In late 2009, some young passionate Vietnamese started to visualize an idea of a platform (Yplatform) where any talented and passionate youth can find mutual voices and gain supports from fellow countrymen to materialize ideas that can create positive impacts on various aspects of Vietnam.
In order to build up the network and resources for Yplatform, the team initiated a series of events including:
- Conferences to foster exchange of knowledge, ideas and contacts;
- Case competitions to put those ideas into test;
- And ultimately, sustainable projects brought together by like-minded individuals to realize the initial ideas
With that in mind, Ysummit 2010 – “Discover the Opportunities to Groom Your Talents for Vietnam” serves as a kick-start event for the above-mentioned series as well as a milestone that marks the existence of such an initiative. It invited 17 high-profile speakers from universities, non-profit organizations and businesses from Singapore and Vietnam to interact and discuss with 200 students and professionals various opportunities to contribute to the development of Vietnam, such as education, entrepreneurship, youth-led initiatives, careers in science and technology and corporate career path. The event was an inspiring experience for the organizers, speakers and participants. Essentially, Ysummit is the place where Vietnamese youth in Singapore gathered to share passions and be inspired by forerunners from diverse backgrounds.
Following that success, some members of the organizing crew took up yet another challenge – to plan and organize the next event aimed to provide a professional environment for teams of like-minded youth to be exposed to real business issues and work together to develop and test their solutions. It was materialized to Ychallenge 2011 Business Case Competition – “Compete to Contribute” for the youth in Vietnam and Singapore.
But Ychallenge aims to become not just another business case competition. In the long run, Ychallenge aspires to become a bridge between talented youth and the business community in Vietnam, and to create a conducive platform where like-minded individuals (regardless of locations, nationalities, or backgrounds) can network, share, and work together in the joint effort to strengthen Vietnamese business competitiveness in local and global market. The youth possess the passion to put the skills and knowledge trained from internationally recognized institutions into practice. Vietnamese businesses have the ambitions to grow and venture into new waters, but it could be worth to have international perspectives to look into and make the ambition more complete. It is this gap that Ychallenge envisioned to fulfill and TOGETHER, we hope to lay the first brick of a model that could possibly contribute something tangible to the well-being of our country – Vietnam.
Ychallenge 2011, partnering with SMU Case Writing Initiative and NUS Business School, has attracted more than 550 participants and drew attentions from some of the most successful corporations in Vietnam: Dong A Bank, Vinamilk, PNJ, Minh Long I, VNG Corporation (formerly VinaGame), Becamex IDC, and McKinsey & Company. That was the first brick of Ychallenge which has been laid with a significant impact. We are now planning for Ychallenge 2012, the next sequel in Ychallenge series, which aims to push the momentum one step further, and a little closer to what we have envisioned from the beginning…
And the story goes on… and on… with chapters next to chapters…
So that mutual voices can be heard. Great ideas will not be wasted. And meaningful impacts can be spread…
Essentially, the purpose of Yplatform’s existence is to connect, empower, and inspire the youth to take the lead in future waves of challenges, particularly those specific to the development of Vietnam. Leveraging on our core values of passion, leadership activation, diversity, innovaton, and sustainability, we strive to build a powerful network, firstly for Vietnamese students and professionals in Singapore and possibly around the world if circumstances favor us.
At Yplatform, it’s not so much about YOU joining US. It’s more that WE exchange our visions and passions, finding some common grounds, doing something together, and improvising along the way. That’s our spirit and we look forward to getting to know and talking to you soon!
To get involved in this aspiration, just simply write to info@yplatform.vn so that we can start exchanging our passions…