Eleven youths from various Swiss universities visited Singapore from 1 October to 14 October 2006 for the tenth Switzerland-Singapore bi-lateral youth exchange programme.

Their visit was a reunion for some National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) participants and Gold Award holders in Singapore who had met the Swiss youth when they visited Switzerland earlier this year.

The NYAA Council organised a programme for the Swiss youth, led by NYAA Gold Award holders, which gave them an overview of Singapore, provided them with many opportunities to interact with Singaporeans and enabled them to develop fruitful and meaningful friendships.

During their visit, Mr Zainudin Nordin, Mayor, Central Singapore District and Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, hosted a welcome dinner for the Swiss delegation organised by the NYAA Council at the RELC International Hotel on 4 October 2006. Mr Rolf Frei, Deputy Head of Missions, Embassy of Switzerland, also attended the dinner.

Over their two week stay, the Swiss youth met with Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development and Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC, at a Meet-the-People session, which enabled the Swiss youth the learn about the Singapore Government. They also visited NYAA Operating Authorities such as the National University of Singapore and the Institute of Technical Education where they enjoyed interacting with the students. They also visited companies such as Boncafe International, water treatment company, Hyflux and the Newater plant.

There were a lot of opportunities for the Swiss youth to learn about local culture and history as well during visits to places of interest such as Old Parliament House, the Arts House, the Singapore History Museum, Chinatown, the Malay Heritage Centre, Arab Street, Sentosa Island, the Esplanade and of course, not forgetting a shopping trip to Tampines Mall.

Swiss youth delegation with Mah Bow Tan,
Minister for National Development and
MP for Tampines GRC, at a Meet-the-
People session.

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Representative FHO