We look forward to seeing you next year! We cannot wait to hear more voices from the youths at the next APEC VOF 2010!

The place for youths to voice their opinions and thoughts about the future.

Check out the List of Interviewees under the “Voices: Interviews” tab to find out who are the leaders that will be interviewed by the Voices 2009 participants!

Check out the Voices 2009 participant from Australia, Thom Woodroofe’s interview with The Honourable Julie Bishop MP, the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, on APEC and the Australian PM’s idea for an Asia Pacific Community under the pre-APEC week interviews.

A warm welcome to APEC Voices of the Future 2009.  To all our delegates, we look forward to welcoming you to the event; and to our international delegates, we look forward to welcoming you to Singapore too.

Voices is a unique youth programme that seeks to give youth participants of the programme insight into APEC: its role, functions and workings.  Voices also provides youth participants with the platform to articulate their views on APEC.

At this year’s Voices, as with the previous years’, you will have the opportunity to observe the APEC CEO Summit, and meet with and interview APEC economy leaders and APEC business leaders, either through door stop interviews or pre-arranged interviews.  Some of you may have already met some of the economy leaders or business leaders in your own country as part of preparations in the run-up to Voices, others may have already made arrangements for interviews when in Singapore.  On our part, we will also be pre-arranging some interviews for you (we are currently in discussions on this, and have some very exciting plans in the works!), and preparing the APEC leaders for your presence at work during APEC week.

Additionally, during APEC week, and as part of the Voices programme, we will be showcasing various aspects of Singapore to you.  We have lined up visits to our Night Safari, the Marina Barrage, and even our HDB Heartlands, amongst other eye-opening trips.

Of course, a key part of the Voices programme will be your writing of reports and reflections during APEC week.  Your daily reports and reflections will be posted on our website by the end of each day, and all your reports and reflections will be compiled for circulation to APEC stakeholders, including the Singapore Business Foundation, Virtual Trade Mission, national youth focal points in the APEC economies, Singapore’s Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and even Singapore’s President, His Excellency Mr S. R. Nathan.

The APEC Voices Youth Organising Committee has been working very hard — and will continue to do so throughout APEC week — to pull the event together with you and for you.  We have had incredible support and assistance from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, the National Youth Council and the National Youth Achievement Award Council in the planning and organising of the APEC Voices. And now we look forward to getting your strong support as well during the event.

See you soon!

Natalie Morris

on behalf of the APEC Voices 2009 Youth Organising Committee