your cause. Find a cause you want to associate yourself with, that you want to help, because then it is very easy for you to help and volunteer your time and your heart. Support local where we can effect change, we’re right here, right now.”
To wrap the evening up, Paul Foster from Beam Artistes sat down with Rebekah Lin, our emcee, for a chat on his motivations behind his involvement in supporting social causes. Paul shared that he had always believed in giving back and counted himself fortunate to be able to do things with a ripple effect through his career. He also shared that when he found like-minded people, it was easy to get started with supporting a cause. He's been involved with 50 For 50, World Suicide Prevention Day, Animal Lovers' Week and Habitat for Humanity. His latest campaign is with Pokka, raising awareness for the importance of early screening for cancer.
The event ended with an open networking session where guests were invited to mingle and get to know each other better.
Fuze Nights typically take place on the last Wednesday of each month. Look forward to more insightful talks and opportunities to connect every last Wednesday of each month.