Building Micro-Communities of Care and Empowering Seniors Through “Let’s Talk News”

Mr Chan Yeng Kit, SPH Media CEO,

Mr Roland Ng, SPH Foundation Chairman,

Distinguished guests, a very good afternoon to all of you.

• Welcome to Our Tampines Hub.

• I would also like to welcome the emcees today. Some of you might have heard them on the radio, but have not seen them in person – today, we have The Flying Dutchman and Jing Yun.

• I am happy to join you for the launch of “Let’s Talk News”.

Building micro-communities of care to support residents in the community

• This year is SG60. This milestone celebrates six decades of nation building and affirms our commitment to build an enduring home, where every person in Singapore belongs to one united family.

• One of Singapore's greatest strengths is our spirit of collective responsibility and mutual support. We must continue to look out for one another so that no one is left behind. By building micro-communities of care in our neighbourhoods, we can stay close to one another for social and emotional support.

• What do we mean by micro-communities of care? These are people who come together in their neighbourhood, connected by proximity and a shared purpose, to care for one another, especially those who need more support, such as seniors, persons with disabilities, and the economically disadvantaged.

Everyone has a role to play to build micro-communities of care

• All of us can contribute and make caring for others intrinsic to community life. We have an important role in ensuring that micro-communities of care thrive in our community.

  • Individuals, like you and I, can play our part by volunteering and giving to serve those living around us. It can be as easy as cooking a simple meal for a neighbour in need, or volunteering to be a friend to isolated seniors living in your block.

  • Our SG Cares Volunteer Centres and community groups can rally individuals and networks together to serve key needs in the neighbourhood, such as channeling volunteers to tutor youths from low-income families, to support activities in Active Ageing Centres, or to replenish food in community fridges regularly.

  • Corporates can leverage their expertise, time and resources to support community groups in their vicinity, to care for those in need.

“Let’s Talk News” as a micro-community of care that brings society together

• Today, we launch SPH Media and SPH Foundation"Let's Talk News" initiative, where seniors across 60 Active Ageing Centres will enjoy access to trusted multilingual news and curated content provided by SPH Media and its sponsors and partners. You can see all the partners on the stage. It's amazing how this community of resources has been put together.

  • Using its expertise as a news centre, SPH Media has specially curated digital content to keep seniors engaged on topics relevant to their everyday lives, ranging from media literacy to health and wellness.

  • SPH Media also worked with sponsors such as The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and Holistic Way, which are here today, on topics such as financial literacy and wellness;

  • In addition, SPH Media partnered NLB to provide recommended digital resources for our seniors to enhance their overall well-being.

• “Let’s Talk News” also pulls in different parts of society to come together to work with SPH Media and its partners to form micro-communities of care for our seniors.

  • For example, our youth will play a part to care, serve and learn through “Let’s Talk News”. As part of a new service learning course at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), their first-year students will volunteer and connect with seniors to learn from each other, strengthening intergenerational bonds.

  • Our SG Cares Volunteer Centres will also recruit and deploy volunteers to support this initiative.

  • Online training materials will also be provided by SPH Media for all volunteers in this initiative.

• With all hands on deck, seniors in our community will continue to stay engaged and empowered to age actively and contribute to the wider society.

  • Seniors at the AACs will be encouraged to step forward and lead news content sharing sessions with their peers, fostering stronger bonds whilst learning together.

  • I especially like the Chinese translation of “Let's Talk News” “一起聊新闻 ”。 新闻不只是去看去读去听。如果可以跟同伴们,跟大家一起聊新闻,其实可以促进我们对新闻的了解,也可以分享交流,可以交换意见,让我们对时事对生活新闻有更深一层的了解跟认识。

  • I would like to mention Mdm Margaret Goh who is here with us today. Mdm Goh is a 78-year-old senior who participated in the pilot session, and expressed excitement for more “Let’s Talk News” sessions. She shared that many seniors do not often get the chance to access new information due to reading difficulties. Even for myself, I have reading difficulties and require big fonts to read my script. My elderly father has glaucoma, and it is difficult for him to read as well. This is why Mdm Goh mentioned that the facilitated interactive sharing sessions are very helpful to keep seniors informed and engaged.

• This weekend, I am heartened to see seniors learning financial literacy and wellness tips through the different activities here at Our Tampines Hub. Over the next few months, SPH Media will bring interested seniors to three more sharing sessions, out of the AACs, to locations such as SPH Media News Centre and NLB, where they can learn and stay socially connected.

• I encourage everyone – individuals, corporates and community groups – to continue playing a part in building micro-communities of care, in service of others.

• We can build a more caring and inclusive Singapore that will stand strong across the generations, beyond SG60.

• Thank you once again to SPH Media and SPH Foundation as well as all the partners for your efforts to build and nurture a “We First” Singapore.

• Thank you and have a great afternoon.