One of the aspiring ASEAN youths participating in the ASEAN Photo Competition 2021 is David Adam James Lee. Being a Singaporean, he recognized the way his country is using renewable energy as a way to adapt and transform the city towards more sustainable prosperity. His photo story titled “Singapore New Vision: City in a Garden” invites us for a trip to the city where efforts are made to tackle climate change through renewable energy.

Hi David, can you tell us about yourself?

Hello everyone, I am David Adam James Lee and living in Singapore. I am a student learning Filmmaking at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). I have been living in Singapore my whole life and grew passion in nature, photography, and filmmaking. I love the outdoors and capture the unexpected things nature gives and shares to the world.

Can you tell us about ASEAN Photo Competition 2021?

I came across ASEAN Photo Competition, with the theme of “#ASEANYouth Shaping the Vision of Sustainable Energy as the New Normal”. The competition tells a story of how the world can get a new way of energy that doesn’t harm the earth, the renewable energy.

What is your photo story about?

My story, titled “Singapore New Vision: City in a Garden”, is a story of how small yet diverse country with limited land can adapt and transform into a City in a Garden. Using solar panels onto rooftops or reservoirs to capture the sun and turn it into electrical energy which is a renewable energy that doesn’t harm the planet. Planting more trees and plants onto the side of the buildings and rooftops to keep the internal of the building cool and reduce the usage of air-conditioning. The plants also help to produce oxygen and reduce the carbon emissions that harm the planet as well.

My story does not show how great Singapore is but to show how a country can adapt and change as well as help different countries with the same issues. Each country is trying to find ways to reduce carbon emissions and go green by using renewable energy.

What did you do during the competition?

When the news came out on the selected ones in each country who made it to the finals, each of us must take part in a storytelling workshop. The workshop was held online as everyone is living in different parts of ASEAN and we got to see each other’s interests and skills. The workshop has taught each of us how to tell a story through photos as well as coming up with unique names for the story. Each of us from different parts of ASEAN helped each other out with the composition of the photos in each order and came out with different story names to find the one that’s right for us. Even when we were competing, all of us wanted each of us to do our best.

What did you learn by participating in this competition?

I have learned so much during this competition, not only learning about visual storytelling but also about what each country is struggling with and what they are improving on. Each country in ASEAN has its strengths and weaknesses, but each country helps one another to reduce carbon emissions and start using renewable energy as the new normal. Each of us can play a part in making something different to the world with renewable energy.

Edited by: Naila Syifa, Communications Intern