By HARIDHARAN JAGANATHAN

A MIND-BOGGLING, once-in-alifetime expedition... that's how I would sum up my Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) experience.

To have sat in the very same ballroom as Chinese president Hu Jintao and Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva; to have had the chance to interview prominent personalities like former Pakistan prime minister Shaukat Aziz, the executive director of the International Olympic Committee Gilbert Felli; and to have my own private chat with Singapore's President S.R. Nathan... these are special memories.

There were 116 youths from 18 countries and I was one of the 40 youth delegates representing Singapore picked to attend the summit as part of the Apec Voices Of The Future (VOF) programme, a youth initiative that gives participants an insight into Apec.

The very first day of our seven-day journey started with rigorous training by CEO of Strategic Moves Viswa Sadasivan on conducting a proper and effective interview. Mr Viswa's tips and techniques proved highly useful to us later on in the week when we found ourselves fighting alongside professional journalists for an opportunity to interview a prominent leader.

The youth delegates were split into groups of five with each group required to submit three reports per day on the day's happenings, details of our interviews and our reflections for VOF. We also attended the Apec Business Advisory Council meetings and the Apec CEO Summit.

I cannot deny that, at times, I felt very exhausted. Despite our late nights, we were required to report at eight sharp every morning. With security at Suntec City being unbelievably tight - there were metal detectors, scanners and security personnel at every corner - we had to get there even earlier.

Within Suntec, we found ourselves torn between listening to keynote speeches of prominent leaders at the CEO Summit, running outside to stop one of them for a short doorstop interview, attending pre-arranged events and going up to the International Media Centre to do our reports.

It was also our duty, as ambassadors of Singapore, to showcase our country and its culture to the foreign youth delegates.

For many of them, it was their very first time to Singapore. My group took our New Zealander friends to eat roti prata at a coffeeshop in Bugis Street.

In fact, Indian culture and shopping seemed very popular among the foreign youth delegates with many requesting to go to Mustafa Centre.

Some, like Huang Rowting from Taiwan, chose to spend their free time travelling to Little India to buy DVDs of Indian movies. The delegates from China and Japan were all keen to get henna designs on their hands whenever time permitted.

My one-week Apec journey has shaped me into a better person and a youth leader who has gained a fair understanding of the current business and economic situation in the 21 Apec economies.

A desire has been created in me to make tomorrow a better place through my own small efforts and by acting as a catalyst among my peers.

tabla@sph.com.sg

Haridharan Jaganathan, 21, is an accountancy student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He has cerebral palsy and uses crutches, yet is an active volunteer with the disabled. He was one of 40 Singaporeans picked to be one of the Apec youth ambassadors.