Yong Ying-I, Chief Executive Officer, IDA Singapore - Address e-Celebrations Singapore 2001 Appreciation Night, Conrad International Ballroom
Yong Ying-I, Chief Executive Officer, IDA Singapore - Address
e-Celebrations Singapore 2001 Appreciation Night, Conrad International Ballroom
Singapore, 15 May 2001
1 Good evening, Associate Professor Yaacob Ibrahim, ladies and gentlemen.
2 Thank you for joining us tonight. This appreciation night is put together specially for you, to thank you for your unstinting commitment to Singapore's e-lifestyle movement. I am glad to see so many familiar faces here. Tonight closes the door on this year's e-Celebrations Singapore, but opens the door to greater things ahead.
3 When e-Celebrations Singapore first began in 2000, we had 33 events organised with 42 partners. This year, there has been a three-fold increase in the number of events under the e-Celebrations Singapore umbrella, a new record of 106 events with 64 partners.
4 This year's activities were designed to catalyse the transition from awareness to adoption by imparting the 4Es that are relevant and beneficial to our daily lives - e-Learning, e-Entertainment, e-Communications and e-Transactions. I believe that if the internet is to be meaningful, it must be helpful to Singaporeans from all walks of life to better enjoy life or help realise their potential. With community outreach events, exhibitions, thematic online fairs and training programmes, you have helped Singaporeans see the exciting possibilities that an e-lifestyle offers. Most importantly, you have also helped equip them with skills to remain competitive and enhance their quality of life in our changing economy.
5 This year's e-Celebrations Singapore reached out to more than 900,000 people including 91,000 workers, 144,000 homemakers, 42,000 senior citizens, 517,000 professionals, 110,000 students and 2,000 people with disabilities. Some of these people experienced technology for the first time through events such as e-Festival Asia, Malay Internet Week, Assistive Technology and other community outreach efforts. Others have moved on to using it as a meaningful part of their lives.
6 For the year ahead, IDA would like to invite you to continue to collaborate with us in sustaining the momentum and creating opportunities for many more Singaporeans to embrace an e-lifestyle. As the community evolves, we will all need to evolve our programmes. IDA will be conducting a briefing in September for e-Celebrations Singapore 2002 and we look forward to hearing your innovative ideas on empowering people and bridging lives. Through active partnerships with like-minded organisations like yours, we shall continue to work towards closing the digital divide so that all Singaporeans can share in the benefits of the information age.
7 On behalf of IDA, I would like to thank you once again for your investment in e-Celebrations Singapore 2001. Please enjoy the evening. Thank you.
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