“Your confidence and your worth should only be determined by one relationship – the one you have with yourself,” said Rachel Yeo, Vice-President of the Temasek Polytechnic-Institute of Public Relations Singapore (TP-IPRS) Student Chapter.
This is the message she is hoping to convey to the public through a “Love Yourself” campaign started by the TP-IPRS Student Chapter.
Inspired by a Dove campaign advertisement highlighting the extent people will go to beautify themselves, the second-year Communications and Media Management student felt the need to launch this campaign to raise awareness concerning low-self esteem among youths.
“I’ve always felt strongly about empowering females and teaching them to value themselves beyond their appearance,” the ambitious 18-year-old explained.
“Through some preliminary research, I also found that eating disorders were increasingly prevalent in both males and females in Singapore.”
Ms Lily Lim, a mentor and one of the lecturers in-charge of the TP-IPRS Student Chapter is also one that feels strongly about this campaign.
“Indeed, many youths today have insecurities about their looks, grades and talents or lack of them. So we hope to promote a culture of love in the community through this campaign,” Ms Lim explained.
The “Love Yourself” campaign, to be held on February 13, aims to encourage a positive environment for youths, both guys and girls, to embrace their quirks and appreciate their unique qualities.
Leading up to the main event, the TP-IPRS Student Chapter has also planned two other fringe events to raise money as well as awareness about the campaign.
The “Say It With Love” fundraiser gives students the opportunity to pass on a message of love, respect or admiration, either signed or anonymously, to a fellow student for a small fee.
For a little more, the “love messengers” will also give the addressee a stalk of rose as well as a box of chocolates.
Students are also welcomed to write their insecurities on a heart-shaped post-it note and paste it up on the wall at the entrance of Business School, symbolising them leaving their insecurities behind.
Besides the awareness that the Chapter is trying to raise, it also serves as an educational experience for the members in TP-IPRS to learn about public relations as well as to put into practice the concepts and theories learnt in the classroom.
“It is equally important that the campaign provides an opportunity for our Chapter members to gain hands-on experience of running a Public Relations Campaign,” Rachel explains.
Ms Lim also added that the campaign “is also the Chapter’s first Corporate Social Resposibility campaign and its way of reaching out and supporting the student community in TP.”
When asked what she ultimately hopes to achieve from this movement, Ms Lim broke into a smile and said “I hope that by encouraging the act of saying something positive about one another, we can create a supportive environment so that youths can love themselves more.”
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