Building leadership communities and conversations is the driving force behind Social, an arm of Halogen that aims to spark discussions about leadership.

Halogen intern Sarah Png is a 20-year-old graduate of Ngee Ann Polytechnic. She was on the way to university when she took a three-month internship with the Social arm of Halogen. Her primary role is to handle social media.

“My internship was supposed to last three months before I was scheduled to start school in September. However, after just a month and a half into the internship, I found what I was doing to be really fulfilling,” says Sarah who made the decision to extend her internship period to six months before she commences on her university studies in communication, media studies and marketing in January next year.

Being immersed in a work culture where everyone believed in strong causes also made her think about how she would like to give back to society in the future. “I wanted for other youths to be impacted in the same way through a very current platform in which we engage in daily – social media,” she adds.

“I wanted for other youths to be impacted in the same way through a very current platform in which we engage in daily – social media.” – Sarah Png, Halogen intern

Facilitating conversations about leadership is the premise of Social, an arm created in Halogen in 2011. It is done through platforms such as Halogen online communities of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Halogen Think Tank, a community of leadership development educators to support each other through the sharing of challenges, opportunities and best practices, Halogen360, an in-house magazine that reaches more than 2,000 educators in 443 schools, and the Halogen Huddle, a quarterly gathering for Halogen volunteers to exchange views in a casual environment. Each is crucial in the support of leadership development and education.

Halogen’s head of Social, Jael Chng says, “We hope to shift mindsets and paradigms, and convince and reinforce the idea that leadership is about influence and everyone can be a leader. We also want to encourage educators and young people to step up and continue to be inspired to lead. Engaging young people digitally is also important so that they are aware that they can lead well through their digital influence.”

For example, when Singapore was experiencing hazy days this year, Halogen created a social media initiative #happyhazydays on Facebook to spread the message to young people that they can choose to put on a smile and give away masks, instead of just complaining about the weather. At every NYLD, themes are further reinforced through social media hashtags like #iamgame and #whatsnext, to challenge young people to share online about how they hope to give back to the community.

“Social media is current and for young people, it is akin to the concept of having conversations in an online kampong (village in Malay). A lot of educators and adults think it is frivolous and takes up too much of the young person’s time. What we at Halogen want to do is to make it more meaningful. It’s important for young people to know that they don’t have to use digital tools defensively,” says Jael, in response to current digital education that mainly revolves around cyber-wellness.

“Social media is current and for young people, it is akin to the concept of having conversations in an online kampong (village in Malay)… What we at Halogen want to do is to make it more meaningful.” – Jael Chng, Halogen Head of Social

For a Gen-Y like Sarah, her interaction with social media has given her hope for her generation. “It brings me great joy each time youths share their dreams and inspirations with us online, either through a message, hashtag or mention. It always serves as a reminder to keep doing what we do because lives are being impacted and we are sowing into the leaders of tomorrow.”

Besides the students, educators are also engaged through the Halogen Think Tank sessions and quarterly publication, Halogen360.

Mr Edwin Cheong, Head of Department of Student Leadership at Hougang Secondary School says, “Leadership is everyone’s business. I am privileged to be in the company of like-minded practitioners who feel that leadership skills can be learnt and everyone has the ability to lead in their own ways. The Halogen Think Tank not only allows us to share our experiences and challenges within our schools, it also updates us on the latest leadership development and trends. I am always encouraged after each Think Tank as we progress together on the journey to develop our future generations.”

Vivien Lee from the National Institute of Education shares, “Halogen360 provides varied and thought-provoking articles that leads me to reflect on the topic of leadership and what it means to be a good leader.”