Experiencing Singapore’s Heart And Soul Through Its Social Innovations

Our media friends toured Kampung Admiralty, the first integrated housing estate for the elderly in Singapore, with facilities and amenities suitable for both the young and old, all available under one roof.

Chief Executive Officer of the Health Promotion Board (HPB), Mr Zee Yoong Kang, shared more about HPB’s initiatives to promote healthy lifestyles in Singapore with the journalists, including the popular National Steps Challenge, where participants can redeem rewards for accumulating a set number of steps per day.

Nothing is more healing than nature. A walk through the Therapeutic Gardens @ Hort Park by the National Parks Board (NParks) showcased the various health benefits of being close to nature, such as relieving stress and fatigue. Though Singapore is land scarce, priority has been given to making nature accessible to all Singaporeans.

A volunteer at Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) sharing more about her work at GUI’s “Kampung Kampus”, a low-carbon footprint community campus located on a 2.6-hectare site in northern Singapore. The non-profit organisation aims to inculcate resilience and reconnect Singaporeans with nature despite the island-nation’s highly urbanised landscape.

What does it feel like to be blind and how can society build spaces that are more inclusive? Our media friends gained first-hand insights to this question at the Enabling Village, an inclusive community space for people with disabilities, where they took part in a blind simulation activity conducted by social enterprise Etch Empathy.

A visually impaired facilitator for Etch Empathy demonstrates to the journalists how he uses technology despite his disability. Etch Empathy is a non-profit social enterprise in Singapore that conducts simulations to challenge prejudices against vulnerable groups in Singapore.

The group visited The Intan, an immersive home-museum in Joo Chiat, where they learnt about Peranakan heritage and sampled traditional nyonya kuihs (Peranakan snacks). The Peranakan culture embodies aspects of multi-racial Singapore.

There’s no better way to experience a different culture than through its food, and the journalists cooked up a feast of local delights at Food Playground. The cooking school provides flexi-work arrangements for stay-at-home mothers and active seniors who face difficulties in re-entering the workforce.