Fresh graduates, young entrepreneurs, civil society leaders, community workers, researchers, junior professionals, artists, creative change makers who are between the ages of 20 and 30, and have a seed of an idea that they want to develop into a full-grown project.
Preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate how this Programme will directly benefit them, their community and their country.
Proficiency in English is required. If you are accepted you will be required to participate fully in the discussions and role-plays in English.
How to apply?
Applying is a 2-step process. First, you need to send these details to Said Hamadi at said@wief.org.
Second, if you are selected as a candidate, you are liable to pay a registration fee of USD100 to secure your placement.
Key points to note
WIEF Young Fellows 2014 is a subsidized programme for accepted candidates. Participants need to pay only the registration fee and their own return flights. Accommodation and transportation during the programme period, programme materials and basic everyday meals are covered by the organizer.
Closing Date of Application: 9 May 2014
Confirmation deadline. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of selection latest on 16 May (earlier applicants will be notified earlier.)
Proof of participation. If you are selected, you will be given a 2-week deadline to send us proof of your participation, by submitting your confirmed flight itinerary and paying your registration fee. Participants seeking financial support from their own organization and/or other foundations, crowdfunding, or sponsors, need to do so by the given deadline. If you pass this deadline, the organiser will transfer this opportunity to another candidate.
Commitment. As an annual programme, we only have spaces for 30 young leaders every year. It is a privilege if you are selected for this programme as you are chosen amongst hundreds of applicants. We expect you to take this opportunity to commit fully to the programme.
Cancellations. Please think before you register. Make sure you really can make the time to participate because last minute cancellations result in an opportunity lost to another young leader.
It was barely a couple of weeks ago when I first heard about FiTree and their plans to organise a couple of Green Iftars during the month of Ramadan — on the 15th and 27th July 2013. “OH YES!!! Finally, more Singapore Muslims are actively thinking and doing their bit for the environment.”
Green Iftars may be seen as a novelty in Singapore, but is nevertheless part of a steady trend amongst environmentally-conscious Muslims worldwide attempting to operationalise and mainstream environmental practices in their communities, based on Islamic principles related to the environment. Last year, a few of us did our own small-scale green iftar.
FiTree’s efforts are commendable given the fact that they’ve recieved great support from Masjid Darul Aman to organise the iftar. In addition to being given the liberty to put up posters and set up their booths virtually anywhere around the mosque, Masjid Darul Aman has also supported FiTree introducing the use of biodegradable cutlery for the event.
Fellow Project ME-er, Ibrahim, and myself rocked up at Masjid Darul Iman at about 6pm. FiTree folks were busy putting the final touches to their posters and two booths – one on the men’s side and another on the women’s side of the mosque. In addition to giving out free bookmarks with various Quranic verses on the environment printed on them, FiTree folks also selling cute little badges for 2 bucks. A tazkirah (sermon) on the importance of the environment in Islam was also delivered prior to the breaking of fast.
Take a tip!
After breaking fast and Maghrib prayers, Project ME-ers and some members of FiTree had a chat on how the evening went and other broader issues related to Islamic environmentalism. Given that it was the first Green Iftar in a mosque, it was interesting to observe the responses of the congregation. Speaking in Malay was clearly an important factor in relaying the message, particularly to the older men and women in the mosque, and it was great that the FiTree bookmarks had both English and Malay translations of the Quranic verses. Another interesting response from several makciks when given the bookmarks was “Do I have to pay for this?”, to which we responded “No Aunty, it’s free”. A few of them placed their new bookmarks in between the pages of their qurans and Islamic books.
This has certainly been a good start for FiTree and part of their learning curve in further advancing FiTree’s efforts to increase envioronmental awareness amongst Muslims. If you would like to participate in their next Green Iftar, do check out their Facebook page.
Good news and opportunities should always be shared. Like this one.
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Call for Applications for the Islamic Development Bank Group’s Young Professionals Program (YPP)
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group which based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is pleased to announce the recruitment for it’s Young Professionals Program. The Young Professionals Program (YPP) is the strategic talent pipeline for professional careers in the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group. The Program is designed for outstanding young graduates who can significantly help the IDB Group to carry out its mission and attain its objectives. Details of the YP Program are attached.
IDB representatives will be in Singapore on 4 March 2013 to conduct a career presentation to registered participants and interview pre-selected candidates. If you are interested, kindly do the following:
a) Those who meet the YP Program requirements are advised to apply online through: www.isdbcareers.com
You shall be contacted if you are selected for preliminary interview scheduled on 4 March 2013
b) The career presentation is open to all but space is limited. Please register your participation to: ypp@isdb.org. Walk-ins are subject to place availability.
Details of presentation are as follows:
Date 4 March 2013
Time 10.45 am
Venue 5th Floor,Muis Academy, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis)
Singapore Islamic Hub, 273 Braddell Road, Singapore 579702
In addition, the Bank will also participate in the Career & Education Fair 2013 at Marina Bay Sands on 2 – 3 March 2013. You are welcome to visit the Booth 100C for a career discussion.
A slight abberation to what I usually post, but this is such a MUST post!
Shila Amzah from Malaysia wins the Asian Wave 2012 in China with her amazing voice, stage presence and lovely choice of songs from three languages – English, Mandarin and Malay.
Not only is Shila a testament that language is no boundary and music and passion conquers all, she’s truly an inspiration for many of us, especially Muslim youth worldwide.
Congrats Shila! The judges’ reactions are totally EPIC (especially at 14:57)! Haha! You rock!
Best wishes from the concrete island across the causeway 🙂
You know that feeling when you just HAVE to do something? This was one of them.
Having been inspired by the Origami envelope video, I just had to try out making Eid envelopes by recycling (or rather upcycling) some old newspaper.
Grabbed some paint and stencils from good ol’ Bras Basah complex, and those creative juices went flowing like rapids.
So it worked! But let’s see how many more can be made before my family’s Eid Open house party. For now, acryllic painting seems to have taken over henna painting!
(A) You know you’ll be needing a stack of envelopes for money for the kids. Choose from the standard Eid Mubarak taglines, or new comic relief sorts with cheesy lines. Har har…
(B) You know the kids will just rip open the envelopes for the money and just thrash those envelopes which you spent a good 20 minutes at the shop/ Ramadan bazaar rummaging through to a pile to find the most “unique” out of the standard sorts.
(C) Its clearly a waste of paper, and definitely a waste of your money. You could have use those extra bucks for a nice-thirst quenching “air kathira” or even donate it to the “tabung aidilfiitri” or the random beggar across the street.
Solution: Make your own envelopes! Its easy on the pocket, and easy on the trees. What’s more, you spice it up with your own decorations and personal messages. Check out this video for an easy-peasy origami envelope!
This art piece is brilliant and reflective of the reality of who we really owe the beauty of our clean and green concrete landscape to.
I have often said to overseas friends, who are very impressed with Singapore’s cleanliness, that there is a reason for that. We have people to pick up after us. Oftentimes either elderly Singaporeans or foreign labourers. Call it job creation, if you wish.
As rough as it may sound, it is probably the case that, had there not been road sweepers, Singapore would not be as clean and green as it is. Why should it be that way? Shouldn’t we, as Singaporeans, take pride and the responsibility of ensuring the cleanliness of our own home? To the extent of picking up litter when we see it?
As Muslims, cleanliness and hygiene are strongly encouraged in Islam. Aside from ensuring your own personal cleanliness and hygiene, there is also an abundance of reference to ensuring the cleanliness of surroundings. One such Hadith reads:-
“Removing any harm from the road is charity (that will be rewarded by Allah).” (Bukhari)
Clearly, there is so much that an individual can do, moreover what Singapore Muslims can do as part of their civic and religious duty. It is part of our faith to protect the environment, which is in itself a service to society.
Me: “I’m having a Green Iftar on National Day, and you’re welcome to come. We’ll be breaking our fast with all things vegetarian.”
Cousin:”Huh?! Where’s the meat? No meat, sure pengsan (faint), lah!”
Well, no we didn’t pengsan.
I’m glad that I finally got a chance to do a little green iftar with a few environmentalists on Singapore’s 47th Birthday. While it was just a small group of girls (the boys couldn’t make it!), it was perfect way of testing out a new initiative with some heart-to-heart conversations on various topics related to the environment, as well as our faiths and cultures.
But… Why a Green Iftar?
1) Less consumption, more health
Simply put: To walk the sustainability talk.
Similar to other efforts by Green Muslims worldwide, we incoporated sustainable practices in our iftar. In a bid to reduce waste and carbon footprint, no disposable utensils were used during the event, and guests were encouraged to bring spare tupperwares to take home any leftovers. We even opted for using the fans instead of the air-con!
To make our iftar more personal and meaningful, each person was to bring a vegetarian dish to share. It was wonderful to have home-made nutritious dishes (some of which took quite a bit of effort) and just gain a greater appreciation for vegetarian food.
From vegetarian bee hoon and pasta to baked tomatoes stuff with quinoa and capsicum, wonderful salads and dips (including home grown ingredients like mint and bluepea) topped off with pound cake, homebaked cookies, fruits, juices and lemongrass tea. It was all deeeeelish!!! 😀
Healthy vegetarian iftar FTW!
2) Green Chit-Chat
One of the main aims of the green iftar was also for environmentalists to have a chance to get together and share their thoughts and experiences on various issues related to the environment. Topics of discussion included challenges in engaging sections of society to be more environmentally conscious, encouraging environmental conscious behaviour via highlighting the significant benefits to one’s health, ways of improving the connections between various stakeholders, the humane treatment of animals as part of food choices, the importance of environmental issues in intercultural exchange, and various tools/methods to enhance the sharing of experiences.
3) Enhancing inter-faith dialogue
What I found to be the best aspect of the green iftar, was the ability to use an environmental initiative for the benefit of other social and cultural exchanges. While my initial thoughts of invitees were to be Muslims, I chose to extend the invitation to non-Muslims as well. No man is an island, and the environmental movement is clearly a reflection of that. In addition to non-Muslim guests gaining greater insight to Islam and the diversity amongst Muslims, the green chit-chat was certainly enhanced with a discussion on the cultural aspects and values associated with the environment based on our own ethnic backgrounds. Common threads such as food and water have played significant roles in bringing communities together as well as a means of understanding and appreciating how nature works.
It was agreed that such spaces for sharing such environmental as well as cultural values and practices would be a way of transcending differences and a means of facilitating greater collaboration. With events such as Diwali, Eid al Adha and Navratri coming up in the next few month, it would be a chance to have yet another similar gathering. Yay! 😀
Resources on the environment, faith and communities.
OK… Then what?
While the Green Iftar was a lovely experience, there are perhaps two factors that make it difficult to translate environmental (or any other) activities into something bigger. One comment was that the energy and enthusiasm created in environmental events tends to die off after a while, for the fact that people are sucked back into their “normal” life. Another comment was because society prefers to remain passive and would only latch on to an initiative if there’s a “leader” spearheading it. While this may be to extent true, I’d like to have some hope that there are some people in society that care enough and are willing to experiment on their own.
Leading people is good, but empowering people to be leaders in their own right would be so much better. Moreover, for initiatives that encourage personal behavioural change, you are ultimately your own leader. Taking the effort to have a green iftar with one’s own family and friends outside environmental circles, for instance, will be a challenge but is ultimately the best chance of avoiding being ‘sucked’ back into the normality of careless consumption.
10-day Ramadan Challenge for fellow Muslim brothers and sisters:-
As we commit to more intensive spiritual reflection and rituals in commemoration of Lailatul Qadr in the last 10 days of Ramadan, let’s also make a conscious effort to reinforce one of the main reasons of why we are fasting. To put ourselves in the position of those who have so much less than us. To put ourselves in the position of those that can’t afford meat, let alone enjoy a decent meal.
Several Muslims have demonstrated that it is possible to adopt healthier and greener iftars, if we put our minds to it. Do try to take the effort to reduce your meat intake during this tail end of Ramadan, which just means making a conscious decision of what you want to eat. Encourage family members, such as mothers, to cook vegetarian recipes that are nutritious but also filling. For Muslims in Southeast Asia, think sayur asam rebus, sambal tempeh/telur, kacang pool, or even a banana shake! It would also be much easier to have vegetarian meals at this point, given the fact that many of us would already naturally have a smaller appetite after fasting for the past 20 days. If you must, then limit white meat intake to a couple of days a week. More importantly, do share the experience and beauty of Ramadan to your non-Muslim friends.
Still can’t get over just having veggies for iftar and sahur? Well think about it, at least you know it’s been worth it while you’re busy stuffing yourself on Eid! 😉
Yes, it is possible to take wudhu with such a slow water flow. There is no doubt that many of us are so used to letting the tap flow profusely without giving a second thought to how much water we are wasting.
“Do not waste water… Even if you are taking [ablution] from a big running river”
— Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) via Abu Dawood & Ibn Majah
Some people may still not be convinced that a small water flow will be enough. I say that’s just psychological and an over-reliance of having more than less. I personally found that cupping your hands together to collect the water before performing each wudhu action would create a water flow that is just as sufficient when cleansing each body part.
It may take a few seconds more than usual, but it’s so worth it because you’ll be saving bucket-loads before you know it.
NB: No water was wasted when taking this photograph.
It’s halfway through Ramadan already and many of us are wishing time didn’t pass so fast. This blessed month is indeed an opportune time for spiritual cleansing, charity and quality family time. That said, how many of us have actually used Ramadan as a time to reflect on our consumption patterns. While we have controlled our appetites during daylight hours, how many of us have actively made healthier eating options come sunset? Ramadan is clearly the best time to make these changes slowly. Here are some thoughts:-
1) Get them tupperwares ready!
What is perhaps even harder than the actual fast itself, is avoiding a binge fest after breaking the fast. We’ve all had the “oh-I-want-this-and-oh-yummy-I-want-that” feeling in the last few hours before maghrib (Warning: Ramadan bazaaars!). The tendency of having more food than can actually be consumed still happens, especially during family and communal iftars. And that is, in some ways, understandable. Everyone brings something to share with everyone else, but sometimes, it just ends up being too much. That said, we can avoid it and minimise wastage simply by (1) planning how much food is needed given the amount of people expected to turn up, and knowing who’s bringing what; and (2) taking home leftovers for sahur or the next day’s iftar.
Several folks have sought to encourage these practices. From the US ,where Green Muslims in DC have had their first “Leftar”, to greenies in Malaysia encouraging people to BYO bag and food containers to the various pasar Ramadans to reduce the use of diposables. In Singapore, a bunch of Project ME-ers are also planning to have a little Green Iftar (test run!) very soon. Stay tuned for more news on that.
2) Making those vitamins and minerals count.
Various health experts have noted the benefits of eating your fruits before rather than after your meal, particularly for so that the vitamins and minerals from the fresh fruits are absorbed by our bodies at an optimal rate. Current sunnah (Prophetic practices) on breaking your fast can already facilitate this. In one of the many articles available on how to control our appetites in Ramadan, one of main tips has been to open the fast with something small (dates or water), take a little time-out to do maghrib prayers, and then back to the dinner table and go slow with the rest of the food. Hence, adding some fruits to go with the dates and water when breaking your fast just makes sense.
So while its really tempting to grab a pakora at the sound of the azan, try a slice of papaya, pear, plum or pineapple instead.
3) Just do it!
People tend to disregard the significance of making baby steps in affecting change. Change starts with oneself, and the little steps will have a personal impact, granted we put in the effort to do so, InshaAllah. Here’s a little snippet of my recent sahur and iftar meals. Aside from the greens and fruits, I had a easy-peasy DIY date smoothie (you can opt for a naughtier option with ice-cream or whole cream) and got some bubur masjid (a.k.a. porridge from one of the local mosques) from a colleague (Thanks Pak Karim!).
Glad to say, I’ve survived the day, and the breaking of fast with fruits was refreshing and detoxifying 🙂
Anti-Clockwise: Cherries, Dates and Kiwi for iftar, DIY Date shake for sahur, greens and porridge for both iftar and sahur. Yum!
“Nothing is worse than a person who fills his stomach. It should be enough for the son of Adam to have a few bites to satisfy his hunger. If he wishes more, it should be: one-third for his food, one-third for his liquids, and one-third for his breath.”
The World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) invites applications for its 2014 WIEF Young Fellows programme from 18-24 June in Manila.
Sofiah Jamil 