Play it forward, because IT matters.

The ASEAN Digital Awards, held in conjunction with the 4th ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting (ADGMIN) Gala Dinner on 1 Feb 2024 evening, recognises the best digital achievements by organisations in ASEAN.

Previously known as the ICT Awards, the Awards have been revamped and rebranded under Singapore’s ADGMIN Chairmanship as the “ASEAN Digital Awards” to recognise the use of emerging technologies and the efforts to strengthen digital inclusion.

18 organisations, businesses and individuals across ASEAN countries were recognised for their cutting-edge digital innovations at the ceremony. Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards were presented across six categories (“Public Sector”, “Private Sector”, “Digital Inclusivity”, “Digital Content”, “Digital Start-Up”, and “Digital Innovation”) to celebrate innovative products and services that have made exceptional contributions to the region’s digital landscape.

The winners were picked from more than 180 projects after a stringent and robust evaluation process involving representatives from government and industry experts across ASEAN and Dialogue Partners. Digital for Life won the Gold Award for Digital Inclusion, among other innovative projects from different ASEAN countries.

Mr Cornelius Kan, Assistant Director of Partnership, Digital for Life receives Gold Award for ‘Digital Inclusivity’ from Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs

Rallying the community together with 3P partners

Since the inception of the movement in 2021, beneficiaries from all ages and walks of life have benefitted from the Digital for Life thus far, thanks to the work of over 140 invaluable partnerships formed within the span of just two years. These partners have driven projects to strengthen digital literacy, inclusion and wellness for seniors, youths from low-income families, people with disabilities (PWDs) and more, promoting digital inclusivity in Singapore and ensuring that no one is left behind.

“We are honoured that Digital for Life movement (DfL), overseen by IMDA, is one of the awardees for the ASEAN Digital Awards 2024. Underlying DfL is the belief that promoting digital inclusivity is a whole of society effort. DfL is about equipping the public so that they can learn digital for life, and in turn enrich their lives with digital. And we seek to achieve this through the more than 140 DfL partners from the public, people and private sector, who collaborate in ground-up projects that have benefitted more than 270,000 beneficiaries. Like Mr Patrick Sim, a senior who used to be averse to using technology. He is a DfL beneficiary. He attended the “Say No to Scam” programme of Lions Befrienders, a DfL Partner, to learn about how to be vigilant against scams. He is now more confident to use technology and also shares his knowledge with others.”

– Ms Doreen Tan, Assistant Chief Executive, Strategic Planning & Digital Readiness, Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore

Contribute to the Digital for Life movement

As the architects of Singapore’s digital future, IMDA is committed to building an inclusive digital society where no one is left behind.

DfL movement will continue to be a rallying point for like-minded individuals and organisations who wish to uplift digital access, literacy, and wellbeing in Singapore. You can also play a part to strengthen the community by starting a project or activity that empowers Singaporeans with digital know-how.

Keen to be part of the Digital for Life movement? Take action today!

Key to IMDA’s award at PVPA 2023 on 17 October is its ongoing national Digital for Life movement.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) was one of 11 winners honoured at the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards (PVPA) ceremony, held at the Istana on 17 October.

The PVPA, organised annually by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), is the pinnacle award and platform to recognise individuals, organisations and leaders that have achieved excellence in giving.

The awards are among the highest honours conferred by the President of the Republic of Singapore, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was guest of honour at the event.

The winning individuals and organisations champion causes across a variety of sectors, including working with underserved communities, promoting inclusivity, empowering groups in need, and supporting mental health.

These winners, selected by a panel comprising former PVPA winners as well as business and community leaders, are categorised into four award pillars: People of Good, Organisations of Good, Leaders of Good and the pinnacle award, The City of Good Award.

IMDA received an Organisations of Good (Public Institution) Award, recognising the organisation as an active contributor to the community for the last three years, with emphasis given to contributions in the last fiscal year.

Digital for Life movement driving change in Singapore

Key to IMDA’s achievement is its ongoing national Digital for Life (DfL) movement, which has garnered over 140 partners in the span of two years.

These invaluable partners have driven more than 140 ground-up projects to strengthen digital literacy, inclusion and wellness in the same time period, thereby enriching the lives of over 270,000 beneficiaries.

IMDA Chief Executive Mr Lew Chuen Hong, at the PVPA 2023 ceremony accepting the award from the President.

Chief Executive, IMDA said, “This award greatly encourages our staff who continue to work hard on the Digital for Life (DfL) movement. Thank you, IMDA team! We thank our more than 140 DfL partners. You give in many ways, catalysing efforts from the ground up for the community. We also thank the 270,000 beneficiaries, and many other members of public. You inspire us, with your courage and curiosity to learn digital skills, explore emerging technology and play it forward to help others. Together, we can build a more inclusive digital society in Singapore.”

Supporting ground-up community projects with Digital for Life Fund

The DfL movement is underscored by the flagship Digital for Life Fund that empowers ground-up community partners, companies, non-profit organisations and individuals to spearhead projects that contribute to building a digitally inclusive Singapore.

Projects that have been enabled by the DfL Fund include digital literacy programmes and festivals targeted towards seniors, youths, lower income families and people with disabilities.

An example is Cyber Youth Singapore (CYS), a non-profit organisation that seeks to empower youths with a passion for technology. The organisation was started in 2019 by Ben Chua, then a computing student at Singapore Polytechnic, who believes that youths can take the lead in protecting digital spaces.

CYS works with public and private sector partners, providing young people with exposure to a wide range of domains from cloud computing, fintech and especially cybersecurity, which the founder believes is essential for Singapore’s digital future.

The youth-led organisation now has more than 1,700 members, having grown from humble beginnings of just a crowd of 70 at its first meet-up. CYS connects with youths in nine domains, engaging youths through boot camps and workshops to raise awareness about its cause and teaching them how to harness the power of technology. It also reaches out to vulnerable youths to equip them with relevant digital and cyber skills.

CYS founder Ben Chua speaking at one of the organisation’s events.

CYS plans to reach 100,000 youths and grow the organisation to 10,000 members in the next seven years.

Meanwhile, on the seniors front, non-profit organisation RSVP Singapore, The Organisation of Senior Volunteers, was able to step up its in cyber literacy educational programmes at a new training centre with support from IMDA’s DfL Fund.

The newly minted Majestic Smart Seniors Applied Learning Centre (MSSALC) focuses on applied learning, an educational approach where one learns through the direct application of skills.

By allowing seniors to acquire digital skills in a real-world context, the older generation can practise newfound digital skills and better remember what they have learnt.

Built on the grounds of the Majestic, an iconic building in Singapore’s history, the MSSALC also doubles up as an activity centre and social zone, with retro touches like old cinema seats and photographs of Chinatown in the past to help seniors connect with the new centre.

RSVP has a pool of over 100 seniors to run their training programmes and repair centres.

The MSSALC, supported by Singapore Pools and CapitaLand Hope Foundation, builds on RSVP’s slew of pre-existing digital literacy programmes, including running the country’s largest Silver Infocomm Junction (a digital learning hub initiative by IMDA and community partners like RSVP) and training around 5,000 seniors a year, and a Silver IT Care repair centre to help seniors troubleshoot their tech problems.

IMDA will continue championing digital inclusiveness

As the architects of Singapore’s digital future, IMDA is committed to building an inclusive digital society where no one is left behind.

DfL movement will continue to be a rallying point for like-minded individuals and organisations who wish to uplift digital access, literacy and wellbeing in Singapore.

We also hope that more Singaporeans, residents, community and organisations who believe in and take action to deliver the impact of volunteerism and philanthropy will inspire others to join the DfL movement.

Find out more about our Digital for Life Fund and apply to receive funding support for your projects that help build digital inclusiveness and readiness for Singaporeans.

The award recognises the Digital for Life movement’s contribution to advancing the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.  

The Digital for Life (DfL) movement was awarded Champion Project in the category “the role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development”. DfL shone through among more than 900 projects submitted worldwide at the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Prizes 2023, organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) under the United Nations (UN).

The award recognises projects that leverage on Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, of which there are 17 in total.

Each of the 900 projects worldwide were reviewed by a panel of experts in a total of 18 categories, with more than 1.5 million online votes cast.

“Going digital has become a way of life and ensuring that everyone in Singapore is able to embrace digital is a national effort that we undertake with our corporate and community partners. We are proud that Singapore’s national DfL Movement, which echoes the WSIS values of solidarity and shared responsibility, has been awarded as a Champion Project. We appreciate this recognition and will continue to work actively with partners both local and international,” said Mr Lew Chuen Hong, Chief Executive Officer, IMDA.

About Digital for Life Movement

The national Digital for Life (DfL) movement was first launched on 8 February 2021 by former President Halimah Yacob. It aims to unite the people, private and public (3P) sectors and inspire Singaporeans to embrace the digital wave.

The movement is underscored by the flagship Digital for Life Fund that empowers ground-up community partners, companies, non-profit organisations and individuals to spearhead digital inclusion, literacy and wellness projects.

Over 270,000 beneficiaries from all walks of life have benefited from the DfL thus far, thanks to the work of over 140 invaluable partnerships formed within the span of just two years. These partners have driven more than 140 projects to strengthen digital literacy, inclusion and wellness for seniors, youths from low-income families, people with disabilities (PWDs) and more.

Former President Halimah Yacob, Minister Josephine Teo and Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How at the inaugural DfL Festival, held from 21 to 29 May 2022, extending the movement’s reach across Singapore

Contribute to the Digital for Life Movement

As the architects of Singapore’s digital future, IMDA is committed to building an inclusive digital society where no one is left behind.

Over 30,000 people attended the DfL Festival in 2022, held virtually and across a number of venues island-wide including the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Enabling Village and Heartbeat@Bedok.

The DfL movement will continue to be a rallying point for like-minded individuals and organisations who wish to uplift digital access, literacy and wellbeing in Singapore.