[Inter-Asean]
On Thursday, Minister Vivian Balakrishnan hosted a dinner for the youth delegates and other Asean ministers at The Legends at Fort Canning.

There was a little photo exhibition with photos from around the region.







We were also treated to an array of dance and cultural performances.



Most of the participants were dressed in their traditional costumes for the dinner. I took the opportunity to mingle and take photos with the rest of the youth liason officers and delegates from various countries.



In his opening address, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said: "As the Youth Caucus told us this morning, the pre-requsite is education. We make sure our people have the required education to enable them to exploit the many many opportunities that are opening up. But education alone is textbook knowledge, it's not enough. We also need young people to be able to look into their hearts and to exploit their talent and their potential in terms of their ability to volunteer, their ability to commit to causes that they believe in. So the proposal by the Youth Caucus and the various ways to promote greater interaction and engagement amongst young Asean. I think will lead to an empowering of youth expression, youth collaboration and multiple, multiple youth projects."

He also spoke about the launch of the $5 million fund set aside by the government for youth projects in the region.