SABIC holds the 2019 ‘Lights Of Our Future’ competition in Singapore, encouraging youths to contemplate future sustainability

SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals, has successfully implemented the company’s global signature CSR program ‘Lights of Our Future’ through a competition in Singapore. After comprehensive classroom sessions engaged more than 120 students, top three winning teams finally emerged at the Final Presentation and Award Ceremony held today in the school hall at Canberra Primary School. 

The ‘Lights of Our Future’ program was first initiated in Singapore in 2014. It has been widely adopted throughout the Asia Pacific region in locations including, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and even SABIC’s home turf of Saudi Arabia.  In 2019 the program is set to reach more than 11,000 students in 21 locations worldwide, including freshman programs in the Americas and Europe. In Singapore alone, SABIC has reached out to more than 1,400 students aged 10 to 11 since the program started, with more than 140 SABIC employees in Singapore devoting 1,500 hours to the development and delivery of the program since it started in 2014. Close to 3,000 students in APAC have benefitted from the program to date. 

For this year’s competition in Singapore, Primary 5 students from Woodgrove Primary School and Canberra Primary School attended the classroom sessions in mid-April, where SABIC employees, volunteering as trainers, imparted their vast knowledge on the concept of Sustainable Living, executing interactive lessons on the topics of Energy, Greenhouse Gases, Water and Waste, with syllabus content that was developed in-house. Throughout the course, the volunteers engaged the students in discussions and brainstorming sessions that turned out to be sophisticated and nuanced, demonstrating the students’ strong understanding of pressing environmental issues that will be pertinent to their futures.  

Following the sessions, 20 projects were submitted for the competition, which challenged teams to identify issues of sustainability around their campuses and homes, and devise feasible and practical solutions. Eight teams then advanced to the Finals, after the projects were judged and shortlisted, based on their subject relevance, project feasibility and the quality of the presented materials. 

Witnessed by close to 100 students and guests, the Final Presentation and Award Ceremony today at Canberra Primary School welcomed guest judges including Mr. Abdullah Al-Otaibi, Regional Leader, SEA & ANZ, SABIC, Mr. Eugene Ang, Senior Executive, Outreach & Engagement, Communications & 3P Partnership, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Ms. Hailin Pek, Manager, Zero Waste SG and Ms. Jessica Cheam, Founder & Managing Editor, Eco-Business. Mr Terence Koh, Executive Director, Singapore Chemical Industry Council (SCIC) also graced the event.

After an intense deliberation, the judges finally managed to whittle down the eight submissions to three winning teams:

• First prize goes to the project team from Woodgrove Primary School, recommending to organize books and toys recycling drive to support Circular Economy and drive towards a waste free Singapore.
• Second prize goes to the project team from Woodgrove Primary School, suggesting to collaborate with North West CDC's Reduce @ Northwest Program on an energy conservation campaign that encourages residents to use electricity wisely.
• Third prize goes to the project team from Canberra Primary School, proposing to generate electricity using kinetic energy, such as paving specially designed tiles in shopping malls and re-engineering the exercise equipment at community corners in the heartlands to gather kinetic energy from the movements to convert into electricity to be used to light up the shopping malls and community corners.

Mr. Abdullah Al-Otaibi, Regional Leader, SEA & ANZ, SABIC, bestowed high praise on the winning teams, as well as the runners up and all who participated, stating, “By encouraging these young and bright minds to focus their attention on issues surrounding sustainability, we are helping them to prepare for the future while being mindful about the present; the strong and innovative ideas presented today could very well be the solutions needed tomorrow. SABIC takes pride in fulfilling its responsibilities by promoting sustainable living and education in the communities that we operate in and our signature ‘Lights of Our Future’ program is just one example of us living out our Chemistry that Matters™ ethos.”  

“Despite being young, participants were encouraged to think big and resolve difficult issues that will impact their future. To do that, they have to think critically and creatively. Also, the students extremely enjoyed and valued the interaction with the volunteers as it inspired them on possible career opportunities that they can have. Skills learnt through such programs and experiences like these help shape their learning journey in school and their confidence as young leaders of tomorrow,” commented, Fatin Suhaila, Teacher & Overall In-charge of Green Committee, Woodgrove Primary School.

Similarly, Kasni Kasim, Senior Teacher (Character and Citizenship Education), Canberra Primary School, added, “As a school that values sustainability as part of lifelong learning for the pupils, this program has provided a platform for them to apply their learning and contribute to the awareness towards environmental issues. Through their great teamwork in coming up with ideas to address such issues, they are actively inspiring others to think about the possibilities to tackle climate change. Thus, the experience gained is authentic. I believe the pupils have learned and enjoyed throughout the whole journey. Their voices in addressing issues on climate change are valuable resources for the next generation to come.”

“Eco-Business is happy to be partners of SABIC’s Lights of Our Future program this year. This is a truly business to grassroots initiative, with employees from SABIC volunteering to journey with students learning about sustainability. It is so important for the youths of today to be engaged in these real world challenges from an early age. The brilliant ideas that the students came up with shows their deep interest, and nurtures their creativity in thinking about solutions that can be implemented locally. We hope that we will see more of these programs across schools in Singapore in time to come,” said, Jessica Cheam, Founder & Managing Editor, Eco-Business.

Students demonstrating their idea to the judges with a model prototype that they have designed and made.

First prize winners from Woodgrove Primary

Second prize winners from Woodgrove Primary

Third prize winners from Canberra Primary