#SMCHiking Library 2022 Year-End Review By Junfang Xi

Before participating in the SMC Hiking Library, I had been invited by numerous organisations for hiking events. I had always had numerous reservations: one factor was the humidity and heat that made one hesitate, but more importantly, I had doubts about the results of such activities; thus they never came to fruition. However, when the founder of SMC, Dr David Ong, introduced the Hiking Library to me, I was taken by its originality, and SMC’s admirable mission immediately sparked the charity in my heart. I participated in this activity for the first time on the 22nd October, and then twice more: each time, I gained new experiences and rewards, and I now set down some reflections in the hopes of capturing the benefits brought by this activity.?

The format of the activity is novel and unique, entailing both creativity and effectiveness. Before the start of the activity, Dr Ong divided the participants into two groups, one group being the mentors, and the other comprising SMC Youths as mentees. Participants engaged in discussion with their assigned hiking partners while walking along the beautiful Hort Park and Henderson Waves. After half an hour, participants changed partners; this format allowed both mentors and SMC Youths to engage in 4-5 in-depth discussions of diverse natures. During the break, a mentor gave a presentation on a theme, ranging from their experiences in entrepreneurship or management, to analyses of the macro-environment and industry trends and prospects. The activity lasted around three hours, throughout which Dr Ong periodically pointed out the cultural significance and history of particular buildings and sights we passed. The event was well-paced and utilised an enjoyable medium to impart knowledge and wisdom; though the long walk was slightly tiring and the constant conversation strained my throat slightly, I gained the catharsis from exercise, a joyful spirit, and the satisfaction that comes from profound conversations. I am in genuine praise of Dr Ong and his wife, Ms Zoe Liu; their heart, kindness and far-sightedness inspire much respect and admiration.?

In today’s complex and anxious environment, the SMC Hiking Library is unassuming and unpretentious, but carries significant meaning. What this small event drives are weighty ideas such as education through sharing, nurturing of global quotient in youth, and conversations among talent from both Eastern and Western contexts.?

Undoubtedly, SMC is a platform that nurtures leaders of the future. Confronted with complex and ever-changing elements such as geopolitical changes, global pandemics, climate change, scarcity of resources and economic downturn, and in the face of an uncertain future, youth leaders are even more in need of extraordinary courage and an expansive worldview. SMC consolidates Singapore’s advantages in areas such as information, human talents, technology and capital, and connects resources so as to enable a variety of mentors to share and convey ideas, knowledge and experience, in order to foster global leadership talents who have a wide worldview and an open and creative mindset. SMC mentors include executives from MNCs, accomplished entrepreneurs, researchers from academic institutions, and professionals from various organisations. The platform facilitates conversation, and offers the opportunity for participants to create more value in their respective fields through collaboration. In a way, SMC is creating a multi-agent, mutually beneficial talent ecology.

Additionally, SMC plays a unique role in developing youths with global quotient. In October 2019, the Ministry of Trade and Industry launched the Global Ready Talent Programme (GRTP), to facilitate local businesses expanding overseas to arrange for Singaporean students to undertake internships and work experience abroad. The Singapore government recognised that before businesses can expand overseas, they must first nurture youths with a wide worldview and familiarity with operations in overseas markets. SMC’s mission dovetails with that of the Government in developing internationalised talents. The SMC Hiking Library is an effective method towards the achievement of this mission: its engaging format attracts global talents from different cultural backgrounds working in Singapore, and provides youths with collaborative global capacity, allowing them to gain global knowledge, increase their global quotient, and improve their global-readiness, locally at a low cost.

Of course, the integrated format at SMC organically promotes dialogue and mutualism between Eastern and Western cultures. From my observations during the activities, SMC’s mentors and mentees come from different cultural backgrounds, each unique in distinctive ways. Eastern cultures have an integrated mode of thinking, endorsing the wisdom of harmony between man and nature, whereas Western cultures are built on an analytical foundation. Though there is an extent of conflict between the two, Western cultures and Eastern cultures on their own each reveal certain limits. It is a necessity of the times to find a common ground on which the two cultures are complementary, and to incorporate the spirit of both cultures. It must be said that SMC makes a greatly beneficial attempt to that end. Speaking for myself, despite having extended globalised working experiences, I have still been able to gain much from each activity. Additionally, this hiking activity has improved my understanding of the ancient wisdom of the growth of both student and teacher through teaching: the collaborative exploration of issues, continuous discussion and learning from each other allow both teacher and student to grow. The vitality, creativity and fortitude of the youths never stop to move and inspire the mentors.

Utilising SMC as the platform, Dr Ong spares no effort in fostering global talents. I firmly believe this platform will bring together more mentors and youths, incubate more creative ideas and bring about the emergence of more leaders of the future. I commend Dr Ong’s efforts, and look forward to attending each new activity!

(English translation by Zhang Yimeng 张漪萌, third-year undergraduate in law at University of Oxford, please find the original writing in Chinese below.)

参加“SMC青年徒步图书馆”活动有感

上海交通大学安泰经济与管理学院副教授 亚太首席代表 奚俊芳

参加 “SMC青年徒步图书馆”活动前，曾有多个组织邀请徒步，我始终顾虑重重，一方面是闷热的天气令人却步，更主要的是，我对于这类活动的效果存有疑惑，所以一直没有成行。然而，当新加坡导师委员会（SMC）创建人翁良荣博士介绍“徒步图书馆”时，我耳目一新，心中珍藏的公益之心被SMC的伟大使命瞬间激活，10月22日参加了首次活动，之后陆续参加了两次，每次都有新的体验和收获，记下一点心得抛砖引玉。 ?

活动的形式新颖别致，既富有创意，又务实高效。活动开始前，翁博士将参与者分成两组，一组为导师（Mentors）,一组为SMC青年（Mentees）,大家根据配对表单，与徒步伙伴沿着美丽的Hort Park And Henderson Waves栈道边走边交流。半小时后，大家交换沟通伙伴，多对多的组织形式使得每次活动中，无论是导师还是SMC青年，都有机会进行4-5次多元背景的深度交流。休息间隔，一位导师将给大家做主题分享，从其创业、管理经验到宏观环境探究、行业趋势展望，不一而足。活动持续约3小时，途中翁博士不时就沿途特色建筑或景点介绍其承载的文化和历史。整个活动有张有弛，寓教于乐，虽然长时间步行稍有疲惫，不间断交流嗓子发痒，但收获的是大汗淋漓后的畅快、心灵的愉悦以及深度交流的充实，我由衷地为翁博士和其太太刘紫薇女士点赞，他们的爱心、善意和远见受人尊重，令人佩服！

在当今复杂而焦虑的环境中，“SMC青年徒步图书馆”活动如一缕春风吹入心扉，又如春夜细雨润物无声，然而它的意义却是深远的，小小活动撬动的是分享传承教育、培育全球情商青年、东西方人才交流等厚重的话题。

无疑，SMC是培育未来领袖的平台。面对地缘政治的演变、全球疫情、气候变化、资源短缺、经济下行等复杂多变的因素，面对不确切的未来，青年领导者更需要具备非凡的勇气和高瞻远瞩的全球视野。SMC充分聚合新加坡信息、人才、技术、资本等优势，链接优质资源，促使各类人才资源间互动分享，传承理念、知识、经验等，打造具有全球视野、开放、创新思维的国际领袖人才。SMC导师既有来自跨国公司的高管，也有许多优秀的创业者，还有高校科研机构的科学家以及不同机构的专业人士等，平台促进互相交流，有机会通过合作共赢在各自的领域创造更大价值。从某种意义上讲，SMC正在打造一个多主体的共赢共利的人才生态圈。

此外，SMC在培育全球情商青年上将发挥独特的作用。2019年10月，新加坡企业发展局贸工部推出国际化人才培育计划（The Global Ready Talent Programme，简称GRTP），让海外扩展业务的本地企业安排本地学生赴其海外公司实习和工作。新加坡政府意识到企业要拓展海外业务，必须先培养一批具备国际视野及熟悉海外市场运作的年轻人。SMC的宗旨与政府培育国际化人才战略不谋而合，“SMC青年徒步图书馆”成为推动战略实施的有效路径，以生动的形式吸引在新加坡工作的不同文化背景的全球人才，为年轻人输送各类可以合作的全球资源（Collaborative Global Capacity），让他们在本地就可以低成本地学习全球知识，提高自己的全球情商（Global Quotient）,增强自身的全球胜任力（Global-ready）。

当然，SMC的融合形式有机地促进了东西文化的交流和互鉴。从几次活动的体验看，参与SMC的导师和青年来自不同的东西文化背景，有着各自鲜明的特色。东方文化体系的思维模式是综合的, 主张用“天人合一”智慧来处理人与自然的关系，而西方文化则建立在分析的基础上。两者虽有一定的冲突，但单纯的西方文化或者东方文化，在一定程度上都会显露其局限性。如何在共通的基础上实现互补融合，从而实现东西文化精神的贯通正是时代之需。应该说，SMC做出了大有裨益的尝试。就我个人而言，虽然我有着长期国际化的工作经历，但每次活动仍能从中受益良多。此外，徒步活动更令我理解了“教学相长”的古老哲学，师生共同探讨、不断交流、互相学习从而造就师生的共同提高。年轻人的活力、创新、勇毅，无时不给导师团队带来感动和启发。

以SMC为平台，SMC翁博士一直不遗余力地培育着国际化人才。我坚信平台将汇聚更多的导师和青年人，将孵化出更多的创新想法，将涌现出更多的未来领袖。我赞赏翁博士的努力，也期待着参加每一次新的活动！