Our Awards
IMDA honoured with Organisations of Good (Public Institution) Award at President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards 2023
Key to IMDA’s Award at PVPA 2023 on 17 October is its Ongoing National Digital for Life Movement.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) was one of 11 winners honoured at the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards (PVPA) ceremony, held at the Istana on 17 October.
The PVPA, organised annually by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), is the pinnacle award and platform to recognise individuals, organisations and leaders that have achieved excellence in giving.
The awards are among the highest honours conferred by the President of the Republic of Singapore, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was guest of honour at the event.
The winning individuals and organisations champion causes across a variety of sectors, including working with underserved communities, promoting inclusivity, empowering groups in need, and supporting mental health.
These winners, selected by a panel comprising former PVPA winners as well as business and community leaders, are categorised into four award pillars: People of Good, Organisations of Good, Leaders of Good and the pinnacle award, The City of Good Award.
IMDA received an Organisations of Good (Public Institution) Award, recognising the organisation as an active contributor to the community for the last three years, with emphasis given to contributions in the last fiscal year.
Digital for Life Movement Driving Change in Singapore
Key to IMDA’s achievement is its ongoing national Digital for Life (DfL) movement, which has garnered over 140 partners in the span of two years.
These invaluable partners have driven more than 140 ground-up projects to strengthen digital literacy, inclusion and wellness in the same time period, thereby enriching the lives of over 270,000 beneficiaries.
IMDA Chief Executive Mr Lew Chuen Hong, at the PVPA 2023 ceremony accepting the award from the President.
Chief Executive, IMDA said, “This award greatly encourages our staff who continue to work hard on the Digital for Life (DfL) movement. Thank you, IMDA team! We thank our more than 140 DfL partners. You give in many ways, catalysing efforts from the ground up for the community. We also thank the 270,000 beneficiaries, and many other members of public. You inspire us, with your courage and curiosity to learn digital skills, explore emerging technology and play it forward to help others. Together, we can build a more inclusive digital society in Singapore.”
Supporting Ground-up Community Projects with Digital for Life Fund
The DfL movement is underscored by the flagship Digital for Life Fund that empowers ground-up community partners, companies, non-profit organisations and individuals to spearhead projects that contribute to building a digitally inclusive Singapore.
Projects that have been enabled by the DfL Fund include digital literacy programmes and festivals targeted towards seniors, youths, lower income families and people with disabilities.
An example is Cyber Youth Singapore (CYS), a non-profit organisation that seeks to empower youths with a passion for technology. The organisation was started in 2019 by Ben Chua, then a computing student at Singapore Polytechnic, who believes that youths can take the lead in protecting digital spaces.
CYS works with public and private sector partners, providing young people with exposure to a wide range of domains from cloud computing, fintech and especially cybersecurity, which the founder believes is essential for Singapore’s digital future.
The youth-led organisation now has more than 1,700 members, having grown from humble beginnings of just a crowd of 70 at its first meet-up. CYS connects with youths in nine domains, engaging youths through boot camps and workshops to raise awareness about its cause and teaching them how to harness the power of technology. It also reaches out to vulnerable youths to equip them with relevant digital and cyber skills.
CYS founder Ben Chua speaking at one of the organisation’s events.
CYS plans to reach 100,000 youths and grow the organisation to 10,000 members in the next seven years.
Meanwhile, on the seniors front, non-profit organisation RSVP Singapore, The Organisation of Senior Volunteers, was able to step up its in cyber literacy educational programmes at a new training centre with support from IMDA’s DfL Fund.
The newly minted Majestic Smart Seniors Applied Learning Centre (MSSALC) focuses on applied learning, an educational approach where one learns through the direct application of skills.
By allowing seniors to acquire digital skills in a real-world context, the older generation can practise newfound digital skills and better remember what they have learnt.
Built on the grounds of the Majestic, an iconic building in Singapore’s history, the MSSALC also doubles up as an activity centre and social zone, with retro touches like old cinema seats and photographs of Chinatown in the past to help seniors connect with the new centre.
RSVP has a pool of over 100 seniors to run their training programmes and repair centres.
The MSSALC, supported by Singapore Pools and CapitaLand Hope Foundation, builds on RSVP’s slew of pre-existing digital literacy programmes, including running the country’s largest Silver Infocomm Junction (a digital learning hub initiative by IMDA and community partners like RSVP) and training around 5,000 seniors a year, and a Silver IT Care repair centre to help seniors troubleshoot their tech problems.
IMDA Will Continue Championing Digital Inclusiveness
As the architects of Singapore’s digital future, IMDA is committed to building an inclusive digital society where no one is left behind.
DfL movement will continue to be a rallying point for like-minded individuals and organisations who wish to uplift digital access, literacy and wellbeing in Singapore.
We also hope that more Singaporeans, residents, community and organisations who believe in and take action to deliver the impact of volunteerism and philanthropy will inspire others to join the DfL movement.
Join the upcoming DfL Festival that is taking place from 28 Oct to 12 Nov 2023. Find out more about our Digital for Life Fund and apply to receive funding support for your projects that help build digital inclusiveness and readiness for Singaporeans.