Young people in Singapore want more space and time to get involved in social causes that they are passionate about, such as volunteer work.

This was a key point discussed at the first youth sector dialogue in the ongoing Our Singapore Conversation series, held at Scape on Thursday morning.

The dialogue organised by the National Youth Council saw 100 participants from youth sector organizations and youth social enterprises discuss ideas on what motivates youth and the challenges they face in creating social change.

As a group, the youngsters felt that schools and organisations should also engage students and employees to be more involved in the community.

Mr Lawrence Wong, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and chairman of the National Youth Council who was at the event on Thursday, said that it takes time to bring about fundamental changes in schools, for example, and mindsets need to change.

Said Mr Wong: "It's a lot about engagement and communication, and getting people to understand why we are doing certain things."