Reflections from a Youth on the Role of Youth Leaders Tomorrow
Over two days, youths from diverse schools and backgrounds came together to bring their ideas to life. Despite being strangers initially, we quickly united with a common goal to create solutions for a better world.
Personally, the experience is definitely one that I cannot forget. I felt anxious and excited at the same time, as it was my first hackathon. I had participated in competitions in Polytechnic, where my team and I developed solutions for major companies, but it was done offline and did not have a tech-related outcome. Moreover, it was very fruitful that the hackathon aims to develop communities of success in Singapore. Particularly in this year’s focus on the role of current and future community leaders.
A group picture of my team (Team 1) with our facilitators.
The hackathon is a key part of the International Conference on Communities of Success (ICCOS) 2024, taking place on October 14 and 15. All teams will present their solutions during Final Pitching on Day 2, at the ICCOS 2024’s World Café event on October 15. It provides a platform for communities to create powerful narratives of success based on the notion of “Contributing Citizens, Dynamic Institutions”. Distinguished religious scholars, leaders, state officials and community leaders worldwide contribute speeches and panel discussions on the 3Cs of successful Muslim communities - Character, Competency and Citizenry. ICCOS 2024, with the theme “Inspiring Future Leaders: Building Trust, Empowering Communities” will focus on the role of current and future community leaders in developing Communities of Success.
Read up more about ICCOS here.
It started with a pre-hackathon workshop conducted by Open Government Products (OGP) to equip us with design thinking skills. The pre-workshop serves as a basis for guiding us through the design thinking process, including empathising with users to develop solutions. During the 48-hour hackathon, these skills and frameworks were applied, and we worked tirelessly to refine and pitch our ideas.
The Prophet s.a.w. said in a hadith:
لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لِأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ
“None of you (truly) believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.”
(Muttafaqun ‘Alayh)
In the above hadith, we were taught the importance of empathy, rahmah (mercy) and kindness in promoting understanding. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, practised empathy in his interactions with his companions and the community. This was exemplified when he acted compassionately toward them by listening carefully to their worries and understanding their needs.
This empathy enabled him to lead with wisdom, fairness, and humility, instilling unity and trust in his followers. Similarly, future Islamic leaders, such as us youths, are encouraged to follow in his footsteps by incorporating empathy into the decision-making processes and interactions with people to build harmony and cooperation within communities.
This Youth Hackathon allows youths to develop solutions to current issues and turn ideas into reality.
The Youth Hackathon is beginner-friendly, so youths with no hackathon experience can contribute their expertise, be it in Information Technology, Social Work, Business Management, and others. Additionally, it is a value-added opportunity for youths to network with their peers and gain mentorship from industry experts.
My team, CareViz, on stage presenting our idea for “Social Upliftment and Empowerment” at Day 2 of Youth Hackathon: Idea Pitch
The Power of Youth Innovation
The hackathon showcased youth's creativity, problem-solving and leadership skills. Participants had to address real-world issues across four key domains: Social Upliftment and Empowerment, Social Cohesion for the Future, Representative Leadership, and Considerations for the Future: Enterprise, Professionals, and the Religious Sector.
I was impressed by the teams’ participation as they displayed remarkable ingenuity and adaptability in developing innovative solutions to complex problems in their respective domains. This not only highlighted the creativity of young individuals like me but also demonstrated how youth-driven innovation can offer fresh perspectives and novel approaches to solving current societal issues.
For example, Team NewRoots identified a gap in sustained volunteerism among youth in the area of Social Cohesion for the Future. Their solution is an application that allows users to select the events’ type they can volunteer for based on their interests, with a focus on integrating migrant workers. Through this, the team aims to plug the gap by increasing the likelihood of volunteers returning to participate in similar events.
Team NewRoots presenting their idea on Day 2 of Youth Hackathon.
Another team, Team Healing Hat (pictured below), also competed in the domain of Social Upliftment and Empowerment, with a tagline “Empowering You(th) with Hope”. They developed a solution for long-term financial beneficiaries by categorising their needs and enabling leaders to better understand those needs through profiling.
Such initiatives demonstrate the potential of youth to be catalysts for positive change. Through diverse collaboration, young people can develop meaningful and impactful solutions to address current significant challenges. The hackathon proves that their ideas and efforts can drive tangible results while empowering youth to see themselves as agents of change and key contributors to shaping a better future.
Check out highlights from this reel below!
The Crucial Role of Empathy in Design Thinking
We applied the design-thinking process learnt throughout the hackathon. The process consists of five key steps: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test.
The most important stage is Empathise, which involves comprehending what the target users think, see, feel and do. This allows us to shift from generating ideas to creating solutions that resonate and effectively address real challenges.
By prioritising user needs and perspectives, our team could approach problems from the beneficiaries' viewpoint. This understanding led to the development of more effective and innovative solutions. When we acknowledged the users' experiences, we could identify pain points and gaps that might not have been apparent initially.
For example, my team and I conducted interviews to acquire insights regarding case managers working with long-term financial assistance beneficiaries. With the abundance of interactions they had with the beneficiaries themselves, a noteworthy challenge was for the beneficiaries to be heard. Most of the time, their stories are told from the point of view of case managers, but these narratives may not reflect the true experience of beneficiaries.
That made us brainstorm ideas that are both functional and emotionally appealing, ultimately catering to consumers and improving the overall user experience. For this reason, we created an interactive platform which allows beneficiaries to track their progress, share their stories and be heard. Their voices could be heard in a valuable and relatable way through this platform. It also allowed leaders and case managers to gain valuable insights into their lives and needs.
How Might We (HMW) Approach
Empathy is essential in guiding youth leaders to develop more inclusive and impactful solutions. Empathy enables leaders to engage with their communities in meaningful ways, taking into account varied backgrounds and experiences. This approach creates an environment where all perspectives are heard and acknowledged, thus meeting the needs of various groups.
Brainstorming Assumptions on Problem, Customer, and Solution
One of the asatizah who left a lasting impression on me is Ustaz Muhammad Luqman Hakim Bin Roslan, a Youth Development Officer at An-Nahdhah mosque. He leads Munawwarin Youth (where I am currently serving as its secretary) with empathy by frequently checking in and initiating discussions with the youths to organise activities like da’wah talks, qiyam camps, adventure activities and many more. His leadership demonstrates empathy by understanding the youths' perspectives, needs and wants, and planning these activities together.
Empathy can help young leaders create initiatives that are not only effective for the community but also foster collaboration and inclusivity, thus creating a more cohesive and supportive outcome.
The Importance of Collaboration and Teamwork
My experience working in a randomly assigned team during the youth hackathon was truly rewarding. I had the chance to collaborate with tertiary and university students, as well as working youths. They brought different perspectives, problem-solving approaches, and unique skill sets to the table. Each diverse individual on the team collaborated harmoniously and we explored ideas that none of us would have thought of individually. As a result, we were able to enhance the outcome of our hackathon productively.
My team’s Ideating Phase with Zahari, a Design Thinking Evangelist
I experienced first-hand how youth leaders can greatly benefit from leveraging the power of teamwork to achieve shared goals and overcome barriers. We gained significant experience, exchanged insights, and learned from other young people by networking and partnering with them. This collaborative approach enables the sharing of information and resources, which is critical when dealing with complex issues.
Furthermore, with shared goals and like-mindedness, a group of motivated youth can collaborate to generate positive change and address critical issues. By fostering a collaborative environment, diverse talents can be recognized and leveraged for greater impact, empowering young leaders to make an impact on their communities.
The Role of Mentorship and Guidance
During the hackathon, the organising team brought in Tech Consultants and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from organisations such as Malay Muslims in Tech (MMiT), Muis, Yayasan Mendaki, Mendaki Club and PPIS. Along with our facilitators, they supported the teams in comprehending the problem statement and sharing their years of knowledge about insights on the needs of our target users.
For instance, our team, CareViz, focused on an issue in the domain of social upliftment and empowerment. By engaging with various representatives, we identified a significant gap in support for beneficiaries of long-term financial assistance.
Many individuals struggle after graduating from the programme, lacking further aid. This insight prompted us to explore ways to support their transition and ultimately develop a sustainable model that allows them to contribute back to the community of long-term financial assistance beneficiaries. This gap was only identified thanks to the valuable insights shared by the experts.
Youths should be open to and actively seek out mentorship opportunities. Since I was at Temasek Polytechnic, I had the opportunity to be a mentee to various mentors. Now, in University, I was part of a 3-month mentorship organised by the Women in Tech (WiT) with a software developer and currently seeking more mentorship opportunities.
Such guidance not only helps in achieving educational and career goals but also fosters personal growth. Mentorship aids young individuals in honing their soft skills and nurturing their character development. Therefore, future youth leaders should strive to benefit from similar guidance, recognising its potential to shape their journey and impact their communities positively.
The Challenge of Balancing Innovation with Practicality
My team initially developed a solution that we believed suited our problem statement and began refining it into a viable product. We discovered, however, that our idea already existed and was being used actively. This presented a challenge: we were attached to the idea and found it difficult to let go.
After deliberation, we decided to incorporate it as a feature of our final product rather than discarding it entirely. This experience taught us that ideas are the seeds of innovation, but only the most viable will grow into solutions.
During the hackathon, we faced constant tension between ambitious ideas and their feasibility. While it is tempting to aim for breakthrough and visionary solutions, we quickly realised that innovation must be grounded in feasibility. Many ideas sound promising in theory, but they often require substantial resources, time, or technology that may not be immediately accessible.
Youth leaders, particularly those passionate about driving change, must learn to balance this tension. While it is crucial to dream big, we also need to ensure that the solutions can be realistically achieved with the available resources.
As long as this balance is struck, creativity can flourish without being lost in the shackles of real-world implementation. Youth leaders can ensure their ideas inspire and have a tangible impact by balancing ambition and practicality.
The Future of Youth Leadership
The hackathon highlighted youth leaders' expanding position as dynamic problem solvers who can not only address current concerns but also shape the future. One major takeaway from the event was how today's youth leaders are becoming more collaborative, accepting diversity, and harnessing technology to generate effective solutions. By collaborating in diverse teams, they provide new insights and inventive ways to long-standing issues, ensuring a more inclusive and progressive future.
Young leaders' duties are expanding as they play larger roles in driving societal change. They are required not simply to lead with empathy and vision, but also to balance ambition and reality, ensuring that their ideas are both daring and achievable. The hackathon highlighted that youth leaders must remain adaptive, continually learning to keep up with the rapidly changing environment around them.
The chances for youth leaders are numerous. With mentorship, technology, and global networks at their disposal, individuals are uniquely positioned to address major global concerns. As they mature, they have the potential to design a future that is innovative, caring, and inclusive.
Conclusion
Participating in the hackathon was a transformative experience that helped me better appreciate the potential for youth leaders to make significant changes. Seeing the participants' inventiveness, teamwork, and passion reinforced my confidence that young people are leaders of today, capable of addressing complicated societal concerns.
One important takeaway for me is the significance of empathy in design thinking. By putting ourselves in the shoes of the target users, we can develop solutions that fulfil their needs. This event will shape my future style of leadership by reminding me to prioritise empathy, proactively listen, and be receptive to novel ideas.
As youth leaders, we must not only generate innovative concepts but also ensure that they are inclusive and feasible. I believe that, with an appropriate balance of empathy and action, youth-led projects may have a tremendous and long-term impact on society, propelling progress and building a brighter future.
Now it’s your turn. Seek opportunities to engage in design thinking, connect with your community, and use your skills to create positive change. Together, we can shape a more inclusive and sustainable world.
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