– Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, author and motivational speaker
There are many issues that the community is facing. And only when we take the effort to find out more and keep ourselves up-to-date, can we be part of the solution and change can happen, to truly build a community that cares.
A place where people with mental illness regain their autonomy
Gustavo is happy that he has been able to "reset his life." In 2007, he suffered an outbreak of schizophrenia, followed by severe depression. When he was hospitalised for psychiatric treatment at the Agudo Ávila Regional Centre for Mental Health, in the city of...
Helping immigrants get a job via mentoring
Despite the efforts of the Public Centre for Social Welfare and the Brussels-Capital Region Employment Office, 25-year-old Rozy-Khan Shinwari, a young refugee who arrived in Belgium at the end of 2015, found himself at a loss. It was thanks to Afghan friends that he...
Cooking blind with talking tech
Madam Rosie Wong, 70, whips up dinner for herself and her husband almost every night - and she is blind. Whether her induction hob, kitchen weighing scale or timer, all of them give her audio feedback so she can cook safely. The induction hob, for example, vocalises...
Team effort needed for climate action
Fighting climate change needs to be a consolidated effort, and the Government cannot tackle the pressing issue alone, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor said yesterday at a four-day conference on ethical investing. "Everyone,...
Different and connected
Five-year-old Eden Eyok looks forward to Tuesday afternoons at Playeum, a children's centre for creativity. Tuesday afternoons at Playeum are free entry for children with special needs. More important is that these afternoons allow those children to interact on an...
Youth embarrassed to show kindness
One in four young people holds back from showing kindness in public because of fear over being embarrassed, an annual survey on graciousness shows. Looking stupid or being mocked on social media was cited as deterrents to lending a hand in public of respondents aged...
Support for students keen on service learning
A new digital library, The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, will be the first resource of its kind in Singapore, offering videos, reports, fact sheets and other information to education institutions to help them organise activities such as fund-raising events...
Sonny Liew tackles antibiotics
Award-winning Singaporean cartoonist Sonny Liew has dealt with Singapore's political history, dementia and depression in his works. Now, he turns his hand to an unexpected new subject: antibiotics. His next comic, The Antibiotic Tales, is a collaboration with...
Job redesign guide aims to help firms be more inclusive
Carmen Tan, 23, has autism but she is thriving at speciality coffee company Foreword Coffee. The company has accommodated her with initiatives such as printing laminated instructions, simplifying processes and providing job flexibility. It hires 14 people with...
Hearing-impaired barista can now draw hearts
Like an accomplished barista, Melvin Sii, 37, expertly manoeuvres a silver pitcher with his left hand as he pours milk into a cup of latte, drawing the shape of a heart. Melvin has a hearing disability and he is the assistant outlet manager of Foreword Coffee’s newest...
G-20 agrees marine plastic pollution deal
The Group of 20 (G-20) major economies said they agreed a deal to reduce plastic waste that is choking the seas at a meeting in Japan. Under the agreement, G-20 member countries committed to reducing plastic waste but gave little detail on how that would be done. They...
Mini Trashpresso turns waste into products
Making recycling "fun and sexy" is what Taiwanese entrepreneur Arthur Huang hopes to achieve through his mini Trashpresso - a mobile recycling plant that converts plastic waste into consumer products such as coasters and candleholders. It is the first innovation of...
LTA awarded for inclusive bus trip app
A mobile application that alerts bus drivers to passengers with special needs who are boarding or alighting has won the Land Transport Authority (LTA) an international prize. The app, named Mobility Assistance for the Visually Impaired and Selected Users (Mavis), also...
Peer support for those with mental health issues
A charity has been launched to provide peer support to people struggling with mental health issues. Resilience Collective (RC) is the first such body to provide a platform powered by those who have experienced similar issues, rather than just professionals. It is...
Food tech start-up wins green challenge
A California-based, Singapore-registered food tech start-up team, Sophie’s Kitchen, has won the annual Liveability Challenge, a global call for companies to come up with innovative solutions for clean energy and sustainability in tropical cities. The competition saw...
Trash becomes energy at Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay, which has received more than 50 million visitors since it opened in 2012, has adopted technology that converts trash into energy as well as a carbon-based product that may enhance plant growth. Energy provider SP Group has created a 6m-long...
PUB plans massive floating solar panel system
One of the world's largest single floating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems will find a home in the waters of Singapore's Tengeh Reservoir by 2021. National water agency PUB is seeking proposals from companies to design, build, own and run the nation's first large-scale...
Looking to use burnt trash in construction and cars
Republic Polytechnic (RP) boffins have made significant progress in solving how to deal with mountains of trash once Singapore's only landfill runs out of space. The Semakau Island landfill is expected to hit its limit by 2035, which has prompted an urgent search for other...
New hub aims to spur ideas on sustainability
Foreword Coffee is a cafe with a social mission: to empower people with disabilities and special needs by providing them with skills training and employment in the food and beverage sector. They are also placed in a front-line role serving customers. The company...
Smart Nation should support special needs
Singapore should leverage technology to better integrate those with special needs, including students, into society, said President Halimah Yacob. During a visit yesterday to Metta School, which caters to students from the ages of seven to 21 who have autism and mild...
