Chili Padi Academy is an environmental leadership & education accelerator programme for senior high school students from ASEAN countries including Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and previously, Malaysia.
Chili Padi Academy (CPA) targets high school students from ASEAN countries with the aim to equip them with the skills, emotional intelligence, and networks to become the next generation of environmental leaders in the ASEAN region. Past runs of Chili Padi Academy were joined by high school students from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
It begins with an education accelerator programme, which brings 8 passionate youths from each country to Singapore to learn about environmental issues, making sustainable and meaningful change and perspectives on the ground through visiting NGOs. By the end of the accelerator program, participants will propose innovative yet feasible solutions for their home communities that enhance environmental protection. The participants will then embark on a 3-month Home-Run, the project implementation phase where they will execute their projects with guidance from industry-based mentors, facilitators and CPA alumni. Home-Run culminates in the Together-Gather Conference, held in Indonesia, where the participants will evaluate their achievements and learning.
It begins with an education accelerator programme, which brings 8 passionate youths from each country to Singapore to learn about environmental issues, making sustainable and meaningful change and perspectives on the ground through visiting NGOs. By the end of the accelerator program, participants will propose innovative yet feasible solutions for their home communities that enhance environmental protection. The participants will then embark on a 3-month Home-Run, the project implementation phase where they will execute their projects with guidance from industry-based mentors, facilitators and CPA alumni. Home-Run culminates in the Together-Gather Conference, held in Indonesia, where the participants will evaluate their achievements and learning.
Why ASEAN?
With the advent of transboundary environmental issues such as the haze and sustainable forest management, there is a need to extend beyond our local communities and start thinking more globally. There is an ever-urgent need now to nurture and prepare young environmental leaders in ASEAN to sensitively conduct cross-border conversations and collaboratively develop innovative solutions. Chili Padi Academy aims to facilitate this empowerment process.
In the long run, we envision that the network of relationships built will equip our environmental leaders with not just skills and experience, but also a strong sense of community that is able to work beyond religious and cultural differences, in order to effectively engage with environmental problems in the region.
The past runs of Chili Padi Academy in 2016, 2017 and 2018 have involved participants and organisers from 3 ASEAN countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. In the 2019 run, we welcomed the new addition of the Philippines. This coming cycle, slated to occur in 2020, will be our most ambitious cycle yet – we will be involving, for the first time, all four partner countries.
In the long run, we envision that the network of relationships built will equip our environmental leaders with not just skills and experience, but also a strong sense of community that is able to work beyond religious and cultural differences, in order to effectively engage with environmental problems in the region.
The past runs of Chili Padi Academy in 2016, 2017 and 2018 have involved participants and organisers from 3 ASEAN countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. In the 2019 run, we welcomed the new addition of the Philippines. This coming cycle, slated to occur in 2020, will be our most ambitious cycle yet – we will be involving, for the first time, all four partner countries.
Our Goals
CPA's core objective is to empower a network of young environmental leaders in ASEAN to create change in their communities.
- To equip young environmental changemakers with skills such as design thinking and social emotional intelligence.
- To create sustainable and meaningful change in local communities through the various projects implemented by the participants.
- To forge a strong regional network of young environmental changemakers through building relationships with fellow participants, Chili Padi Academy alumni, local mentors and NGO partners.
- To facilitate cross-cultural and inter-religious sharing and exchange.
Our Approach
Chili Padi Academy adopts the Head-Heart-Hand approach to achieve our goals.
"Head"During the 1-week Accelerator program in Singapore, participants will be equipped with skills and knowledge such as Problem-Based Learning and Design Thinking. These will be experienced firsthand through training workshops and site visits to NGOs to observe examples of how organisations apply their various skillsets to tackle complex, real-world problems.
The accelerator program enables participants to acquire practical skills that they can utilise in the implementation projects and beyond. |
"Heart""Heart" is manifested in our adoption of the Social Emotional Intelligence (SEI) framework. SEI promotes elements of self and social awareness such as empathy and motivation. In CPA, we create a safe community of support and trust amongst the participants and facilitators.
This process begins during the accelerator, with dedicated group sharing sessions that will extend throughout the 3-month Home-Run phase. Group members will be encouraged to share about their successes and failures, building an environment whereby they can support each other and learn from each other’s experiences. |
"Hand"“Hand” represents the action element of CPA, the Home-Run phase. Participants will be provided with seed funding to implement their environment projects based on the needs of their communities. Participants will also be given the opportunity to engage with mentors from various organizations and U.S. State Department alumni and learn from their expertise, establishing meaningful relationships with these organizations and providing a network for future project collaborations.
Participants also engage other youths in the execution of their projects. Through connecting with other youths in their local communities, they inspire and empower other youth to act in response to environmental issues. |