This full-day event is a follow-up to the Problem-Scoping Workshop for the Malay-Muslim Community (MMC) conducted on 4 December 2018. Based on the Design Thinking (DT) process, the workshop concluded with the creation of eight personas outlined with associated issues. Participants arrived at the consensus that issues faced by Malay youths should be given priority for discussions in subsequent workshops. This is because, if left unaddressed, problems faced by these young Malays will cascade into the other domains of their lives as they mature into adulthood.
During the Problem-Scoping Workshop, two personas encompassing such issues were proposed and after much discussion, agreed upon. These are youths subsequently named as “Atan” and “Daniel”.
“Atan” has been given the attributes of a 15-year-old boy who is described as the eldest of three siblings. His parents have not been able to secure full-time employment, resulting in the youth taking on a part-time job to help support his family. His school attendance is low and he is not performing well academically; he is also at risk of becoming a juvenile delinquent. Unless he receives help in overcoming his problems, Atan faces the danger of being expelled from school and potentially turning to a life of crime.
“Daniel” can be seen as an earlier version of “Atan”. The 13-year-old is also currently “not performing” in secondary school, despite doing relatively well when he was in primary school. While his parents want him to be successful in life, they do not appreciate the value of education. Daniel’s teachers however still see potential for him to be an achieving student. Daniel is constantly distracted with problems at home. He is often torn between his divorced parents who are feuding despite being given joint custody over him. His father has since remarried and Daniel, who previously lived with his mother, now has to live with his father. The youth also has a poor relationship with his step-mother.
This Solution-Seeking Workshop will focus on identifying and prioritising solutions to the problems faced by these two characters.
Following the DT framework, the workshop will require participants to initially work in specific teams and later, together as a whole. Jonathan Hoel from Innovator SG will reprise his role of lead facilitator for the workshop. As with the previous event, this workshop promises plenty of opportunities for discussions and aims to get participants to synthesise and synergise their thoughts into generating actionable solutions to the problems experienced by these two personas.
The event will bring together practitioners and decision makers on the ground, as well as policymakers and academics representing the different areas of concern for the MMC.