Digital for Life Partners’ Appreciation 2024

More than 300 partners have joined hands to support the Digital for Life movement

On 5 July, we got together with our Digital for Life (DfL) Partners at National Gallery Singapore to celebrate their exceptional contributions to the DfL movement. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Patron of the DfL movement, graced the event, which was hosted by then-Minister for Communications and Information (now Minister for Digital Development and Information, as the Ministry has been renamed wef 8 July 2024), Mrs. Josephine Teo.

The DfL movement has seen a remarkable boost, doubling its partners from the people, private and public (3P) sectors to over 300 today. This collective effort reinforces the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) dedication to empower all our citizens to thrive in a digital world and ensure that no one is left behind.

At the appreciation event, IMDA shone a light on its DfL partners, recognising 12 of them – Amazon, Association of Information Security Professionals (AiSP), Cisco, Cognizant, DBS Bank, Google, Huawei, Lion Befrienders, Micron, Singtel, Standard Chartered Bank, United Overseas Bank – as DfL Champions for their significant contributions over the past two years.

DfL Catalysts, a new award category was also introduced for the first time this year to recognise the effort of 38 partners who have initiated digitally inclusive projects with sustained impact or have donated to support the movement.

One example of such a project was from Catalyst Partner, Guide Dogs Singapore, who collaborated with Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) to co-design a Smartphone Training and Learning Support Resource toolkit to help the visually-impaired use technology to improve their daily living. This includes the use of assistive skills on digital apps to make payments, access public transport timings, order groceries online.

Helping Singaporeans Thrive in a Digital World

Thanks to our DfL Partners, over 400,000 Singaporeans have benefited from the DfL movement, such as improved access to digital connectivity, learning new digital skills, and gaining exposure to emerging technology through various ground-up projects.

DfL Partners have also played a crucial role in helping Singaporeans navigate the online world safely, as well as raising awareness about online dangers such as fake news and scams. Focus on the Family Singapore, for instance, offered workshops, and coaching sessions to help parents and children use technology more meaningfully through their “Raising Future Ready Kids in the Digital Age” programme. The programme introduced practical tips on screen time management and how to support their children to have healthy and balanced relationships with technology. Another DfL Partner, AiSP, conducted cyber wellness webinars and roadshows and created Cyberwatch, a game promoting good cyber practices for seniors and youths.

Minister Josephine Teo emphasised the importance of online safety in her opening speech at the event, and urged more partners to come forward to contribute resources on empowering Singaporeans to navigate online spaces safely. As we face more complex online challenges like AI-generated deepfakes, knowledge and skills to address these potential dangers are especially important for parents, youths and children.

Partners can contribute resources for the DfL portal, such as materials and guides for parents to guide their children in the digital age. DfL Partners can also tap on the portal’s learning resources to help their employees and communities stay safe online.