How Friendzone partnered Pasir Ris Central Youth Network to Activate Youths and Spark Community-Led Initiatives
The Context
When Pasir Ris Central Youth Network was newly formed, the team faced a familiar grassroots challenge: youths in the neighbourhood are often hard to reach through traditional channels. The grassroots network needed a partner who understood how to speak to youths in a way that felt relevant and inviting, while also designing programmes that could convert curiosity into sustained participation and ownership of the neighbourhood.
This was where Friendzone came in.
The Partnership
Since early 2023, Friendzone has worked closely with Pasir Ris Central Youth Network to design and facilitate community experiences that go beyond social interaction. The partnership focused on three key areas:
Tapping on Friendzone’s youth-centric marketing and outreach expertise to reach youth audiences living in Pasir Ris
Designing conversation-driven events around themes that resonate with youths today
Equipping engaged youths with the skills and confidence to become facilitators and organisers of follow-up sessions within their own neighbourhood
Rather than positioning Friendzone as a long-term operator, the intention was always to build capacity within the youth network itself.
What Friendzone Did
1. Reaching youths through youth-first marketing and outreach
Pasir Ris Central Youth Network tapped on Friendzone’s experience in youth marketing to rethink how programmes were positioned and communicated. This included shaping event narratives, framing participation as a social experience rather than a commitment-heavy obligation, and using language and visuals that felt relatable to young adults.
By aligning outreach with how youths discover and decide to attend events, the network was able to reach individuals who might not typically respond to neighbourhood or grassroots messaging.
2. Designing conversation topics that resonate with youths
To continuously attract new audiences, Friendzone worked with Pasir Ris Central Youth Network to curate a series of conversation-based events around themes that young people care deeply about, including:
Identity
Success
Purpose & Passion
Friendships & Relationships
Belonging
Youth Aspirations
These topics created accessible entry points for participation, allowing youths to attend based on curiosity and relevance to their own lives. The use of facilitated small-group conversations helped lower social barriers and made it easier for first-timers to engage meaningfully.
3. Activating community-led initiatives
In March 2025, Friendzone ran a Community Activation Workshop for Pasir Ris residents, focused on empowering participants to turn personal interests into community initiatives. Through guided brainstorming and practical frameworks for organising events, residents were encouraged to self-organise around shared passions.
Rather than prescribing projects, the workshop empowered residents to self-organise around shared interests. One of the outcomes was the formation of a neighbourhood book club, which emerged from the brainstorming session and continues to be self-organised by Pasir Ris neighbours today.
The Impact
Through this sustained engagement approach, Pasir Ris Central Youth Network saw growth not just in numbers, but in depth of involvement. Participation extended into volunteerism, facilitation, and committee roles, strengthening the network’s ability to run youth-led initiatives from within.
As Bryan Chiew, Chairperson of Pasir Ris Central Youth Network, shared:
“Since our collaboration with Friendzone in early 2023, Kampung Spirit initiative by Pasir Ris Central YN has experienced remarkable growth. Friendzone has helped us not only grow in numbers but also build a self-sustaining community where friendships and deep connections thrive.”
He also noted that Friendzone’s approach made it easier to bring together neighbours who might not otherwise meet, and that many participants went on to join Kampung Spirit as volunteers or committee members, further strengthening a youth-driven network.
Why This Worked
This transformation worked because outreach, content, and facilitation were treated as interconnected parts of the same journey. By combining youth-relevant marketing, meaningful conversation topics, and clear pathways for contribution, Pasir Ris Central Youth Network was able to reach new youths and gradually invite them into deeper forms of participation.
Looking Ahead
Friendzone continues to partner grassroots organisations that want to go beyond surface-level engagement. The Pasir Ris experience shows how intentional outreach and thoughtfully designed conversations can help transform a youth network — from one that struggles to reach young people, into one that is increasingly shaped and sustained by them.
