Community Exchange 2026 by SGPO

1. Thank you for spending a very precious Saturday with us. Today is about making friends because I think we are like-minded. Each and every one of you are a very unique changemaker.

2. On behalf of the MCCY family, on behalf of Hasliza and her team in the Singapore Government Partnerships Office (SGPO), we want to say thank you for turning up today. We are very happy to see all of you here setting aside some time today, not only to get to know more friends, but also to learn together.

Singapore’s greatest strength: Our people

3. We are also here to learn from you, and we know that you want to contribute your views, expertise and insights on how to make a difference.

4. Many of you shared with us that you saw many needs in the community. You saw the gaps and instead of waiting for things to happen and solutions, you stepped forward with the will and determination to create the solution. We really want to thank you because that action and spirit of helping one another is indeed what we’ve always talked about – the gotong royong spirit.

5. The last few months have been very stressful for a lot of people, not just fellow Singaporeans, but also a lot of people in different countries, even as the world becomes increasingly complex, I think in Singapore, if we let the “we-first” spirit come alive, this matters even more as we engage as a society together with our ideas, passion and talent to overcome the odds and secure a brighter future together. Every one of us can certainly make a positive social impact.

6. On my way up here, I saw the exhibit panels by SGPO. All the heroes and heroines in their very own way are making positive change every step of the way, starting with their community, starting with a target segment they want to support. The Government and the society can certainly benefit from your insights, your ideas.

From government-led to citizen-led

7. Now I just want to give a quick example. For example, young Singaporeans on the National Youth Council (NYC) Youth Panels, have been contributing to policy development. Some of their ideas come to fruition through legislative amendments in parliament. You are really making huge impact though your ideas and our youth also have the chance to turn their ideas into actions through the Youth Action Challenge.

8. Our goal is to create more opportunities and space for citizens to take the lead with their ideas and solutions. And we are doing so in various ways. For example, two years ago, we set up the SGPO and since then, SGPO has started a Partners Portal as a first stop for Singaporeans to submit their community ideas and seek support.

9. As part of the Government’s proactive efforts to build a democracy of needs, we also actively reach out to engage more stakeholders and activate ideas. For example, the SGPO runs Citizens’ Circle to help and support fellow Singaporeans to explore and further develop the ideas into actual actions and at the Citizens’ Circles, participants can receive feedback and mentorship if you wish, on your ideas and even network with partners and connect with like-minded individuals to work together on a shared idea.

10. I think we all know each and every one of us, when we have a good idea, we need someone else to bring resources, to bring network, to bring your idea to fruition, and that’s the whole notion of today’s Community Exchange, as well as Citizens’ Circles.

Power of Community Exchange

11. Coming back to today’s Community Exchange, it is really one of the many ways that we support, encourage, and empower ground-up suggestions and initiatives because we want to empower you to turn your idea into action. This is where you can seek support and partnership to make a bigger impact. Collectively we have a wealth of knowledge and experience in this room that everyone can benefit from.

Two changemakers who stepped forward

12. Now I just want to highlight two changemakers: Miss Loke Wai Yee and Mr Ismail Didih Ibrahim.

13. Both what Wai Yee and Didih have done is to identify gaps and they acted upon the needs that they saw. Wai Yee started by noticing that the existing gift donation points were very far and not easy for beneficiaries to access. We all know logistics costs are not cheap. And to move big gifts around takes a lot of effort and logistics. To address this gap, Wai Yee and her team at Little Wishes facilitate gift donation through a digital platform that allows the donors to choose gifts from a curated collection based on their budget and then matches the gift to their beneficiary.

14. We are all digital natives. If you can put that whole gift donation concept into a digital platform, it also means that we can reach more potential donors. Later this year in December, children and families will be invited to a party to receive their gifts as facilitated by Little Wishes. They aim to support about 80 children, giving the children a chance to experience a year end celebration with their families with a thoughtful gift.

15. Didih and his team at Fellowship of Men Singapore identified a need to provide greater support for males in the community. I think this is a very laudable initiative, because a lot of us take for granted that men are very strong and they don’t need our support. But they need support just like women do.

16. And Didih and his team very thoughtfully came up with this initiative. They sought to improve men’s emotional resilience and the willingness to seek support when needed. I think it is very commendable because a lot of us will appreciate a support network, but sometimes we are unsure whether people would look at us differently. Kudos to Didih and team for trying to break down these barriers.

You are not alone – SGPO is here to support you

17. Both founders applied for the Seed tier of the SG Partnerships Fund (SGPF). This fund with three tiers of support was launched only in April this year by SGPO to support individuals and ground-ups like yourself who want to partner fellow Singaporeans and the community to do good.

18. In addition to the seed tier that nurtures new ideas, we also have the Sprout tier for those who want to grow the reach and the impact of your initiative across multiple communities and groups.

19. In three months, the SGPO has received more than 200 seed and sprout tier applications. Thank you to the applicants, and to SGPO.

20. We also want to use this occasion to share another piece of good news. We have just launched the application for the Scale tier of the SGPF. The Scale tier supports established organisations that are seeking to make sector-wide impact through strong partnerships with citizens and communities.

21. The different tiers of the fund aim to provide pathways for each one of you. To advance your idea from Seed to Sprout, and then to Scale, you probably need some partnership. That is why we have today’s Community Exchange for you to find more support and partners to synergise the efforts.

Closing

22. On behalf of SGPO, we trust that you will gain fresh insights and inspiration at today’s Community Exchange. Thank you to Liza and the SGPO team. You can approach any one of them.

23. I think you will agree with me that the most valuable resource today is not about the funding and not about the programme, but I think it is about you. Let’s maximise the face time with each other and gain insights from each other today.

24. You are here because you have very unique strengths, expertise and network. Let us come together and really have that dare to dream, dare to do spirit and turn your idea into action.

25. Thank you so much and have a wonderful weekend.