SIF Launches a Global Citizen Education Programme to Enable its Volunteers to Play a Larger Role in Building a Better World
The initiative was announced during the SIF’s International Volunteer Day celebrations.
The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) launched its Global Citizen Education initiative at its International Volunteer Day event on 2 December 2023. The new initiative empowers individuals with the understanding and skills needed to actively and responsibly engage in a globalised world.
Comprising four modules, the learning programme aims to empower its volunteers and key enablers with the understanding and skills necessary to engage with international communities and foster a sense of global citizenship.
Dr Geraldine Tan, a subject matter expert from the SIF’s digital story-telling arm, Our Better World community, said: “Being a volunteer is being human and treating another as a human. I am excited about the Global Citizen Education initiative and its potential to foster greater unity among us. I’m so excited about what we can all do together.”
The International Volunteer Day event was held as part of the Enabling Lives Festival, one of the highlights of the 10th anniversary of SG Enable, which helps people with disabilities to live, learn, work, and play in an inclusive society.
The event attendees – comprising 50 of the SIF’s volunteers, programme alumni, and friends – watched “Perspectives,” a short film produced by Ms Lim Lee Lee, an alumnus from the SIF SYNC Singapore Programme. The film told the stories of individuals navigating the challenges posed by disabilities. It showcased the resilience, strength, and the power of human connection.
The screening was followed by a dialogue featuring the film’s director, Ms Peggy Ferroa, and the film’s cast, Ms Lim and Ms Stephanie Esther Fam. During the dialogue, the panellists shared a few actions individuals can take to make society a more inclusive one:
- Be considerate to wheelchair users on public transport, make way and give them space to park their wheelchairs.
- Do not try to push a blind person in the direction that you think they want to go; this will disorientate them. If a blind person appears confident in where they want to go, do not disturb them. If they appear lost, please ask if they need help.
- Do not assume what people with disabilities like or need. Give them respect.
- Start with small talk because that will lead to bigger conversations. Say hi and complain about the MRT or whatever is on your mind and share that human connection.
Ms Gloria Ong, a volunteer in the SIF Water for Life and Words on Wheels community programmes said: “It was a very meaningful film, made in Singapore and led by talented people with disability. We also had the opportunity to interact with the panellists to find out more about their perspectives. I’m looking forward to a sequel!”
Dr Tomasz Maszczyk, a volunteer in the SIF DigiLABS programme, said: “The movie was truly inspiring. It showed that, despite their challenges, people with disabilities are just like everyone else.”
In line with the theme of enablement, acai bowls were served by Don8uri, a social enterprise advocating the social integration of deaf individuals. Cookies were provided by bakers from MINDS, a group which helps persons with special needs through vocational training and employment opportunities.
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