FAMILY FIRST! CONFERENCE 2005

The Family First! Conference held at The Legends at Fort Canning was held on 3rd and 4th September 2005. It brought the youth together, on the first day, with educators and experts from 4 different countries to address some of the complexities facing young adults today. The second day brought parents and educators together united in a common belief in the importance of families and a common goal of raising good children to become responsible adults.

As prelude to the above conference, the YOU-th Speak! essay competition was organized in April 2005 for upper secondary, college and university students. The theme of the essay 'Daring Enough to Change the World', was an invitation to youth to voice their opinions on how they would make the world around them a better place to live in through practical, meaningful and positive ways. The response of the participants in the three age categories demonstrated impressive idealism and intelligent insights.

Mrs.Yu-FooYee Shoon, the Minister of State, MCYS, opened the conference on the first day to an audience of secondary and tertiary students from all over the island. The talks by eminent speakers James Stenson from the US, Manny Ayala of the Philippines, Frank and Virginia Monagle from Australia and Kamal Kant from Singapore, addressed issues which youth, on the threshold of adulthood, are challenged with today. These were issues such as 'Freedom and how to handle it', 'Wise career choices/successful lives', 'Relationships and Sexuality', 'The Truth Behind Media Entertainment' and 'Your Role in Society'. This was the first time a conference for youth was organised by the Family Enrichment Society, but the event was still able to reach its target audience of 450 participants.

The following day, Sunday 4th September, was for parents and educators. This was the Family Enrichment Society's third parenting conference in 6 years. It was a sell-out event as James Stenson who has been here twice before, is much respected and sought after for his views on family and education.

The same 5 speakers spoke on issues close to the hearts of the adult participants: 'The Importance of the Family', 'Seeing It Through The Eyes Of Your Child', A Balanced Media Diet For Your Children', The Role Of Parents In Career Guidance', 'I Am Woman', '21st Century Dad', and 'Character Formation: Emphasizing the "How?".

The conference concluded successfully on 4th September, having, hopefully at least, provoked in the minds of its participants, a better awareness of issues confronting youth and families today, and some of the strategies to deal with them.