Resilience Camp XII

Taking inspiration from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which was held against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, Resilience Camp (RC) XII resumed this year with a renewed vigour. The 12th edition of RC was a deliberate return to the basic tenets and fundamental principles of student leadership and adopted a fluid blended learning programme to equip Secondary 3 students with the necessary leadership skills to face an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world.

84 Secondary 3 students with a diverse range of prior leadership training experiences responded to the open call. Over 10 training sessions from March to September 2021, students were put to the test with a variety of team-based and individual challenges over blended learning modes. Students were expected to exemplify and role model leadership not only during training but also in their day-to-day activities in class, Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) and in school.

This year’s RC XII included a collaborative workshop with Tiny Museums Project, one of the winners of the 2020 NUS Resilience and Growth (R&G) Innovation Challenge. As part of the project’s initiatives, students met with seniors who owned unique private collections ranging from the Malay ‘keris’, Peranakan beaded slippers, unique ‘kueh’ molds and traditional culinary tools. Through these sharing, students formed meaningful connections with the seniors and developed an appreciation and respect for the cherished local artefacts as well as their collectors. In response, students then shared videos of their own personal collections and meaningful interactions with seniors in an online presentation via Zoom entitled ‘Tiny Museums: Students’ Edition’.

Out of the 84 students, 26 students demonstrated the integrity and resilience needed to complete the full programme. For these exemplary 26 student leaders, their RC XII journey culminated in a virtual Resilience Camp conducted over the September holidays, where they showcased important skills gained from training such as active listening, team-building and creative problem solving in order to complete their final challenges. Identified by their signature RC XII t-shirts, they have emerged from the programme mentally, emotionally and physically resilient and ready to lead their peers and community.