Dr Mohammad Zaidi Bin Ariffin joined the Red Cross Youth (RCY) as a Cadet in secondary school. Subsequently, he became a Volunteer Instructor, and pioneered the RCY - Raffles Institution Junior College Chapter in 2006. He was appointed the Youth Representative of the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) Council, and has represented the Singapore Red Cross in the Asia Pacific Youth Summit in Ajloun, Jordan in 2010. He has also chaired the Asia Pacific Youth Summit in 2018 and organised a Humanithon, where youth teams brainstormed ideas, and pitched proposals to address pressing issues such as climate change and mental health.

Dr Zaidi joined the Red Cross Youth (RCY) family as a Cadet when he was a Secondary 1 student, as he was drawn to RCY’s humanitarian work. As a reserved youth, he had not imagined that he would one day be taking on appointments and responsibilities to represent the Singapore Red Cross at global events.  

Subsequently, he volunteered as a Volunteer Instructor (VI), and joined other VIs in organising programmes such as the Unit Leaders Programme and the First Aid Competition, to empower youth to maximise their potential as leaders in RCY. He pioneered the RCY - Raffles Institution Junior College Chapter in 2006, and represented the Singapore Red Cross in the Asia Pacific Youth Summit in Ajloun, Jordan in 2010. 

During his first year at university, Dr Zaidi was appointed the Youth Representative of the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) Council, and he actively championed RCY's involvement in global humanitarian summits and conferences.

In the Asia Pacific Youth Summit in 2018, which he chaired, Dr Zaidi encouraged the Asia Pacific leaders to invest in youth engagement to address the needs of the local community. He organised a hackathon - Humanithon, where youth leaders from various National Societies brainstormed ideas in teams, and pitched the ideas to address pressing issues such as climate change and mental health. The top five pitches were presented to the Asia Pacific leaders during the 2018 Asia Pacific Leaders Conference, where leaders were encouraged to ‘invest’ in those ideas.

Sharing why this experience was meaningful to him, he said, “I was directly involved in conceiving and curating the programme. We solicited the ideas and voices of youth in the Asia-Pacific region. It is an example of how the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement  empowers its youth to voice their concerns about local humanitarian issues.”

Dr Zaidi advises his juniors to make the most of their RCY experience, “I hope our youth will be inspired to learn, maximise their potential, and become the humanitarian leaders of tomorrow. Reach out and serve passionately to meet the needs of our community, while inspiring and working together with your peers and seniors. Be the change you want to be!”