Ambassador For A Day

What’s it like to be a strong woman who represents her country abroad? Thirteen girls who won our Ambassador for a Day contest got a once-in-alifetime chance to find out.

- Melinda Murphy

In our March issue, as a salute to International Women’s Day, we launched a contest for girls ages 10 to 18 to spend a day with one of Singapore’s female ambassadors. Much to our delight, we were buried with applications from girls of all ages and nationalities. Narrowing it down to thirteen was incredibly hard as they were all excellent applicants.

And what days they had! Each winner’s experience was unique, with all the ambassadors and their staff really rolling out the red carpet for their “minis”. The girls learned about diplomacy, attended events and met interesting people – one even met the President of Singapore, Halimah Yacob! The Canadian High Commissioner also planned a luncheon for all who could attend. Some girls described their day as a life-changing experience.

We’re incredibly proud to have been a part of this initiative, and in this issue we present Part One of the girls’ experiences. Be sure to read our July issue for more!

Hui Yue Xi (Joyce), 18, Singaporean

School: St. Andrew’s Junior College

Ambassador: Margriet Vonno, Netherlands

Why did you want to be Ambassador for a Day?

To find out more about the career track of becoming a diplomat and the ambassador of my country as I’m considering taking Political Science at university.

How did you and the ambassador spend your time together?

Firstly, I met Ms Vonno at the Dutch Embassy; she’s a very pleasant and amiable woman. Her driver then took us to our first event of the day, Tulip Mania at Gardens by the Bay. When we arrived, we were treated as VIPs, and cameras started flashing in front of us – it was an eye-opening experience for me. We were given a tour of the Flower Dome and welcomed by the director of Gardens by the Bay; I even received a special gift from Royal Dutch Airlines.