Chew Wei Qiang, Joel (left) receives his award from Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (right).
A photograph taken by Chew Wei Qiang, Joel, our Marketing Degree student, was selected as the third prize for this year’s Singapore World Water Day (SWWD) photography competition. In conjunction with SWWD, the National Youth Achievement Award Council organised a photography competition with the theme “Take a Shot, Save the Drops”. The competition hopes to ignite the creative minds of young photographers to capture their perspectives of water conservation through the lens.
Joel’s photo was exhibited at the SWWD Opening Ceremony on 2 Mar 2019 at the Marina Barrage. The opening ceremony was graced by President of Singapore, Madam Halimah Yacob, and hosted by Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.
He had the honour to meet and share his winning photo with the President at the exhibition booth. His winning photo will be one of the 60 photos highlighted in the NYAA-PUB Book to commemorate the Singapore World Water Day 2019.
“Starting my photography journey at the age of 12, photography has been my passion ever since. Going beyond capturing memories, I always believe that photography is a medium through which we can express ourselves fully and highlight pertinent issues through powerful imagery that can tug the heartstrings of the audience. These reasons also motivated me to volunteer with various organisations to give back to society and make a difference in the lives of others through my photography passion.
Through the “Take a Shot, Save the Drops” photography competition organised by the National Youth Achievement Award Council (NYAA) Young Photographers Network and supported by NYAA, photographers emphasise the importance of cherishing and saving water through photos. I chose to adopt the perspective of children, the future of Singapore. My photo submission portrayed children playing with water, bringing them utmost joy. While water might be often taken for granted, children can remind us to treasure and save water especially when we see how much it means to them. After all, water is precious and together we can save water for our future generations.”