YED 2015
The theme ‘Imagine. Create. Change’ encouraged the youth to think about their contributions towards a sustainable environment through collective actions and commitments.
Two key events were held to celebrate YED 2015.
“Talk Gong” Night
"Talk Gong" Night was organised by the first ever YED Youth Planning Team made up of youth volunteers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Anglo-Chinese Junior College and Dunman High School. The event, held on 20 March 2015 at NUS University Town, aimed to minimise plastic waste by introducing the usefulness of reusable containers through various “Talk Gong” games and activities. “Talk Gong” is a play on the colloquial term for ‘superior’ (‘tok gong’), the English word ‘talk’ and the commonly used term for ‘container’ (‘gong’). Leaders of NUS Students Against Violation of the Earth (SAVE), Earthlink NTU, SMU Verts, and SUTD Greenprint signed a declaration of environmental cooperation. This was the first time that the universities had come together to collaborate in this way.
The YED Youth Planning Team having a “yam seng” moment with Mr Zaqy Mohamad and Prof Leo Tan to celebrate the signing of the declaration.
YED 2015 @ ITE College Central
The YED 2015 @ ITE College Central event on 16 April, saw 50 schools take part in the ‘My Caption Green’ Competition, where students had the chance to personalize an exclusive SG50 Captain Green figurine to represent the school’s interpretation of the YED theme, ‘Imagine. Create. Change’ and their commitment to the environment. There was also an Introduction to Design Thinking workshop, where students learnt how to formulate creative ways to respond to environmental challenges. ITE’s kNOw cleaners day allowed both students and staff to demonstrate their appreciation for their campus cleaners. In addition, the Eco-trail and hands-on community clean-up activities in the neighbourhood near ITE College Central helped the students better appreciate the importance of a clean environment and inculcate a sense of ownership of the environment. The new Environment Challenge for Schools (ECS) was announced at the event, with workshops and networking sessions.
See what happened in 2015 in the following videos!
In 2014, NEA refreshed its mascot, Captain Green, which symbolises care for the environment.
To mark YED 2015 and SG50, 50 schools had the chance to personalise an exclusive SG50 Captain Green figurine to represent the school’s interpretation of the theme, “Imagine. Create. Change.” and their commitment to the environment. On 16 April 2015, the 50 schools came together at ITE College Central to decorate their figurines together.
All 50 figurines were showcased for public viewing at their very own “Eco Pond” at the Clean and Green SG50 Carnival Eco School section. These colourful and creative expressions of the schools’ commitments to the environment found many admirers amongst the visitors.
To mark the nation’s 50th year of independence, 50 schools took part in the ‘My Captain Green’ Competition held at ITE College Central on 16 April 2015. The 50 schools decorated the Captain Green figurines based on this year’s YED tagline: ‘Imagine. Create. Change’ and centred on the themes of cleanliness and waste minimisation.
People's Choice for "My Captain Green" Competition
The 50 designs were also showcased online from 8 June to 9 August 2015 for the public to vote for the ‘Most Popular My Captain Green SG50 figurine’. The winning schools were
The 50 schools’ designs and their commitments for SG50 are shown below.