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The National Youth Council (NYC) organised the National Youth Seminar at Suntec City Auditorium on 26 Feb 2000. In the run-up to the seminar, a series of workshops was held for the participants to brainstorm and formulate their recommendations. Dr Tan Chi Chiu, Mr Ong Keng Yong, and Mr Benedict Cheong were some of the speakers, while the discussion facilitators included Dr Gan Su-Lin and Mr Viswa Sadasivan. The topics discussed were "Youth & Nation", "Youth & Globalisation", and "Youth & Active Community".

At the seminar, the participants presented their recommendations. These included revamping the system of recruiting and promoting staff in the civil service, having overseas job attachments and setting up a Youth Ministry.

DPM Lee Hsien Loong, the Guest-of-Honour for the event, spoke on the need for world-ready Singaporean youths to remain rooted to Singapore. He announced the Youth Expedition Project (YEP), a new project that will provide youths with opportunities to go overseas for community service and cultural exchange. (read speech)

In his speech, Minister of State Mr David Lim, Chairman of NYC, examined the relationship between the government and people sector. He said that a relationship that was based on a confrontational approach generally resulted in a win-lose or lose-lose outcome. A relationship that was based on co-operation and one that was thought of in terms of "we" and not "us" versus "them", should be sought instead. He made the point in response to the Roundtable article on NGOs and civil society published in the Straits Times on 17 Feb. (read speech)