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We’ve all heard of Al Gore’s The Inconvenient Truth, Anya Hindmarch’s I’m Not A Plastic Bag tote bag, and SOS’s Live Earth celebrity concert. With the increasing level of focus and news coverage on environmental issues, it is evident that more and more people are becoming concerned about saving the Earth. But are these efforts really enough?
Have you ever wondered, that when all this hype dies down, do people still continue to make environmentally-friendly decisions, or “green decisions”, in their daily lives? Sure everyone gets excited when a new fashionable tote bag comes up, and when celebrities come together to perform in a mega concert. But when all that is over, has the message and aim of these events been brought across to people effectively? Does it stick and stay in the minds of people? Or are they just a fad and are soon forgotten? Do they influence people to change their lifestyles and make them more willing to inconvenient themselves for the sake of protecting the environment? Can’t more be done to save the Earth? Well, of course there is! More CAN be done to create awareness amongst people about saving the environment; and more SHOULD be done!
I am proud to say, that a team of environmentally-conscious adults have created a youth platform to realize and showcase the most cutting-edge creative ideas and talents across the Creative Industries in the Pan Asia region. They want to encourage people to be more environmentally-friendly, and they want to allow people to understand and be more mindful of how their daily actions will have an impact on our environment.
A world of Green Secrets; THIS is what participants of the Creative Youth Xchange (www.cyx.sg) have come together to create, and we would like to invite YOU to hop onboard this journey with us. SOOOO…. What are you waiting for?
The Creative Youth Xchange (CYX) 2007, an event presented by Creative Industries Singapore and CapitaLand, has brought together 12 youths from different countries, mainly China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Singapore. They arrived at the Kranji Countryside at 11am this morning, and their first stop – GardenAsia =D (www.gardenasia.com)
Upon arriving at GardenAsia, the youths were free to explore the Gallery, which showcases GardenAsia’s range of retail products. However, their idle time was soon cut short as the 12 youths were put to work IMMEDIATELY.
Gathered at BlueSky, Kenny, director of GardenAsia Pte Ltd (… just thought you should know since I’ll be talking about him alot =P) gave a short opening address followed by instructions to their first task…
Let’s take a look at what they’ve been tasked to accomplish… OK, let’s call these tasks “Green Challenge” just for fun =)
Green Challenge #1: Getting Down & Dirty – Planting (… tsk tsk, what were you thinking?)
The youths were tasked to pot their own Osmoxylon Lineare (… that’s a plant, just thought using the scientific name of the plant would make me sound smart =P)
Laid out in front of them was a box of granite chips, a box of top soil and a box of burnt soil. The instructions were to mix the top soil and burnt soil thoroughly, and to place this mix along with a layer of granite chips into the pot, before finally potting their plant.
During the challenge, I noticed that all of them had their own style and method of completing the task. The instructions were simple and straightforward, yet they all had a different way of mixing the top soil and burnt soil. They each went through the steps differently, but despite the differences, all of them managed to pot their Osmoxylon Lineare (… YAY, feels smart once again). For some of the youths, this is their first attempt ever at doing a little gardening. I have to be honest, I haven’t been much of a botanist or gardener myself either… but I’m going to commit to trying my hand at potting and planting soon, because I’ve realised that it really isn’t as daunting a feat as one might think or make it out to be, I swear! =) Of course, after potting it, it’s important to keep it growing healthily =)
If you notice, some of the youths chose to work alone, whereas some decided to work in pairs. The 1 person that caught my attention during this task was Xuan. Despite being the smallest girl in the group (… she is a VERY petite Vietnamese girl), she was one of the first few to complete the task. Instead of sitting down and being contented with her plant and having finished first, she saw that Mikko was struggling with her plant, and went over to offer Mikko her help. Before long, Mikko managed to complete the task too. THAT’S THE SPIRIT!! GO XUAN!! ^_^
When everyone was done potting their plants, they wrote their names with a marker on the pot, and placed it in a straight row close to the Country Rose function room, as instructed by Johnny (… the amazing man, a.k.a. Mastermind, behind the Creative Youth Exchange programme). Little did all of them know, this plant of theirs is more than just a one-off challenge… well, I’m not going to tell you just yet the significance of the plant, you’re going to have to read on to find out =P
“To kickstart the CYX, ladies and gentlemen, let’s give a BIG warm round of applause for…. JOHNNY!”
Johnny is a task-orientated Creative Director. He’s a no nonsense, “let’s-get-down-to-work” kind of person =P OK…. He’s not really THAT strict, but he does want and like things to get done. So, no time to be wasted… he did a short introduction, and went straight into the crux of the matter.
“So, Johnny… what do you have for us today?”
Have you ever asked yourselves, why do great civilizations collapse? One good example is the Roman Empire. Today, Rome is covered in ruins, and it is merely a place of interest where thousands of tourists flock to each year.
Then we should ask ourselves, is the modern civilization on the verge of doing the same? What are the secrets we can unlock in re-examining our relationships with the environment to prevent the collapse from recurring? And with those pressing questions, we come to understand what CYX Green Secrets is all about… it’s about finding “secret answers”. How can one balance the needs and wants of societies with those of the environment? How can we creatively expose secrets that can help us move closer, step by step, to a more harmonious relationship with the world we live in?
To address the above questions, the youths were introduced to the 4 “magic words” of the CYX: Pre-emptive, Reactive, Adaptive and Failsafe. These are 4 approaches we can take to address a problem.
Pre-emptive – To prevent harm from happening.
Reactive – To respond when a problem arises.
Adaptive – To change with situation
Failsafe – To minimize risk taken
After an intense and busy morning, *stomach growls* the youths were hungry… No worries, as a sumptuous buffet lunch awaits them at the Petals & Leaves Bistro *salivates*
Bon Appetite!
Chilling out after a heavy meal… look at them, happy and full =D
Now, remember those plants we were talking about earlier? You knooow… the Osmoxylon Lineare plant? Well, the next activity was for each of the 12 youths to introduce their very own plant, and since the plant is named after them, it should have the exact same characteristics as themselves. In short, they are to do a self-introduction of themselves in third person perspective =P
When asked what they would say to their plant, a majority of them said “I hope for it to grow straight, tall and healthy. Well, we’ll have to see if that really happens =P
Let’s take a look at what they were exposed to next…
CYX Workshop #1: Move! Move! Move!
We all know how dynamic dance moves are! But who would have thought that movement and choreography would also be applicable in the design industry?
Taking us through the movement workshop are movement specialists Aaron and Ix!
They began with basic breathing techniques and simple moves, sort of like what you’ld see happen in a yoga and meditation class.
Lying on the floor, they were told to imagine their body sinking into the floor board, slooowly… body part by body part, until their whole body is submerged into the floor board like lying in a baby pool.
Now for some real action… the “jiggle”! Let’s jiggy to the music!
“Ants at work”! Walk! Walk! Walk!
They then partnered up and took turns playing the role of the statue, and the role of the sculptor. The sculptor had to shape the statue into the shape he/she desires. Then, they switched roles, and did it again.
In the beginning, everyone was apprehensive about carrying out all the moves… they are pretty silly actually, and as kids, we enjoy being silly… but being silly when you’re older feels embarrassing *blush* However, as all of them realized Aaron and Ix letting themselves go and being comfortable with being silly, they relaxed and had fun too =)
So, you ask… what does designing have to do with movement and choreography? Isn’t that like two totally different forms of art? The purpose of this workshop is to allow the youths to understand the importance of choreography in their designs. Designing involves choreographing every element to construct a single composition. The workshop also encourages these youths to incorporate movements into their designs, instead of simply drawings and sketches.
After a good workout, the youths are now fit enough to think of a way to save Mrs. Polar from drowning and being homeless in the North Pole ^_^ Due to global warming, the icebergs are melting and the sea level constantly rising as a result. To save Mrs. Polar, the youths were divided into 4 groups, and each group is to design a “rescue plan”:
Group Pre-emptive – Mikko, Ling Han, Ming
Group Reactive – Sangeeta, Calvin, Yu Shan
Group Adaptive – Xiao Xiao, Admira, Xuan
Group Failsafe – LiMin, Linda, Chien Lin
In the end, each group presented their design idea in a storyline. After that, each of them had to vote for their favourite “rescue plan” (… not allowed to vote for their own)… AND the winner with the majority of votes went to…. *drum roll* FAILSAFE!
Their idea was to create synthetic ice atop a floating base using environmentally-friendly chemicals.
And with that exercise… the first day came to an end, and the youths had dinner at GardenAsia before heading back to the Singapore Sports School for the night.
See you tomorrow!
GrEen SeCreTs 
