One of the great things I noticed during the whole Asean Youth Festival was the great organizational skills and the thought they have put into the whole festival. For instance, the Tourist Passes for use during the race that entitles us to use the excellent public transport systems, not one, but two discount cards that entitles the delegates to discounts at a variety of stores, booklets and maps highlighting the activities outside of the festival that happens nearby, even comes down to tie-ins with clubs, bars and restaurants that would waive entry fees for all the delegates. There's a whole lot more I'll cover in future posts, but even with just all these, it shows a well thought out, meticulously planned event, that I won't put it past Singapore to pull off without a hitch.

Needless to say, the organizational aptitude of all the committee members and Liaison Officers, the forum organizers and everyone involved, there's a sense that there's no holes left unplugged, meaning they have planned for every contingency, imaginable or not. Even if there's a problem that might prove too much of a bother, I felt that most of the decision making hadn't the need to go all the way up the chain, as most of the decision making can be handled by even the L.O.'s, negating any complicated and long drawn out decision making process. Mind you, these L.O.'s are actually youths themselves, some even way younger than me. Coming from a culture where decisions are made from a cascade of approvals from the higher ups, to me this was quite a surprise.

And even if there's a need to go higher up the chain for approval, the highest level organizers I believe are not even in their 30's yet! Just shows how much trust and faith they have in their Youths.

There will be an upcoming post that shows how this culture of youth is a big integral part of Singapore culture, and the lengths at which the government supports them but still giving them autonomous rein, by far surprised me the most.

Labels: AYF, Photography, Singapore, Trippin'

Posted by SoulJah at 3:03:00 PM

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