My Singaporean friends, both abroad and in Singapore, were ardently blogging about this event, with lyrics of national songs like 'Count on me Singapore' finding their way into the posts.

The international students in Sweden were aware of the news and some came up to me with words of congratulations. I truly feel proud to be Singaporean.

But there remains much to be done in terms of cementing Singapore's global image.

Before going to Sweden, I thought that Singapore is a well-known nation, because of international recognition in areas such as education and government, having the best airport in the world, and now we have the Singapore Flyer, one of Asia's most iconic attractions.

But I got a rude shock upon interacting with fellow exchange students from South America, Australia and Europe. I was asked whether Singaporeans live in wooden houses. Some still thought that Singapore is located in China, and on four separate occasions we were asked if Singaporeans get jailed for spitting on the ground.

The above comments were made by youths from diverse cultures - but they are youths who have enjoyed the privilege of having the world's information at their fingertips, and who will be the core group of global professionals in a few years' time. Yet their impression of Singapore is remarkably erroneous. Perhaps I speak from a limited sample field, but the array of misconceptions was enough to distress me greatly. What is Singapore in the eyes of the Western world?

To be fair, stereotypes are entities which are powerful and difficult to erase. Yet, I realised that achieving educational accolades, constructing outstanding attractions, and launching major tourist-targeted events like the Great Singapore Sale have done little in eroding basic, outmoded impressions of our country.

Projecting an image from a tourist's point of view is but scratching the surface of the true essence of Singapore. From my intercultural experience in Sweden, I find this to be very true, for I have had numerous misconceptions debunked since my arrival. I have come to realise that culture is more than just monuments and buildings. It is the people.

Foreigners may know the Merlion as a representative symbol of Singapore, but if they do not see our way of life, communication, values and traditions... they have not seen Singapore at all.

Thus, the Youth Olympics presents an extraordinary chance for us to show the world who we are, not just what we have. It is through such deeper probing that we can eliminate stubborn misconceptions and create accurate impressions.

We can build the most splendid buildings but, at the end of the day, those are man-made icons which bear little significance of our evolution, both as a nation and as a people.

With the world watching, we should let foreigners see our country from our viewpoints, however varied they may be - for that is what it means to be Singaporean.

Poon Chian Hui (Ms)

Jonkoping, Sweden