Singapore sets up organising committee for first Youth Olympics
Posted: 24 March 2008 1823 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday appointed Ng Ser Miang as the chairman of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC) Board.

Mr Ng, who is the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board member in Singapore, has been instrumental in bringing the Games to the city-state.

The organising committee for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010 is set up with its 22-member SYOGOC board, an inter-ministry committee and a panel of advisors.

Other prominent members of the board include MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Michael Palmer and MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Zainudin Nordin.

It also includes key officials from the sports fraternity. Among them is Singapore Sports Council CEO Oon Jin Teik.

Also on the board is MediaCorp deputy CEO Shaun Seow.

To give young people a voice, the youngest member of the team is 23-year-old national sailor Koh Seng Leong.

Dr Balakrishnan said: "Singapore YOG Organising Committee has been entrusted with the heavy responsibility of staging the first-ever Youth Olympic Games in just under two and a half years."

"This is a big challenge but I am confident that, with the expertise and resources that the board has, coupled with the leadership of Mr Ng Ser Miang, Singapore will give the young athletes participating in the first YOG in 2010 a truly memorable and exciting Games," he added.

The MCYS minister also said: "Making sure that our facilities are ready is now our top priority... The other on-going activity is the recruitment of volunteers... We need to make sure our volunteer management system is (in) place so that (volunteers) get replies and they know how and what they can contribute."

The panel advisors are Dr Balakrishnan, Minister for Defence and president of the Singapore National Olympic Council Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Finance and Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Parliamentary Secretary for MCYS Teo Ser Luck.

To support the work of SYOGOC, an inter-ministry committee has also been established with MCYS Permanent Secretary Niam Chiang Meng as its chairman.

The inter-ministry committee comprises five committees in the areas of sports, culture and education, community outreach, youth engagement, and business and marketing. - CNA/ac