2021 | YWILD Debuts “Unprecedented”
In 2015, the first Young Women in Leadership Dialogue (YWILD) was held to commend the women who have showcased leadership of self, community or society, and resilience to achieve these goals. Such women in turn serve as an inspiration to many other younger women looking to make their mark in the world.
Now, over 5 years after the inaugural session, in collaboration with MENDAKI Club and PPIS (Persatuan Pemudi Islam Singapura or Singapore Muslim Women’s Association) have documented some of these inspiring women’s life stories, in Unprecedented: To The Beat Of Her Own Drum, an anthology of 20 stories by women who have pushed the status quo.
YWILD, in collaboration with Mendaki Club, put together Unprecedented: To The Beat Of Her Own Drum, an anthology of 20 stories by women who have pushed the status quo.
From hawkers to humanitarian activists, these 20 amazing women come from a diverse spectrum of backgrounds and were nominated by the public for their traits of resilience, courage, compassion and commitment.
The book will be launched just two days ahead of the International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021, coinciding with this year’s IWD 2021 campaign theme of ‘Choose to Challenge’, and in line with the ongoing “Celebrating SG Women” movement in Singapore.
To honour these women, YWILD launched the book on Saturday, 6 March 2021, with the esteemed President Halimah Yacob officiating the event.
The President said, “Celebrating, encouraging and enabling the success of young Singapore women is a cause that is close to my heart. The release of the book is timely as the Ministry of Social and Family Development has dedicated 2021 as the Year of Celebrating SG Women. The book features the stories of 20 young Malay/Muslim women who have achieved success in various forms in their lives. I believe this is the first book of its kind and thus an important contribution to the evolving role of women in our community.”
“Telling stories is a time-tested way of shaping cultures and passing down shared values, and each of the stories captured in this book has the potential to move the heart of a young woman somewhere in the community to be the best version of herself. That is also a powerful message because we want the young women to look in the mirror and see a powerful version of themselves and not weaker versions of themselves. Through stories, we see elements of ourselves in others, and others in ourselves. If they can do it, why can’t we? The stories in the book remind us that there are many different paths to success and that hardships are but a phase in life.”
Proceeds of the book have gone to Casa Raudha, a charity which provides shelter for women and children who have been victims of domestic violence.
To buy Unprecedented: To The Beat Of Her Own Drum click here.