Challenge Sep/Oct 2013 by Challenge Online

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t e D i f f e re n c i v r e S c i bl ing the Pu Approach

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What will it take to build a

City for all ages?

September

October 2013

C O N T E N T S CARE CENTRE

Cover Story

A CITY FOR ALL AGES What will it take for Singapore to create a city for all ages?

7 30

SAY “HELLO” TO DIGNITY

Project Dignity Kitchen is restoring dignity to the disabled and disadvantaged by giving them skills

Kwek Mean Luck, Deputy Secretary (Development) of the Public Service Division, on what motivates him in life

SEEING THE UNSEEN Freshmen from an NUS residential college explore the hidden communities of society

KILLING ‘EM SOFTLY Challenge goes on the trail of a 62-year-old vector control officer

in FoodHunt

LE T’ S

LAKSA

SEP/OC T 2013

the challe nge pullou

Issue The Foodie

COFFE E

20 KNOW YOUR CUPPA

how to order Never fret over again. your cuppa

foodie

22 IT’S IN THE STARS MICHELI N

on the Get the low-down Michelin Guide.

24 INTO WHAT GOES RICE YOUR CHICKEN

makes this Find out what . so delectable famous dish

SUS HI

PUL

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26 FAMOUS FOODIES

and their World leaders favourite dishes.

Dai J. Y. writing by Research & See by Bridgette by Ryan Ong

Edited Illustration Design &

8 pages to help you

Mbe a makan guru!

dot is Our little red to renaissa nce? (from Peruvian of a culinary Our in the throes with new cuisines Is Singapo re simmeri ng restaurateurs. g chefs and new eateries, . hummin g with the rise of promisin Ramsay 2-1 in a cook-off sweeten ed by as d chef Gordon Russian) and cool these days even beat renowne coffee house? Just as you navigate ie or hawker heroes a guide to help up a patisser Uni grads setting We’ve put together a makan guru! hot-shot banker. Time to transfor m into a g becomin e. food landscap this brave new

“CREATING SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO RISE AND SUCCEED”

TALK OF THE TOWN Three public officers share their experiences of facilitating dialogues in Our Singapore Conversation

CLEVER HANDS, BEAUTIFUL WORK Learn to craft handmade items the good old way

02 Inbox Your views on the Jul/Aug issue of Challenge 03 Your Say If you could change jobs for a day, what would you want to do? Readers share their wildest dreams 04 All Things Digital Catch up with the latest happenings online 05 Get Wired Tips to be more tech savvy at work 05 #hearmeout Thoughts from a young public officer 06 The Briefing News from the Public Service 16 Think Something is Fishy? Look at the Data Lee Mei Chern from the Accountant-General’s Department shares how data analytics can expose fraud 18 Insider’s Take: How Changi Airport Wins Fans An aviation expert on the importance of customers’ feedback 19 The Challenge Pullout: The Foodie Issue 8 pages of tips to make you a makan guru! 27 Letters to a Young Officer: Dare to Make Tough Decisions Persist in making the right decisions, even if they go against the grain, says Mrs Chua Yen Ching, Director of Curriculum Planning and Development at the Ministry of Education 32 The Challenge Empathy Quiz Take this simple questionnaire to find out your empathy level 39 Unsung Heroes: Showing the Way Probation officer Lim Jim Jim guides offenders back to the straight path 38 Level Up: Stop Dreaming and Start Teaming Learn how a team launch can boost team performance 44 The Irreverent Last Page: Public Inventions of the Year The best ideas from the Challenge Department of Productivity to help public officers work smarter

publisher

Hello...

PS21 Office, Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office 100 High Street, #07-01 The Treasury Singapore 179434 Email: psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg Web: www.challenge.gov.sg For enquiries or feedback on Challenge, please write to the Challenge Editorial Team at psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg. Editorial Advisors Keith Tan & Charlene Han Editor Tan Hui Min Assistant Editors Kaira Peh & Christopher Teo Editorial Assistant Daphne Liew Tuber Productions Pte Ltd 298 River Valley Road Level 2 Singapore 238339 Tel: 6836-4030 Fax: 6836-4029 Email: info@tuberproductions.com Web: www.tuberproductions.com

Something Old, Something New After more than three years since Challenge’s revamp in May 2010, we thought it was time for a little update. So in this September/October issue, which explores how Singapore is maturing into an inclusive society, you’ll still find a lot of the Challenge you’ve come to know, but also some new surprises. Our cover story continues to offer thought-provoking analysis – this time of why it’s essential that we start to view our silver-haired citizens through new lenses, as we move towards becoming a City for All Ages. Our features remain good reads too: in this issue, two zoom in on initiatives contributing to a more socially conscious Singapore. Say Hello to Dignity takes us behind the scenes of Dignity Kitchen, a social enterprise that hopes to change society’s perception of the less fortunate by restoring dignity to them through vocation. Meanwhile, Seeing the Unseen tells of how some freshmen at NUS get a chance to explore Singapore’s hidden communities. But whether it’s these or other regulars such as Perspectives, Life.Style and the centrefold Pullout, you’ll find them all sporting facelifts with fresh design accents, fonts and layouts to enliven your reading experience. But the update goes beyond aesthetics. We’ve also introduced a brand new section focused on helping officers stay plugged in to an increasingly hyper-connected world. From tips on managing your agency’s Twitter account to app and website recommendations from fellow officers, don’t miss our All Things Digital spread. In addition, while we’ve long heard from senior officers in A Cuppa With... and Letters to a Young Public Officer, we wanted to give a voice to officers new to the Service too. In Twitter-like style (140 words instead of characters) People’s Association Executive Tan Yan Fang gives us her first impressions of working in the public sector in #hearmeout. So let us know what you think of our efforts to keep Challenge a fresh read. Drop us an email at psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg.

Editor Tan Hui Min

e Please shagarzine :) a this m

management Director Lee Han Shih Project Director Liew Wei Ping

editorial Contributing Editor Bridgette See Sub-editor Bernice Tang Staff Writers Chen Jingting & Siti Maziah Masramli Intern Tay Qiao Wei Contributors Elaine Ee, Jamie Ee, Sheralyn Tay & Denyse Yeo

creative Art Director Yip Siew Fei Graphic Designers Ng Shi Wei & Ryan Ong Intern Maggie Lee Contributing Photographers John Heng (www.daphotographer.com) Justin Loh (shininghead.com) Norman Ng (www.normanng.com) Zakaria Zainal (zakariazainal.com) Challenge is published bimonthly by Tuber Productions Pte Ltd (Registration No: 200703697K) for PS21 Office, Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office. Copyright of the materials contained in this magazine belongs to PS21 Office. Nothing in here shall be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written consent of PS21 Office. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of PS21 Office or Tuber Productions Pte Ltd and no liabilities shall be attached there to. All rights reserved. All information correct at time of printing.

Printed by KHL Printing Co Pte Ltd (Registration No: 197801823M) 57 Loyang Drive Singapore 508968

INBOX Love it.

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HERE COMES THE BIG

DATA WAVE

Massive amounts of data bursting forth from different sources and swirling around us at top speed – how can we harness Big Data for public service? P.8

Now available on iPad

– Esmond Teo, MOH

Challenge magazine eased my transition into the Public Service. Spotting it in my in-tray made the workplace more comforting.

[the May/June issue] of Challenge, especially the “How to Read Things Right” and “How to Do First Talk Later” articles. They are informative and wellstructured, providing key information to the reader. Keep up the good work!

– May Yong, Tote Board

– Mark Ho, DSTA

I’m a supporter of Challenge and I enjoy every edition. But will appreciate if the online version can be made available asap as I have to wait till mid-month to read it.

Great magazine, with attractive layout and interesting articles! I enjoyed

Good effort

from the colleagues at PSD for [the Your Say question on jobs]. It definitely [brought me back] to the time, where I was asked by my teacher for the first time in primary school the golden question of “What would you like to do when you grow up?”

Challenge has really reworked its image in the last couple of years.

The graphics and packaging are much more up-to-date and attractive and the content is really striving to be much more relevant to the current state of affairs in the Public Service. I appreciate some of the opinion columns but at the same time, I think it needs a more independent voice that doesn’t just “give advice” from senior civil servants but address the realities on the ground much more candidly. – Pooja Nansi, educator

– Andy Chan, URA

......

Jargon Watch Public Service Jargon

Tech Jargon

COPS = Committee of Permanent Secretaries

tl;dr = “too long; didn’t read”. Often used dismissively online for long, serious articles that the user finds to be boring. Variations include tldr or TLDR.

… not to be confused with CoP = Community of Practice, a group of people who share a concern for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. ACE = Assistant Chief Executive PEN = Public Engagement Network

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

If you would like a jargon or acronym explained, email us at psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg

body builder

perfumist

Your Say

conservationist

ING WINN RY ENT

I’d love to be a farmer, tending to herds of cattle and growing fresh, juicy fruits in my lush plantation. Witnessing nature at its very best and transcending the countless life cycles of the cattle and crops brings me closer to the vulnerability of each individual life. A sense of satisfaction is felt when I see the fruits of my labour benefitting mankind. The different phases of life serve as an important reminder that we should cherish and protect precious lives and the natural resources of our earth. – Daren Tan, AGO Congratulations Daren! We’re granting your wish with a one-day farmstay at D’Kranji Farm Resort! We hope it’ll unearth your farming instincts!

If I could change jobs for a day, I would like to be a kopitiam or hawker centre tour guide. Singapore’s national identity and cohesion is substantially centred around food – and no tourist should leave Singapore without having tried the best of what we can offer in the humble eateries, without having to pay an arm or a leg.

Death is not taboo to me. Therefore, I’d like to be a mortuary make-up artist for a day. Everyone deserves to look their best before their final send-off. This is especially true for an accident victim. Through facial reconstruction, I can let the family remember how their loved one was.

I’d like to be a garbage collector for a day. It’s a tough and dirty job that no locals want to do. Therefore when I put myself in their shoes, I will then be able to better appreciate the little things in life, and care less about the material items. – Chen Fu Lai, NEA

– Yan Chui Ping, NEA

– Terri Koh, IPOS

I would love to be a world-beating F1 driver racing for the Red Bulls, which has been dominating the F1 circuit for a couple of years. Motor-racing has always been my passion. I enjoy go-karting, but driving a competitive F1 car is about five times faster. To ice my cake, I would probably win a dramatic and incident-packed Singapore F1 GP and become the first-ever Asian F1 driver to win on home soil.

If I could change jobs for a day, I would like to be part of a matchmaking team. Since young, I have always had a passion for helping others who have trouble finding or attracting their ideal partners, especially those who are ill-equipped in relationship knowledge and do not comprehend the other party’s thoughts (because of gender differences). I experience tremendous joy whenever I see lonely souls finally getting attached and settling down.

– Marc Teoh, Singstat

– Geraldine Tang Hui Ling, ICA

What is one change you think the Public Service needs the most today? Tell us at psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg. The best entry will win an attractive prize worth up to $100! All other published entries will win book vouchers worth $30 each. Please include your name, agency email address, agency and contact number. All entries should reach us by October 4, 2013.

All Things Digital

GOdigiTal

thumbs Up

Exclusively on Challenge Online at www.challenge.gov.sg exploring our urban trails Challenge visits a disused British military underground facility with the Urban Explorers of Singapore.

dealing with change The process of change is inevitable, especially in large organisations like the Public Service.

bit.ly/urbantrails

KeiTh Tan Senior Director, PS21 Office, PSD

Perform better through self-affirmation Could the practice of focusing on things and values important to you be the key to relieving stress?

Could you work for these bosses? You may get along famously with your own boss, but can you take the star quality of these ones?

TurboScan: “I adore TurboScan (bit.ly/turboscan), which helps me to digitise documents and photos easily. It removes shadows and other lighting effects very well. There is hardly any difference from a flatbed scanner.”

bit.ly/self-affirmation

bit.ly/work-bosses

bit.ly/dealingchange

To scan QR codes, please download any free QR code reader app available on iTunes Store and Google Play.

Spotted on Cube To commemorate National Day, Sylvia Vera Ng shared her favourite memories of Singapore: “In the mornings, my sis and I would wait for the ‘ting-ting’ aunty to pass so we could order our five-cents chee cheong fun with red sauce. In those days, we would lower a basket from our window with a plate and the cash. The aunty will collect it, prepare our food, and we would then rope-up the basket with our goods. We would do this every time we bought food from a street hawker. There was the ‘tock-tock’ mee, putu mayam and the nonya kueh-kueh hawkers to name a few…”

iF Poems: “iF Poems (bit.ly/iFpoems) is a wonderful collection of nearly 300 great poems for all ages, some of them are read by British actors like Helena Bonham Carter. You can even record yourself reading your favourite poems.” IRIS: “SBS Transit’s IRIS app helps me figure out when a bus is coming and thus saves me a lot of time!”

Want to read more? Join us at www.cube.gov.sg!

digital chatter What people are saying about Singapore online.

The metropolis of glass and steel inaugurates two vast nature projects guaranteed to boost the green quotient further and to enhance the city’s image as a destination for environmental tourism. – The New York Times names Singapore the 11th best place to visit in 2013, due to Gardens by the Bay and the new Marine Life Park. bit.ly/visitSG

Singaporeans appear to love fast food. The southeast Asian city tied with Chicago for highest volume of McDonald’s searches, and bested all others in KFC searches. – Marcus Wohlsen for Wired magazine (September 28, 2012) in an article about Google search trends: bit.ly/sg_mcD

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

While the government has done a great job of loans and grant programmes, culturally it’s very difficult to push entrepreneurship very quickly. – Ron Mahabir, founder of Asia Cleantech Capital, quoted in a BBC article (February 20, 2012) on Singapore’s entrepreneurship: bit.ly/ SGe-nation

WalTer lim Director, Corp Comms, IRAS Six Pixels of Separation: “I recommend Mitch Joel’s [Twist Image President] podcast for cutting edge insights on marketing in the social age.” www.twistimage. com/podcast Harvard Business Review Blog: “I also like the awesome Harvard Business Review blog (blogs. hbr.org) for strategies on management, leadership and business.”

#hearmeout

Photo by jOhn hEng

Get Wired

Thoughts of a young officer in 140 words. how to avoid a Twitter faux pas If you handle more than one Twitter account, here is what you should do: 1. Use a multi-account Twitter app like Hootsuite, which provides different permission levels for team members posting to an organisation’s account, as well as a secure profiles function for extra prevention against mistakenly posting to the wrong account. 2. Use separate devices or Internet browsers: you could tweet for work through your laptop only, and tweet to your personal account with your smartphone. 3. Tweet for work during work hours, and make personal tweets on your time only. Remember to log-out of your work account after working hours!

“i’m fresh into the workforce – seven months on the job – and still learning and discovering! I do miss the spontaneity of younger days and having more time with family, friends and myself. Work is however, really interesting as I have had many opportunities to interact with residents and volunteers when filming community events for one of our initiatives, CommuniTV. I see kids chatting animatedly with their parents, friends lovingly annoying one another, and strangers becoming friends. It’s heartening to see the fruits of our labour when people come together and enjoy each other’s company during the activities planned. This gives meaning to my work. My colleagues are like my rafting buddies, bailing water out of my vessel if I start to sink at work. When navigating, we tether close for support, yet at times slacken the rope to acquire independence.” – Tan Yan Fang, Corporate & Marketing Communications Officer, People’s Association (PA)

Say it like this: The image format .gif is pronounced with a soft ‘g’: ‘jif’.

how to make useful Twitter updates 1. Twitter is great for real-time updates, but never rush a tweet and end up giving inaccurate information. 2. Write succinctly within the 140-character limit; don’t trail off midsente… cos it annoys followers… 3. Avoid just linking to updates on Facebook or your agency’s website. Offer something new, such as relevant links that would interest your followers. For example, the National Library Board’s @publiclibrarySG account retweets literary quotes and links to book reviews.

The BrIefINg

Coming Up

Asia through the lens Returning for the second year, the IPA Photo Books Show will take place on October 19 and 20, 2013 at the National Museum of Singapore. The event, organised by Invisible Photographer Asia, will have a curated exhibition of selfpublished photo books in Asia, about Asia. There will also be book launches by Singaporean and Asian photographers. bit.ly/IPAbookshow

Play date for gamers Gaming enthusiasts from the Public Service gathered at the first Playpen date organised by the Civil Service College on August 6. The public officers had a common purpose: to improve their practice and understanding of designing learning and serious games, simulation exercises and immersive 3D virtual environments for adult education. The “players” consisted of game designers, gamers, as well as non-gamers. This interest group wants to encourage the growth of game design capabilities in the Public Service. Interested public officers can contact shamini_thilarajah@cscollegegov.sg for more information and to be updated on future gatherings.

What if the world changed? The fourth edition of the Singapore Biennale is back. The biennial arts exhibition will feature works by 82 artists and artist collectives from the region and beyond. Titled “If the World Changed”, the event will showcase how contemporary artists explore the worlds they want to live in. From October 26, 2013 to February 16, 2014. Free admission to artworks at outdoor venues such as Waterloo Centre and Fort Canning Park. www.singaporebiennale.org

learNINg aBoUt JUdICIal goVerNaNCe aNd leadersHIP The Subordinate Courts of Singapore and the Civil Service College jointly organised an inaugural five-day programme focusing on judicial governance and leadership in July 2013. The Judicial Governance Programme ( JGP) drew 27 participants from 15 countries in Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Middle East, including Chief Justices and Superior Court Judges amongst other senior judicial and legal sector officials. Besides discussing challenges faced, brainstorming possible solutions and learning from one another, the participants also developed a better understanding of the importance of the wider governance and leadership context within which they operate. Ms Elsie Schickerling, Chief Registrar, High and Supreme Court, Namibia, said: “It’s been a wonderful experience to discover that the judicial factors and issues we encounter in our individual countries are common to us all. [The JGP] has given us the opportunity to gain from the experience of other countries and [to] see how we can assist one another in order to shape solutions together.”

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

Architecture’s finest The World Architecture Festival will be held at Marina Bay Sands from October 2 to 4. The annual event includes a “live” awards competition in which every shortlisted architect presents their award entry in front of judging panels. Last year, the cooled conservatories at the Gardens by the Bay won the World Building of the Year award. www.worldarchitecturefestival.com

Feature

Text by SITI mazIah maSRamLI Photos by noRman ng

Say

“hello”to

dignity

Project Dignity Kitchen is a social enterprise that aims to restore dignity to the disabled and disadvantaged.

Dignity Kitchen’s drinks stall manager Peter Ong, who is hearing-impaired, says “Hello” in sign language by wiggling his hands.

At first glance, Dignity Kitchen at Kaki Bukit seems no different from any other food court in Singapore. The cheery yellow tables are fully occupied at lunchtime while the lines move briskly at the stalls, as hungry customers go away with their nasi padang, bak chor mee and other dishes. But look closer, and there is the drinks stall in the middle that stands out, its posters showing a variety of sign language gestures. There’s also Mr Peter Ong who helms the stall. Though he is hearing-impaired, he can read lips so he will understand what you are say-

ing to him. But if you wiggle your hands by your head (“Hello!”), he will teach you how to order your choice of kopi in sign language. Founded by social entrepreneur Koh Seng Choon, Dignity Kitchen provides hawker training and employment to the disabled and disadvantaged. Its mission is to change society’s perceptions of these less fortunate people, and restore dignity to them through vocation. “My purpose is not to give you the fish, but to teach you how to fish. More importantly, I want to give you back your self-respect,” explains

Mr Koh, who is the executive director of Dignity Kitchen. Most of the trainees have a range of disabilities – physical, mental, and intellectual – while the rest are those who have fallen through the cracks, including disadvantaged single mothers and ex-prisoners. So far, Dignity Kitchen has trained more than 160 students and placed them in jobs at hawker centres, cafes and hotels. Humble start The social enterprise started in 2010 at Balestier Market Food Court with three stalls. Initially, Mr Koh’s staff wore badges stating their disabilities – deaf, blind, “simple” (intellectually challenged) – but this attempt to gain customers’ understanding backfired. They made only $97 in the first month. Sales improved after the staff stopped wearing their badges. This taught Mr Koh an important lesson: the greatest challenge is to change customers’ perception that the disabled cannot deliver quality food and service. He also realised that Singaporeans will only return for food that tastes good. When Dignity Kitchen moved to Kaki Bukit a year later, Mr Koh called on his contacts in the food and beverage industry to help. As a result, Dignity Kitchen’s food has been “fine-tuned” with expertise from chicken rice specialist Thian Boon Hua from Boon Tong Kee, celebrity chef Eric Teo who specialises in Western cuisine, and Chen Fu Ji Restaurant owner Roger Koh who helped to refine the noodle dishes. A hawker training school for all Two years on, Dignity Kitchen has evolved to become a full-fledged hawker training school for both the able-bodied and disabled, offering Workforce Skills Qualifications under the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA). Trainees learn about basic food hygiene, food display and setting up a hawker business, as well as how to cook popular local dishes. Compared with able-bodied learners, teaching disabled trainees could take 10 times longer, says Mr Loy Teck Wee, a chef-turned-hawker who is a trainer at the school. Trainers have to be patient and simplify learning for the disabled, using visual aids such as drawings and videos. They are also always seeking solutions to help their disabled staff and students.

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

1. Executive director Koh Seng Choon has big dreams for Dignity Kitchen’s future. 2. The drinks stall has a chart listing beverage varieties that customers can point at to order. 3. Mr Koh shows how the dollar bill folding method works for the visually-impaired. 4. A wonton mee preparation machine is modified for one-handed use.

5 & 6. Dignity Kitchen staff preparing fish and chips, a popular dish at the Western food stall. 7. Instructor Loy Teck Wee shows trainees how to clean crumbs off a baking tray. 8. Dignity Kitchen is often packed during lunchtime. 9. Staff members wear uniforms bearing the Dignity Kitchen logo and motto “Serve with Dignity”.

For instance, Singapore’s dollar bills have Braille patterns, but the feature is harder to feel on plastic notes. Mr Koh thus devised a method of folding bills into triangles to help the blind trainees identify the denominations (up to $50) based on the width of the diagonal. Dignity Kitchen also has customised equipment that caters to the special needs of disabled staff. Worktops have adjustable heights for the wheelchair-bound and cash registers are marked in Braille. Modified machines and utensils allow food to be pre-

pared one-handed. But like the example of folding dollar notes, the solutions that work best often cost nothing, says Mr Koh. He cites the case of a young trainee with cerebral palsy who could not grip utensils, a huge obstacle for an aspiring hawker. Nonetheless, the youth persisted in attending the training course. This spurred the trainers to find a solution and they did – bending metal spoons until they created one that could hook onto his arm. With that, the young man completed his training and eventually found a job.

Feature

Most of the trainees have a range of disabilities – physical, mental, and intellectual – while the rest are those who have fallen through the cracks, including disadvantaged single mothers and ex-prisoners. 7

Looking from another’s point of view Starting and running a social enterprise comes with many challenges. Mr Koh’s early plans and funding proposals were rejected by the government agencies he had approached. To get seed money, he started with SPRING Singapore. They liked his idea but because of its “social angle”, they referred him to the then-Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. Officers there praised his idea too, but

pointed him to WDA for funding of education and training. However, WDA does not fund start-ups and so they directed him – back to SPRING Singapore. “One big round!” Mr Koh exclaims as he recounts the story. Following the success of Dignity Kitchen, the officers who had initially rejected his proposals subsequently told him they should have viewed it from his perspective. Mr Koh does not blame them. “They look at things from the Government’s perspective, which means key performance indicators (KPIs). But if [they] want to have enterprises, [they need to] try to see it from the entrepreneur’s point of view – why is he doing this, and how? Once they understand that, they will support you.” Still, Mr Koh believes social enterprises must be sustainable and he expects to break even in the second half of 2013. But the future of Dignity Kitchen remains uncertain as they once again have to move out of their premises – this time by early 2014 because of an expiring lease. Despite the difficulties of rising rentals and finding an appropriate location, Mr Koh is optimistic and dreams of having an initial public offering for Dignity Kitchen: “I want to tap commercial money for a social cause.”

Advice from Mr Koh Seng Choon on meeting others’ needs • Check your mindset: you must believe that there is a solution for every problem. • Never think that any solution is final: “Sometimes you have to change it to suit different people and needs.” • Start with the beneficiary in mind: “Don’t think about the costs, but what is good for the beneficiary.” • Identify what the beneficiary really needs: “[But] to be fair, sometimes they also don’t know until they see it.” • Be creative or ask for help: “There are many smart people in Singapore; you just need to ask and they will help.” • Persevere: “Go beyond your scope of work to see how you can help out.”

Dignity Kitchen www.projectdignity.sg www.facebook.com/dignity.kitchen

Text by Denyse yeO Illustration by ng shi wei

What will it take to build a

CITY for all ages? There are no easy solutions, but clearly, what singapore urgently needs is a change in our mindset towards old age.

¡hola!

+ − × ÷

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

In bustling New York City, trendy peer-to-peer businesses like vacation rental service Airbnb and rental-car service RelayRides are booming. But another novel approach to the sharing economy has taken off in the Big Apple. It is one that aims to tackle a rapidly ageing population, an issue that many cities around the world, including Singapore, now face. Called TimeBanksNYC, this citywide programme was founded in 2010 on the concept of neighbours helping neighbours. Even though it focuses on older adults, it also gives all New Yorkers a chance to learn new skills, take part in community projects and even find companionship for sports and recreational activities. Members choose from its database of activities and services, and in exchange, offer their activities and services. For instance, a member can tutor another in mathematics or Spanish, in return for dance lessons taught by a different member. TimeBanksNYC is just one of 59 programmes developed by the city’s administration and the New York Academy of Medicine in an initiative called AgeFriendly NYC, part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Age-friendly Cities project, that promotes ways to make New York City friendly and liveable to older residents. (See “A place for everyone” on inclusive communities in other countries.) New York City easily ticks off the WHO’s 84-point checklist of essential features of age-friendly cities in eight areas: outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community and health services.

HO CAF AS

Cover Story

IW ATE • JAPAN

Specific points include wheelchairfriendly pavements, reliable and frequent public transport, positive public images of ageing, ample employment options for older workers, wide public access to the computers and the Internet, and care facilities located close to residential areas so that elderly residents are integrated in the larger community. ageing in singapore Although Singapore is not part of the WHO’s list of Global Age-friendly Cities project that involves 33 cities in 22 countries, the Singapore government has already embarked on its City for All Ages (CFAA) Project (see story “Singapore: A City For All Ages”).

After all, in Singapore, the number of citizens aged 65 and above will triple to 900,000 by 2030, an unprecedented age shift, with the ageing of the baby boomer generation. The number of socially isolated elderly is also likely to increase to 83,000 by 2030, up from about 35,000 now. And, life expectancy has increased from 66 years in 1970 to 82 years in 2010, making it one of the highest in the world. How does Singapore measure up against the other Global Age-Friendly Cities? Urban planners note that Singapore’s age-friendly infrastructure has improved tremendously over the years. Mr Jeffrey Ho, Managing Director of consultancy firm Surbana Urban Planning Group, says that

A PLACE FOR EVERYONE A non-profit organisation called Ibasho aims to create socially integrated communities that support inclusive ageing and living. The word is loosely translated from Japanese to mean “a place where you can feel like yourself”. Ibasho communities in Japan, the Ivory Coast, Bhutan and Sri Lanka don’t segregate the elderly from other age groups. Rather, their needs, experience and values are included in infrastructure planning from the design to engineering stages. For example, after Japan’s tsunami in 2011, an Ibasho cafe was set up in a temporary housing community in one of the worst-hit areas in Iwate province. Senior citizens, along with others in the community, run the cafe. The seniors also help each other and other residents with daily chores such as grocery shopping and babysitting, and even conduct basic health checks on each other.

APOR E

G IN

from “aN UNCerTaIN age” The Lien Foundationcommissioned report makes several recommendations for Singapore, including: • empowering individuals by educating them and giving them more options in their long-term care. • encouraging stakeholders in healthcare and social services to collaborate and develop new approaches to long-term care. • engaging more of these stakeholders to deliver services seamlessly through integration, technology and skills upgrading of care professionals. • starting a “Singapore conversation” about longterm care, both bottom-up and top-down in society.

EMPLOYMENT FOR ELDERLY

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

barrier-free features for the disabled “also cater to the needs of the aged”. These include wheelchair ramps, lifts that stop on every floor in HDB flats and retrofitted homes to make them more age-friendly. But as other experts have pointed out, Mr Ho thinks Singapore still has some way to go. “We are still learning from Japan, Taiwan and the [United] States on the software and hardware of catering to the aged.” Part of the reason is historical, says Dr Loke Wai Chiong, Director of Global Healthcare Centre of Excellence, KPMG in Singapore. In May this year, the professional services firm produced a report titled An Uncertain Age: Reimagining LongTerm Care in the 21st Century. Commissioned by the Lien Foundation, it looked at different trends and approaches of longterm elderly care from around the world. Dr Loke says: “Singapore, along with many other ageing countries, is starting to find that it has underinvested in this sector through no particular oversight. It was never a priority. In fast-growing economies, often the early years are focused mainly only on economics, and many countries have been almost caught unawares by the ageing issue.”

lack of “heartware” the main challenge Sociologist Angelique Chan, who is Director of the Tsao Ageing Research Initiative at the Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore, stresses that a CFAA is not just about good design or infrastructure. What stands in the way of achieving a true CFAA is a mindset that does not regard seniors as worthy contributors to the society or economy, unlike in the US or Japan. Although there have been government-led and non-profit-led initiatives to dispel this notion, there are still ordinary citizens who find the idea of integrating seniors into the community difficult to accept. The not-in-my-backyard, or Nimby, syndrome remains. Witness, for instance, the uproar last year from a group of Bishan residents when a nursing home was proposed to be built in their neighbourhood. “We still need to educate people about… accepting older people in the neighbourhood. This goes together with better design and improvements in assisted living,” says Assoc Prof Chan. She adds that in New York City, for example, seniors can have a full life: “They

It was never a priority. In fast-growing economies, often the early years were focused only on economics, and many countries have been almost caught unawares by the ageing issue.

FLOWER ARRANGEMENT

Cover Story

work, go to school and volunteer. You can really contribute as a person and have an identity.” Older people themselves find it difficult in Singapore to feel integrated in society fully, she says, especially for a generation of men in their 60s and 70s, who spent most of their time at work than with their families unlike women. “It’s harder for them to feel connected and find a role: who am I if I’m not a worker? Their primary role as breadwinner has been taken away.” The idea is to keep seniors “working, learning and contributing, but this is not happening”, says Assoc Prof Chan, who suggests creating more learning centres and volunteering opportunities for them. “Working has been shown to enhance a sense of well-being and increase the quality of life,” she explains, noting that a mindset change in employers, so that “experience is valued over speed”, is necessary to ensure that older people can still contribute. Volunteering activities for seniors certainly exist in Singapore. The Asian Women’s Welfare Association, for instance, has recruited senior volunteers to keep an eye out for other seniors who live alone. But Assoc Prof Chan adds that other avenues such as community clubs can also have more useful activities: “Perhaps a shift from, for instance, making flower arrangements, to how to sell these flower arrangements.”

BALLET CLASS

Adding flavour to

STrAVInSkY’S BAlleT Twenty-three seniors from Asian Women’s Welfare Association Elderly Services, NTUC Eldercare and Henderson Senior Citizens’ Home did something quite different from their daily routine on June 22, 2013. They were on stage at the Esplanade Concert Hall, performing in The Rite of Spring: A People’s Stravinsky, a Singapore interpretation of composer Igor Stravinsky’s 100-year-old ballet, The Rite of Spring.

A collaboration by The Philharmonic Orchestra (Singapore) and dance group The ARTS FISSION Company, the performance was developed based on a community-centred approach. It roped in children, youths and seniors to perform alongside professional musicians and dancers. The original Stravinsky ballet highlights the customs of rural folk in Russia while the local production interprets rituals of spring in Chinese culture. Its stage director and choreographer, Ms Angela Liong, drew on the 24 seasonal markers of the ancient Chinese calendar for the performance. She wanted an intergenerational cast to highlight the concept of regeneration and the cycles of nature.

She also wanted to reframe how society usually views seniors as “old, frail, unseen”. In her production of The Rite of Spring, the senior citizens play a wise council of elders, who are leaders in their community. The seniors were introduced to contemporary dance theatre and Stravinsky’s music through dance-theatre workshops. They were also matched with young volunteers in a buddy system for the workshops and performance. Ms Liong revealed that the seniors named their dance moves after everyday actions in order to remember them. This included dubbing a wristshaking action as “stirring kopi-o”. For more information and photos, go to bit.ly/artsfission

1. The oldest performer, Mr Benny Phang, is 93 years old. Here, he is getting ready for the publicity photo shoot. Credit: Guek Peng Siong

2. Elderly performer P. Seeni guided by her dance volunteer Nur Liyana Binte Mohammad Aminuddin. Credit: Lee Siew Yian 3. Seniors in a workshop conducted by the organisers. Credit: Chua Boon Ping 4. Mayu Watanabe, a dancer with The ARTS FISSION Company, in a workshop at the Asian Women’s Welfare Association. Credit: Daryl Yeo

Working for the future Active seniors like Dr Rosemary Khoo, 71, are an encouraging example. Trained as an educationist and applied linguist, Dr Khoo (who had a 40-year career in the Singapore education) now devotes her time volunteering in the National University of Singapore’s Senior Alumni Group, the Chinese Development Assistance Council and the University Women’s Association (Singapore) which she founded in 1996. She wonders if there is a Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, as well as Youth Park, why shouldn’t there be a Ministry for Ageing to focus on the issues of ageing?” Dr Khoo, who feels there is subtle discrimination against seniors in Singapore, contrasts this to Japan, where she worked as Professor of English for two years in the late 1990s and was struck by the reverence given to age in that culture. “The University President assured me that my age of 53 then was

not old (he himself was 64). There was also a number of elderly staff in the University. “Living in Japan, I was surprised by the nimbleness of the many spritely old who sit with their legs folded beneath them and how easily they got up after that. Older persons were often featured on TV giving comments, which we don’t see much of here.” Interestingly, Dr Khoo believes that focusing on seniors’ well-being is actually healthy for Singapore’s demographics in the long term. She likes to tell young people that she is “working for their future” because “when young people see that older persons after retirement lead active, productive lives with their housing and healthcare needs met, they will be encouraged to remain in Singapore.” on the right track While the situation in Singapore clearly needs improvement, things are on the right track, the various experts Challenge spoke to noted.

When young people see that older persons after retirement lead active, productive lives with their housing and healthcare needs met, they will be encouraged to remain in Singapore.

CARE CENTRE

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

Says Assoc Prof Chan: “Singapore is making headway. We are a model for other Asian countries, which have not yet seen an ageing population, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.” Gerontologist Dr Kalyani Mehta agrees. The Head of SIM University’s Master of Gerontology Programme and former Nominated Member of Parliament says: “One of the main ways to adapt to an ageing population is first of all to acknowledge that we are an ageing society. “However, that does not equate to a society with an ageing burden. Older persons are our assets and receptacles of wisdom!” She adds: “Once we can identify the many ways by which older persons help out in families, for example, as grandparents; in communities, for example, as ethnic leaders or religious mentors; and in society at large, for example, as volunteers in welfare organisations; we will begin to view them from a different lens.” Only then, can change truly come.

Cover Story

Singapore:

a CITY for all ages we take a closer look at the initiative.

In 2011, 2,600 residents in marine Parade aged 60 and above were polled on what they needed in their homes and neighbourhoods to make life easier and safer for them. Among the findings: 15%, or 400, of the respondents had suffered falls in the past year. As a result, plans were made to retrofit more than 500 flats in the town to make them more elderly-friendly. The Marine Parade pilot led to the birth of “City for All Ages”, an initiative to make different communities in Singapore, elderly-friendly. Today, the CFAA initiative has been implemented in four towns: Marine Parade, Whampoa, Bedok and Taman Jurong. In July this year, it was extended to Choa Chu Kang, while six other constituencies – Bukit Panjang, Hong Kah North, Queenstown, Siglap, Tampines Central and Tanglin-Cairnhill – are set to start their CFAA projects soon. So how does the programme work? Specific precincts are first identified as “living laboratories” to assess the needs of seniors and test out new ideas that help them age gracefully, says Ms Teoh Zsin Woon, Deputy Secretary (Development) at the Ministry of Health. Grassroots leaders and residents con-

duct social surveys, health screenings and hardware audits of flats and the town environment to identify areas of possible improvement. They then work with government agencies on new programmes or improvements to infrastructure in the community. It is a ground-up, people-centric approach that has worked. Ms Teoh explains: “First, we do not start with any programmes or policies in mind. We start with the individual seniors on the ground and their needs, and work the programme around meeting those needs. “Second… to create and implement innovative solutions that address the needs of seniors, [it] means working across government and community settings, across public and people sectors, and across agency lines of responsibility.” a closer look at marine Parade Besides retrofitting seniors’ homes with elderly-friendly fixtures and fittings such as grab bars and slip-resistant tiles in the bathrooms and toilets, and wheelchair ramps, other initiatives were also implemented under the Marine Parade pilot project. Town audits for the 2011 surveys involved volunteers of various ages walking different routes in the neighbourhood,

zeroing in on potential hazards for the elderly. As a result, the Marine Parade Town Council and Land Transport Authority made improvements, including more elderly-friendly fitness corners, larger block numbering, levelled void decks, and longer “green man time” for traffic light crossings. The surveys also identified seniors living alone, who have a higher risk of depression. GoodLife!, a senior activity centre run by the Marine Parade Family Service Centre, was brought in to help, and now has a Befriending Network of 40 volunteers called Angel Ambassadors. These Angel Ambassadors are mostly elderly themselves – the youngest being 53 years old and the oldest is 84 years old. Together with the Agency for Integrated Care, a support team was also started to help seniors with dementia and depression. Says Ms Teoh: “In the aged care context, a key challenge is how we can think, create and work across the healthcare and social service sectors to be able to create new services that support the needs of an ageing population more seamlessly and holistically. “This requires us to tap the expertise and thinking of professionals in both sectors.”

Interview by briDGette See Photo by JuStin LOH

Think something’s fishy? Look aT The daTa How does the Public Service ensure the proper use of public monies? One way is for the Accountant-General’s Department (AGD) to conduct internal audits on public agencies. Ms Lee Mei Chern, Director (Assurance), reveals how the AGD does this by tapping the Public Service’s rich repository of data, and how every public officer can help detect fraud too. I lead a team in providing internal audit services to public agencies; we have to scrutinise more than a million suppliers’ invoices, 80,000 civil servants’ payroll and 300,000 staff claims. It would not make sense to “scrub” through these transactions manually. So we’ve been using more sophisticated analytical tools to help us identify red flags and anomalies in the mass volume of transactions. There are rich and diverse sources of data residing in the various systems within the Public Service that capture every single detail of transactions. For example, when agencies buy things, their purchase orders, goods receipt notes, suppliers’ invoices, and payment vouchers are all captured by our systems. We make use of such data, for instance, by making linkages across different

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

You need to study and understand how potential fraudsters may think, as that is the best way to defeat them.

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data sets. For example, we can examine both the payments and claims data to determine if there are duplicate payments to a particular public officer. Besides using rich data, we also tap powerful data analytics tools. We can design “rules” for the tools to search for anomalies that are flagged for review. These can be rapidly applied to every single transaction so that at one go, we can throw up those transactions that appear suspicious for further review. For example, companies may collude with one another to rig bids by agreeing on their tender pricing. To detect bid rigging, we analyse procurement data to look at the price differential among bids, the bidding history of suppliers (the number of tenders they have won) and the suppliers who bid frequently but never win. We also work with ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) to identify the owners of these companies. Maybe they are two companies but the owners are husband and wife. So is it still “real” competition? Or there’s false invoicing – suppliers may bill us for something that is not completed. Is there collusion with the finance officers to split the gains and pocket the money? These are what we look out for. It was through data analytics that we discovered a fraud on gift vouchers. In 2011, my team profiled the top 10 suppliers of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the analysis highlighted Takashimaya Shopping Centre as one of the top suppliers. It made us wonder why a departmental store was a leading supplier for a government agency dealing in security issues. That led to an investigation in the transaction and the eventual discovery of the fraud. The officer was prosecuted and convicted of forgery and cheating in early 2012.

A good “analytics detective” should have the DNA to pick up clues very quickly from massive data, have a curious mind and must be thick-skinned to ask questions, no matter how stupid they may sound. You need to study and understand how potential fraudsters may think, as that is the best way to defeat them. But data analytics tools are not enough. We expect fraudsters to change the way they defraud the systems. So we hope to harness all 136,000 public officers to “sharpen our saw”. Sometimes our leads come from individuals who write in to report wrongdoings; they have specific details that only an insider would know. These leads are very helpful and have helped us to finetune our “rules” to flag for anomalies. The AGD is in the process of setting up a system to collect intelligence and ideas from officers. We will code these ideas into “rules” and also disseminate them to finance personnel to apply to their own auditing processes. Whenever wrongdoings are detected, our first reaction is always disappointment. But at the same time, we also feel a sense of achievement that we have been able to discover the fraud.

DATA AnAlYTICS BOOSTS PRODUCTIvITY TOO Besides using data analytics to catch fraud, the AGD also uses it to identify areas of improvement to raise productivity. For instance, it noticed that more than one-third of the payments raised by agencies are of very small value – some of which as low as a few cents. The AGD has since worked with various ministries to consolidate such payments.

TIP US OFF! Email AGDwatch@agd.gov.sg if you smell something fishy at work.

Insider’s Take

How changi airport wins fans

Good Afternoon, Sir Please rate our toilet

Aviation veteran Foo Sek Min shares insights on raising service standards and brand building.

In 1996, Changi Airport introduced 16 feedback kiosks at its two terminals with postage-paid feedback forms. Travellers could post their feedback to us from anywhere in the world so they could share their experiences of Changi Airport. We faced certain challenges when we started this feedback system. The management debated at length about whether we could cope with the volume of feedback that we would receive and if every one of them should be addressed. The conventional wisdom was that we would receive mostly complaints that would require too much time and effort to investigate, and subsequently address. After all, it is not second nature for us to take time and effort to pen a compliment. When we introduced these kiosks, we received, on average, about 300 feedback forms monthly. To our surprise, 70% of them were compliments, 20% complaints and 10% suggestions. Fast forward 17 years later in 2013, we are receiving a monthly average of 3,100 pieces of feedback – 75% of which are compliments, 21% complaints and 4% suggestions. About half of them come through the electronic kiosks in Changi Airport’s terminals, with the rest through emails and our websites. All feedback is taken seriously and routed to our line managers so that action can be taken to address service lapses and eradicate recurrent issues. The compliments received, on the other hand, motivate our staff to continue delivering the high level of service our customers expect of us. On the whole, feedback is vital in how it keeps us rooted to the realities of what our customers are experiencing and

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

helps us assess whether we are delivering on our promises to them. Acknowledging – and tapping – customer feedback has thus been key to Changi Airport’s continued success. In 2010, we took another leap in our service delivery at key touch-points at the airport with the introduction of our Instant Feedback System (IFS). This system enables our customers to alert us of service lapses, whether at washrooms, check-in, immigration or in our shops, so that rectification can be made quickly. With the IFS, we gather real-time feedback from customers, who get to rate their

With the IFS, we gather real-time feedback from customers, who get to rate their experience through an interactive screen. experience through an interactive screen. If, for instance, users alert us to a poor experience in the restroom, this is transmitted directly to the cleaning supervisor’s handheld device. A cleaner will then be despatched to the specific washroom to rectify the situation. The information from the IFS also enables supervisors to identify washrooms with the most amount of positive or negative feedback. This can even be drilled down to hourly and daily ratings to better aid the cleaning supervisor to anticipate problem areas ahead of time through trend analyses.

Leveraging the information tabulated from the system, star performers can be commended while poor performers can be sent for counselling or re-training – raising the overall service standards. Today, the IFS is deployed at over 660 locations across Changi Airport’s terminals. Since its implementation, the volume of feedback received via the IFS has increased to more than a million comments every month, 90% of which are positive. We have also embraced social media platforms since 2009 to further interact with our customers around the world. Our social media channels – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – serve as a 24hour customer service interface, with our team of community managers who are rostered round-the-clock to provide timely replies to compliments, suggestions and complaints. Changi Airport is the world’s most awarded airport with over 430 Best Airport awards received since its opening in 1981. This is an achievement that we are most honoured by. It has been, in no small part, made possible by the contributions of our 32,000-strong airport community and the role that the voices of our customers have played in Changi Airport’s metamorphosis into the international service icon it is today. Foo Sek Min is Executive Vice President, Corporate at Changi Airport Group. He has over 18 years of experience in the aviation industry. He has also been deeply involved in Changi’s Quality Service Management (QSM) efforts where he worked with the team to deliver the “Changi Experience” for millions of travellers.

Letters to a Young Officer

A letter from Mrs chua yen ching Director of the Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education (MOE) Principal, NorthLight School, 2006-2011

DEAR YOUNG OFFICER, In my first year as a young education officer, I was asked by my principal if I would like to be in the timetable committee. Though I had to sacrifice a part of my vacation to ensure that the timetable would be ready before the term started, it was a great learning experience for a beginning teacher, as I was able to better understand the constraints and demands of the school’s resources. Every challenge can turn out to be a learning opportunity. I have subsequently taken on various school leadership positions and have come to realise that to be a great leader, one needs to have the courage to take on tough challenges, especially when they will benefit the staff and students. Leaders will often encounter tensions and dilemmas and I have my own guiding principle for decision-making. I will follow my internal GPS, i.e., to persist in doing the right thing even if it goes against the grain. In 2008, after NorthLight School had taken in students who failed PSLE twice, it had only 80 places for those who failed the PSLE once. But there were 160 applicants. After ranking everyone, we took in the weakest 80. It may not have seemed logical as most schools would have admitted the better students, but the staff fully understood the school’s mission to prioritise those who needed the most help. Seeing things from different angles My first experience with policy work was when I was posted to the Sciences branch of the Curriculum Planning and Development Division in 1998. I appreciate the curriculum review process: it is very thorough and the intent is very noble but at the implementation level, the end result could be far from the intended. After five years of policy work, I requested for a posting back to school as I wanted to experience the implementation of some of the policies I had a hand in. On the ground, I heard remarks like “Who is the one who came up with this new stuff? There is a lot of unlearning and relearning to do.”

Dare to make

the tough decisions A possible cause for the grouses could have been that teachers tend to focus on the “what” and the “how” of a policy change. Perhaps the policymakers had not spent sufficient time helping them reflect more deeply on the “why”. At the end of the day, teachers need to answer the question, “Why am I doing what I am doing?” Education as a social leveller Recently, a former student from NorthLight wrote to me. When he first came to the school, he shared that he dreamt of becoming a graphic designer but when he didn’t do well for his PSLE, he felt his dream had evaporated. He shared his aspiration with his form teacher at NorthLight and picked up graphic design skills

I will follow my internal GPS, i.e., to persist in doing the right thing even if it goes against the grain.

in school. But the teacher also reminded him that he would not go very far without a strong foundation in literacy and mathematics, and a sound character. He did well at NorthLight and went to the ITE; a couple of months ago, he sent me an image of the letter of offer from one of the polytechnics to pursue a diploma in motion graphics and broadcasting. He shared that he could now see his dream becoming a reality. As a way of saying “Thank you”, he went back to NorthLight to volunteer his service by supporting the teachers in helping his juniors. I truly believe that education is a great social leveller. If we are able to help one child, he will in turn make a big difference to his family and ultimately to society. The bottom line for any company is profit and loss, but for public service, it is the fulfilment of a mission. Thomas Watson, who was chairman of IBM, once said that we cannot have success in our mission unless we believe that it is the greatest mission in the world. We will put our heart into this mission because the mission is always in our heart.

Text by eLaine ee Photos by ZaKaria ZainaL

It was pitch-dark, before the crack of dawn. The winds were howling and temperatures were near zero. Deputy Secretary (Development) of the Public Service Division (PSD) Kwek Mean Luck was on a barefaced slope with his 13-year-old son, attempting an ascent of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. “Papa,” the boy said, putting his head down, “I cannot carry on.” For Mr Kwek, this was a decisive moment. “As a father, I wanted him to succeed, but I also needed to keep him safe and sound,” he says, recounting the moment to Challenge at a cafe in the National Museum. “I could have allowed him to give up, or carried him to the peak. But it would have been a very different experience for him. I wanted him to succeed on his own, without me dragging him up. So I said, ‘You can rest as often as you need. But when I say we need to move, you must move, or the cold winds will take you. We will do it, one step at a time.’ And that’s how he made it to the summit.” “Later, I told my wife,” continues Mr Kwek, “as a parent, your heart always wonders if your child is all right and another part of you will say, you need to let them try.” While a parent having faith in the potential of his child is not unusual, that Mr Kwek has the same belief in others – what he calls “creating space for people to rise and succeed” – is food for thought.

“Creating space for people to rise and succeed” Kwek Mean Luck, Deputy Secretary (Development) of the Public Service Division, shares what drives him in life.

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

The Cambridge-educated Overseas Merit Scholarship holder and former District Judge is an active volunteer at Caritas, an umbrella organisation of Catholic charities. He explains his philosophy: “You walk with the poor rather than give to them… The moment you go in there thinking you are the one giving, the whole relationship is wrong – people never rise and you don’t create the space for them to rise and succeed.” Mr Kwek started volunteering in his teens (“in part because of where and how I grew up – on the streets of Chinatown, with kids that many would consider juvenile delinquents”). He also spent time

A Cuppa With...

in Myanmar during the 1990s, teaching English to the Karen people living in the mountainous jungles. “There was no electricity; the meals were the poorest grains of rice, and we bathed in the river. It drove home the realisation that you don’t need much materially to lead a fruitful life. I went there to teach, but in all honesty I took away a lot more than what I could give,” he recounts. His experience as a volunteer has helped him at work – making him more “emotionally stable”, he says. In 2012, he was appointed to his current role at PSD, double-hatting as Dean of the Civil Service College (CSC). Barely a few months into his new job, he was also tasked to lead the Our Singapore Conversation Secretariat that helped to roll out the national dialogue. Working with the poor also made him keenly aware that many, if circumstances allow, would rather be fruitfully employed than receive help. Having a job creates a sense of “dignity and pride”, which elevates people above their circumstances. This belief led him to leave his job as a judicial officer in 2007 to join the Administrative Service and work at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where he would have a hand in shaping policies for job creation. There, he subsequently rose to the position of Deputy Secretary. “I enjoyed the law and still do; it was fulfilling and meaningful,” he says. “But as a judge there’s a limit to what you can do to help. By the time a juvenile comes to court, he would have spent years in a family where there are a number of issues,

Don’t base your happiness on whether the outcome you were working for was achieved or not, because outcomes depend on a whole range of factors. Decide for yourself where you find peace and happiness. or built up a strong rapport with certain people in the street. “You can put them on probation or place them in care, but I wanted to do something more upstream [and] preventive. Policy work provided an opportunity for that.” At the same time, Mr Kwek has been applying the skills and knowledge picked up at work to his volunteering – from the judiciary, processes for impartial evaluations; from MTI, an understanding of how grant systems work; and from CSC, creating conducive environments for change and learning by paying attention to people’s mental and emotional states. With so much going on in his life, the equanimous multi-hatter seems to have found an approach that works. “My attitude is that in all that you do, give your very best,” he says with quiet conviction. “But don’t base your happiness on whether the outcome you were working for was achieved or not, because outcomes depend on a whole range of fac-

tors. Decide for yourself where you find peace and happiness.” For him that lies in his family and his ability to contribute to society. So despite his full plate at work, the father of three makes sure he finds “sacred space” for his family. He wakes up early to be with his baby girl, reads to his three-year-old boy, makes sure he spends one-to-one time with his teenage boy, and keeps regular date nights with his wife. “I’ve been very blessed,” he says. “I’m grateful for my wife and kids. I’m grateful for work that is meaningful and offers opportunities to give to something larger than myself. “As one of my first bosses put it,” he concludes, “it is important that at the end of the day, no matter what has happened, you are able to say ‘well, I did my best’, go home and have a good dinner with your family, and enjoy the basic things in life.”

Where and when do you usually have your cuppa? I like to have my kopi on the weekends from a coffee shop in an area of my neighbourhood that my family calls “Sleepy Hollow”.

Text by SHERALYN TAY

Seeing the

Freshmen at an NUS residential college explore hidden communities of society as part of a drive to nurture community engagement, awareness and empathy. A late night’s walk through the red light district in Geylang, a 2am trip to the Jurong Fishery Port or going “leak hunting” with a PUB water engineer in the pre-dawn hours may not sound like your typical options for an educational field trip. But these visits were indeed part of an elective seminar for first-year residential students of the National University of Singapore’s College of Alice and Peter Tan (CAPT). Called Hidden Communities, the seminar aims to introduce freshmen to the lives and stories of those who are typically “unseen” or marginalised. Students trail these people at work, visit them at home or invite some of them to the college to share their experiences. Student Ong Wen Yi had a sobering encounter when her class visited some lowincome families that Beyond Social Services, a voluntary welfare organisation, works with. She met a woman struggling to keep her family together. “I admire and respect how she instils values in her children of loving each other and their father, despite him not carrying out his responsibilities well,” she said. “This visit got me thinking that happiness is what we decide for ourselves. These families may be poor financially, but they are definitely rich in their values and beliefs.” Course instructor Dr Tan Lai Yong is no stranger to marginalised communities. The medical doctor spent 15 years in Yunnan, China, with his family, providing medical aid to poor villagers and training “barefoot” doctors. But Hidden Communities is not aimed at “making social workers out of everyone,” said Dr Tan, who is Director for Outreach and Community Engagement at the college. “A successful businessman, a skilful engineer – these are people who don’t

September/October 2013 www.challenge.gov.sg

Course instructor Dr Tan Lai Yong (middle) during a visit to a foreign worker dormitory.

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only have technical competencies but also are connected, aware and able to relate to people,” he pointed out. “Our problems, and the solutions, are multidisciplinary so we need to integrate technical competence and [understanding of ] community needs.” Building empathy is one way to achieve this since an empathetic person is able to network, connect and listen. “A person with empathy learns well, leads well,” he added. Dr Tan believes that everyone has the capacity to empathise. “Muscles can be built, but whether a person wants to use the muscles daily in the right way, or neglect or abuse them, it’s up to them. Empathy is like that. We want to lay down some scaffolding and let the person try to exercise their empathy.” The atypical field trips – meeting workers at the fishing port or visiting low-income families – allow students to interact with people beyond their usual social circles. Co-instructor Sue Koh, Associate Director for Outreach and Community Engagement, said the experience has given students a fresh perspective of the world: “Many said ‘I never saw it like that’, or ‘I never thought of it that way’.” After listening to stories and meeting the marginalised groups, the class goes on to read related policies and statistics on those groups, to debate and reflect on

Muscles can be built, but whether a person wants to use the muscles daily in the right way, or neglect or abuse them, it’s up to them. Empathy is like that. them. “The idea is not to provide answers but get students to think about issues,” Ms Koh added. All this has potential long-term implications, said Dr Tan: “Our students will go on to be heads of departments, managers, policymakers, leaders – they have to understand more than the job.” This means the ability to connect and relate to others and be aware of their varied needs. An employer, for instance, may have a staff member with a sick parent or a child with special needs, so “how do we recognise these different issues and cater to them?” Being aware of such scenarios and of marginalised communities means we can think about how to be more inclusive in our actions, thoughts and deeds. “By walking a little in the shoes of people in our hidden

communities, our hearts are pulled along,” said Dr Tan. Despite reaching out to only 60 freshmen a year, Dr Tan harbours big hopes: “We can at least help 15 students in each class think about how to make Singapore better. The coming generations will be more diverse, [they will] have more needs… [the] demographics [will be] more spread out. What will bring us together? Maybe it’s empathy for each other.”

A college dorm life unlike others All students living at CAPT must participate in one junior seminar in their freshman year, followed by two senior seminars and two writing modules, as part of the University Town Residential Programme (UTRP). UTRP is aimed at enriching the dormitory experience and fulfilling the ethos of the college – which for CAPT is community engagement. Other CAPT junior seminars include: The Pursuit of Happiness, The Crusades in History, and Power and Ideas.

Do you have empathy? Turn the page to find out.

left: Apart from visiting communities, the students also invite visitors to the college to share their experiences. top right: The students conduct oral hygiene education and checks for foreign workers as part of their Hidden Communities coursework. Bottom right: The students discuss issues and policies during the Hidden Communities seminar.

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? l e e f I t a h w Can you feel Take this C

u re to find out where yo hallenge questionnai

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e.*

your ability to: This empathy questionnaire assesses

s • adopt the psychological viewpoints of other know personally don’t you le peop or • imagine the feelings of fictional characters s • have sympathy and concern for other

Answer “true” or “fAlse”: 1.

I am able to really get involved with the emotions of a character in a novel.

I don’t feel much pity for someone whom I see being treated unfairly.

When I criticise someone, I would try to imagine how I would feel if I were in his/her place.

I am often touched by the things that happen around me.

I tend not to look at everybody’s side of a disagreement before I make a decision.

I feel protective towards someone who has been taken advantage of.

When I’m angry at someone, I usually try to “put myself in his shoes” for a while.

I can very easily put myself in the place of a leading character when I watch a good movie.

People’s misfortunes do not disturb me a great deal.

10.

I usually try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their point of view.

True

falSe

Scoring: Q1) True – 1, False – 0 Q2) True – 0, False – 1 Q3) True – 1, False – 0 Q4) True – 1, False – 0 Q5) True – 0, False – 1 Q6) True – 1, False – 0 Q7) True – 1, False – 0 Q8) True – 1, False – 0 Q9) True – 0, False – 1 Q10) True – 1, False – 0 Total score: 0-3: You have difficulty empathising and are likely to face interpersonal relationship problems at the workplace. 4-6: You have some problems with empathy. You may be seen as distant and at times unfeeling by colleagues. 7-8: You are able to empathise but may sometimes be self-centred. 9-10: You have a high level of empathy.

*DIsClAIMer: This questionnaire is meant to provide a simple insight to your level of empathy. It is not a scientific tool and the results are in no way diagnostic. Please seek professional help if necessary. Developed by Dr Lim Boon Leng of Dr BL Lim Centre for Psychological Wellness (www.psywellness.com. sg) for Challenge magazine.

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

Text by SHERALYN TAY

Feature

OSC participants expressed their ideas and feedback in a variety of ways, including the use of sticky notes. This panel of notes was from a dialogue organised by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in June 2013. PHOTO: MOM

Talk of the town

Our Singapore Conversation didn’t just get Singaporeans talking about the issues that mattered; it changed the way we converse too. Three officers involved give us a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to roll out those conversations.

This August, Singapore wrapped up its largest-scale citizen engagement exercise, Our Singapore Conversation (OSC). As it turned out, articulating its objectives – getting Singaporeans to discuss the challenges facing Singapore and the nation they wanted to see in the future – was the easy part. The challenge lay in the “how” – how to come up with a format suitable for the many varied dialogues that would make up OSC, shared Mr Nicholas Thomas, a senior executive from the Civil Service College (CSC). He was a member of the OSC Secretariat, which comprised public officers seconded from various agencies. “The mental model was that of a town hall – with rows of seats and a big hall setting. But that was not what we wanted,” said Mr Thomas. “We wanted something where people held conversations with each other – this was an important guiding principle in developing the [eventual dialogue] model.”

An evolving format To kick-start the process, facilitators from both public and private sectors were invited to take part in prototyping sessions. They envisioned Singapore in 2030, and articulated these ideas into mock newspaper headline stories. Five prototyping sessions later, the final model was developed: participants would start discussions in small groups, then come together in a larger group dialogue before breaking up into small groups again. This format was ideal for warming people up and getting multiple views. The role of facilitators was also critical – “to provide a safe space for participants, help them share from the heart and to address conflicts,” he said. With the dialogue model pinned down, a final prototyping session was held nine days before the public dialogues were launched. “We shared with [our colleagues] what we thought was a good product. But they tore it apart,” Mr Thomas recalled with a chuckle. “It was challenging for the team because we were so close to launching it!” But it was in this session that many important aspects were fine-tuned. “We learnt a lot. People said: ‘Don’t put the camera too close to my face’, ‘There shouldn’t be so many note-takers so close to me’ and ‘There are too many observers’ – small things like this mattered when we took it public.” Based on the feedback, they also included an icebreaker where participants were paired up and encouraged to share a story with their partner, and then tell the group about one another. This set the scene for better mutual understanding and hopefully, greater empathy. Another major change was to get participants to share their present concerns first before they went on to envision the future and to think of ways to get there. This allowed people to express their current views or even frustrations early on in the process. These tweaks helped create a trusting space for the public so they felt secure enough to speak, said Mr Thomas. Even after the dialogues had started officially, the Secretariat continued to tweak the dialogue format based on feedback from “the dedicated pool of volunteer facilitators.” Engagement in action Mr Raizan Abdul Razak, a volunteer facilitator who works at the Ministry of Educa-

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

I saw that citizens were willing to share and there was a surprising range of different opinions. Beyond that, the folks in my groups actually took the initiative to prompt one another for clarifications and explanations for their views. tion, said: “It was useful to learn how the sessions were structured and how the issues were teased out…” For him, the most important outcome of the OSC was the opportunity to build a culture of dialogue and to be comfortable with disagreement. Ms Feng Chunling, an assistant manager at CSC, facilitated four OSC dialogues. She recalled being anxious during the briefing before the first session. “When the other facilitators talked about how to handle difficult or aggressive people, I got nervous… Citizens have come down rather harshly on the govern-

ment in the past few years, so I was worried it would be a government-versus-people scenario.” Thankfully, her fears were unfounded. “I saw that citizens were willing to share and there was a surprising range of different opinions. Beyond that, the folks in my groups actually took the initiative to prompt one another for clarifications and explanations for their views. There were times when I felt the conversations could have taken place without my presence, and that is the true essence and meaning of conversation,” she said.

Feature

Facilitation insights from the OSC Secretariat

The sweet spot eight is more than a lucky number – it’s the ideal number for a small group discussion. Any more and people tend not to have enough time to talk.

Have a rough plan A facilitation plan with a structure of the essential questions helps. Use it as a guide but be flexible.

Get participants prepared Hand out brief notes (e.g. statistics) on related topics before dialogue sessions for more meaningful discussions.

FDW

PLU

????

DUA (Don’t Use Acronyms!) Avoid mysterious acronyms wherever possible – or at least explain them first! Too many acronyms slow down the conversation.

Reflecting on OSC One major outcome from the sessions, said both Mr Raizan and Ms Feng, was the sense that people came away feeling that they had been heard and they had gained a better understanding of issues. This was not only in an increased awareness of understanding the intricacies of policies and policymaking, but also of the diverse opinions and aspirations of others. Said Ms Feng, “[The sessions] dispelled my fear that people would see this as a fake exercise; they were really sharing their views.” For Mr Thomas, the enthusiasm shown by participants and volunteer facilitators alike dispels the notion that Singaporeans are an apathetic bunch: “There was this sense of pride; people were taking it seriously. What it means is we should really have more channels for engagement.”

Above (from left): Public officers Nicholas Thomas, Feng Chunling and Raizan Abdul Razak facilitated dialogues in the national conversation. PHOTO BY DeANNA Ng

60 MINS

Be adaptable Adjust to the needs of each group. At a youth dialogue, the facilitation plan included an hour of trust-building activities before starting the conversation.

Dig deeper Ask for the reason behind a certain stand. People may agree on the same thing, but have different reasons for doing so.

Trade-off?

Everyone is equal Treat all present as equal participants. The OSC small group dialogue format made interactions between citizens and VIPs more informal. This also enabled citizens to get to know each other better.

Be sensitive about semantics Some words hold negative connotations even if people agree with the term, in theory. The word “trade-off”, for example, was not well-received so facilitators asked participants “what do we give up or gain”. Be mindful of “gov speak”.

Allow different modes of expression In OSC, some participants drew out their vision of Singapore while others wrote on sticky notes. These were displayed so everyone had, in their own way, a chance to get in a final say.

Text by Tay Qiao wei Photos by john heng 2

Killing ‘em sofTly

Challenge trails a vector control officer as she works hard to keep a neighbourhood mosquito-free. The ferocious sun beats down on Madam Chua Hong Eng’s back as she pulls a trolley, which she had modified to carry a metal can containing over four litres of anti-malaria oil. “Good morning!” she calls out cheerily to a resident at Cheng Soon Crescent. “Have you had breakfast?” Even in the heat, the sprightly 62-year-old never fails to greet everyone she meets. Six days a week, this Vector Control Officer from the National Environment Agency (NEA) combs through Cheng Soon and a few other estates in Bukit Timah for potential mosquito breeding grounds. Mdm Chua is “very hardworking and thorough”, a resident tells Challenge. Watch her work and you will see why. She trains her sharp eyes on every nook and cranny – potted plants, dustbins, sagging canvas sheets, even tree hollows – in search of stagnant water. When she finds any stagnant water in public areas, she checks for pre-adult mosquitoes (larvae or pupae). If she doesn’t spot any sign of life, she sprays a layer of anti-malarial oil that prevents mosquitoes from laying their eggs. This oil also kills any pre-adult mosquitoes already present. Walking along Eng Kong Drive, Mdm Chua makes a sudden stop – she has spotted a mosquito-infested potted plant outside a home. A mass of wriggling larvae and slightly larger pupae is floating just beneath the surface of a pool of murky water in the pot. She doesn’t immediately kill the larvae since the pot belongs to a resident. Instead, she keys the location of the breeding spot into NEA’s vector control information database using her office-issued PDA. This alerts her supervisors who are trained to handle such situations. They arrive soon after to meet the homeowner before issuing a warning letter and then treating the affected water with sand granular insecticide. Apart from having to be patient with residents who break into tirades when reminded to be vigilant about preventing mosquito breeding in their homes, Mdm Chua enjoys her work. “I like that I can enjoy the sunshine and exercise,” says the hardy officer, for whom retirement is definitely not yet on the cards. “I’m too used to working; I don’t want to suddenly stop,” she explains. “There’s nothing to do at home but stare at the walls!”

I’m too used to working; I don’t want to suddenly stop. There’s nothing to do at home but stare at the walls!

1. Mdm Chua keeps her eyes peeled for mosquito breeding spots. 2. Besides anti-malarial oil, Mdm Chua also uses sand granular insecticide to kill larvae and pupae in mosquito-infested water. 3. Mdm Chua ventures into an overgrown grass patch. She sprays anti-malarial oil onto potential breeding spots such as tree hollows. 4. The meticulous officer checks every dustbin she passes for stagnant water. 5. Still water can sometimes be found in drains, for example, when leaves accumulate and block the flow of water, shares Mdm Chua. 6. Mdm Chua’s sharp eyes zoom in on water that has collected in a tree fungus. 7. Mdm Chua’s day starts at 6.30am. Instead of taking a bus, she prefers to cycle for about 25 minutes to work. 8. Mdm Chua keys in the location of a breeding spot into NEA’s vector control information database using an office-issued PDA.

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

Perspectives

For more on Madam Chuaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s larva killing exploits, log on to www.challenge.gov.sg

Level Up

Stop Dreaming and Start Teaming Learn how a team launch can help boost team performance. Text by DougLas o’LoughLin anD geraLDine Ling

When Ms Iva Aminuddin jumped for joy in her office hallway last September, it was not because she had struck the lottery or received a promotion. The reason was this: the thenAssistant Director of the PS21 Office at the Public Service Division had just experienced the fruits of a successful team launch. A team launch is an activity that helps members of a team to know and trust each other better; clarify the project’s purpose and team roles; and set team norms, otherwise known as ground rules, for working with each other. (See “How to do a team launch in four easy steps”.) Then, Ms Iva had been working on a culture development project with another government agency. “We weren’t sure about their expectations and they were unclear about our objectives. There was a sense of uneasiness,” she said. It was then that the two groups decided to come together and do a team launch. This, as they would later realise, was a good move. Halfway into the project, Ms Iva felt both sides needed to be more forthcoming with their information for the project to be successful. She shared her thoughts with the team, and team members then took steps to improve their collaboration. “Ordinarily, you’d keep these concerns to yourself and unspoken happiness or resentment would fester,” she said. What had helped in this case, she said, were the team norms set during the team launch. During the launch, everyone agreed to support the team as best as they

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

could and to keep each other in check if the rule was not followed. “Because there was ‘permission’ to go back to the norms we had set, we felt safe in sharing our concerns with each other. That made me jump for joy,” she said. Launching teams As Ms Iva’s experience showed, a team launch is an excellent way of moving people one step closer to their dream team. To get the team off to a flying start, even something as simple as sharing relevant experience can make a big difference. A 2008 study published in the Journal of Small Group Research showed that teams performed better when their members understood each other’s expertise and experience. But such meetings of minds rarely take place spontaneously in teams. That is why the team launch process will help structure the group for success. To ensure a team’s optimal perform-

ance throughout the project, the team launch should be done as soon as possible after the team’s formation. Take a team of cockpit crew members, featured in a Cockpit Resource Management article, for example. Crews who, before the flight, were informed by their captains about each member’s tasks, goals and roles outperformed crews which received no briefing at all. Having an early team launch is crucial because it clarifies each member’s roles and helps set team norms. More importantly, the launch will also help to set clear boundary lines between members and non-members. Knowing who – and who does not – “officially” belong to the team reduces miscommunication and misunderstandings. If you’ve always dreamt of starting a dream team, a team launch will be the first step that you need to take. So stop dreaming and start teaming. Are you up for it?

How to do a team launch in four easy steps 1. Purpose/goals: Establish clarity about the compelling purpose and goals of the project: for the stakeholders, the team and the individuals.

2. Roles Have each person share the skills and experiences they bring to the team, what they want to learn from the process, and then determine roles.

3. Norms Now that the purpose and roles are clear, develop group norms to help achieve goals around communication, meetings, decisionmaking, etc.

4. Styles Talk with each other about working style preferences that would be helpful for others to know.

The team launch can be done in either a formal or informal setting, as long as everyone can sit down and hear each other talk.

Text by Jamie ee Photo by John heng

Unsung Heroes

Showing the way This probation officer helps adult offenders to stay on the straight path and build up their lives again. A probationer once described Ms Lim Jim Jim’s job as akin to that of a taxi driver. “I told him, yes, I’m going on a journey with you,” recalls the probation officer of 16 years. “I’m here to guide you, but ultimately, you have to decide where you want to go.” Ms Lim is a manager with the Probation Services Branch, Operations (Adult), of the Rehabilitation, Protection and Residential Services Division, Ministry of Social and Family Development. She investigates cases and advises the Courts on the suitability of offenders to be placed on probation, which can range from six months to three years. Once the offenders are granted probation, Ms Lim works with them to put their lives back on track. This requires meeting regularly to check if they are abiding by the conditions of their probation, which can include obeying a curfew and performing community service. She also visits their families to get support for the offenders to complete their probation. This unsung hero’s work is one that requires a great deal of patience and perseverance. “Some will blame everyone else for their offence, while others may feel so guilty that they cannot forgive themselves or move on,” says the 42-year-old, who is married with two teenage daughters. “The challenge is to get them to acknowledge what they’ve done wrong and how they’ve affected other people, and help them to move on.” To ensure successful rehabilitation, she also helps offenders work through a wide range of social and personal issues – unemployment, family disharmonies, isolation and mental problems – by often engaging the help of other social support agencies like the Community Development Councils. While her work is tough and complex, Ms Lim finds reward in seeing lives change for the better. “Some of my former probationers have called me years later to tell me how they are doing well in life and holding good jobs … the satisfaction is when you know they have learnt their lesson and moved on.”

text by Tay Qiao wei photos by NormaN NG

Clever hands Beautiful Works Learn to craft things the good old way with these workshops.

A hand-cranked machine used for letterpress printing.

Head to the shops and you can buy just about anything. But have you ever wondered how tote bags, leather pouches and wooden utensils were all once created by hand, instead of being mass-produced in factories? As nostalgia for things handmade turns into a global movement, a growing group of passionate artisans here is moving beyond just selling their wares. They are now also teaching their craft, to inspire others to slow down and create something with their own hands too.

Individual letters are arranged, in reverse, to form words. The printed message can be seen in the photo above.

Letterpressing with The Gentlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Press Experience the effort that was required to print newspapers and books before digital printing was invented by trying out letterpress printing. Learn how to manually arrange movable type (metal or wooden blocks with a raised surface of a letter or image), ink the blocks, and then press them into paper one sheet at a time using a hand-cranked machine. Letterpress studio The Gentlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Press started conducting workshops to introduce this antiquated yet charming printing technique, which co-founder Michelle Yu feels is relatively unknown in Singapore. Price: $120 for a 4-hour session www.fb.com/thegentlemenspress

Life.Style

ruBBer stamp Carving with LoveSprouts A former teacher, Ms Josephine Ho from LoveSprouts combines her love for teaching with her passion for rubber stamp carving by conducting stamp carving workshops. “I really want more people to find out about this amazing craft that is so easy to pick up, and yet brings so much satisfaction when you see your own handcarved stamps in print,” shares Jo (as she prefers to be called). The first Singaporean to receive a stamp carving instructor’s certificate from Japan, Jo will cover knife control and stamping techniques in her classes. Other than your self-created stamps, you will also get to keep the carving knives, templates and an inkpad. Price: Starting from $65 for a 2-hour session www.fb.com/lovesprouts.with.jo

BookBinding

PHOTOS BY + - × ÷

with + - × ÷

Notebooks created using a variety of bookbinding techniques.

Ever thought of sewing together a notebook of your own? Now you can, by learning a variety of bookbinding methods, such as kettle, coptic or Japanese stitch from Mr Chen Yue, founder of creative studio + - × ÷. Mr Chen, who is based in Malaysia but makes frequent trips to Singapore to conduct workshops, believes that there are people who appreciate writing or drawing in a hand-stitched notebook just like he does, even in this digital age. The bookbinding artist hopes more people can learn how to create their own personalised notebooks, instead of just purchasing his hand-sewn creations. The workshop fee includes all the materials needed, including a basic bookbinding toolset. Price: $69-$99 for a 3-hour session (prices vary with the type of stitch) www.fb.com/cystudio

Close up of long stitch binding on a notebook.

Participants pick up leather cutting techniques, as well as construction and leather finishing methods in the workshop.

PHOTOS BY TYRWHITT GENERAL COMPANY

with Sustainable Living Lab (SL2) Conducted by trainers, who call themselves makers, with more than 10 years of woodworking experience, this workshop will teach you the basics of wielding hand tools such as saws, chisels and spokeshaves, to create a wooden mixing spatula. Classes have a maximum of six students, who can each bring home a woodworking tool kit worth over $100. SL2’s co-founder, Mr Veerappan Swaminathan, believes woodworking is a good way to “share craftsmanship values of excellence, focus and patience”. Workshop participants say that woodworking helps to clear their minds, giving them a “contemplative experience” away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Price: $299 for a 3-hour session www.sl2exchange.com/collections/woodcraftclasses

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

with Tyrwhitt General Company (TGC) Learn to make a personalised cardholder from a piece of vegetable-tanned leather in this introductory workshop, which will cover leather crafting basics such as leather properties and cutting techniques. TGC’s Creative Director Colin Chen shares that leather crafting is one of the dying trades they hope to keep alive. Participants of their workshops will be able to better appreciate the effort that goes into the process of leather crafting. Although TGC sells handmade leather products, Mr Chen hopes that customers will also “learn how to make one with [their] own hands”. Besides leather crafting, TGC also runs letterpress and screen printing workshops with partners. Price: $79 for a 2-hour session www.tyrwhittgeneralcompany.com

The course instructor demonstrates the use of a backsaw.

WoodWorking

LeatHer Crafting

Life.Style

Bag seWing with Uyii Known for their functional and fashionable handmade bags, local label Uyii shows you how to create your own bags with a tabletop sewing machine and a few basic tools. Make seven finished products, including a drawstring pouch, tote bag and everyday bag, in 10 lessons by applying sewing techniques that will be taught in class. Uyiiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founders, Mr Benny Ng and Ms Chan Liping, started these classes because of popular demand from friends and customers who wanted to learn more about the art of sewing. Price: $360 for 10 2Â˝-hour sessions www.uyii.com.sg /pages/beginner-sewingsessions

Participants use an array of woodworking tools during the workshop.

The outline of a spatula is traced onto a block of wood before the wood is chiselled (above right) and transformed into the final product (far right).

A participant creates her own unique design with a strip of patterned cloth.

Products of the workshop.

The Irreverent Last Page

3’s ing 201 c u d o r t In th e as from best ide Department ge Challen ivity to ct of Produ c officers bli help pu ork better. w do their Meeting Room Generator Oh no! Your boss needs a meeting room pronto, but they’re all booked (as usual). Make that a problem of the past with the Meeting Room Generator, which warps space and time to seek an empty room from the future. Key in your needs – number of tables, chairs, projectors, and size of room – then step through any office door and voilà, you’re on your way to yet another meeting. Empathy Meter There has been much talk about hiring staff with empathy. But how does one measure this abstract quality? Find out by pointing the Empathy Meter subtly at anyone. Its high-precision brainwave detector turns bright pink when it senses intense emotional connection.

??? IN: Is the COPS cognisant of all the CoPs set up to enhance officers’ capabilities and competencies? Also fair through the OMP, as it will be presented at the SMF.

OUT: Is the Committee of Permanent Secretaries aware of all the Communities of Practice set up to enhance officers’ skills? Also, check the Operations Master Plan thoroughly as it will be presented at the Senior Management Forum.

Gift Value Assessor You know the drill when it comes to gifts: they have to be submitted for value assessment if they’re worth more than $50. The portable Gift Value Assessor puts an end to the guessing game. All it takes is a quick scan, and you’ll know how much the gift costs and what to do next. Jargon Decoder When nothing your colleague says seems to make sense, it’s time to whip out the Jargon Decoder. It translates all the gahmen gobbledegook into sentences you can actually understand.

Need We Say More? Here’s where we let the humour loose, and learn to laugh at ourselves a little more. Have ideas or jokes about the Public Service? Email us: psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg

www.challenge.gov.sg September/October 2013

TRIV A

QUIZ

Ibasho is a charitable organisation that strives to create socially integrated and sustainable communities that value _________________. a. single mothers b. the elderly c. children d. the disabled The _________________ introduced by Changi Airport enables customers to provide instant alert of service lapses so that rectification can be made quickly. a. Merlin Instant Feedback b. Instant Feedback System c. UserVoice d. CustomerSure Dignity Kitchen provides the following programmes: a. Lunch Treat for the Elderly b. Hawker Training Programme c. Hawker For the Day d. All of the above The Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme was introduced by the Housing & Development Board in _________________ , under which senior citizens can get retrofits done for their homes at subsidised rates. a. July 2011 b. June 2012 c. June 2011 d. July 2012 What is the name of the report that captures the key aspirations emerging from Our Singapore Conversation (OSC)? a. Conversations b. Reflections c. Perspectives d. Our Journey Together

Pairs of

MoVIe VouCheR

to be won

Su bm it yo ur an sw ers by Oc to be r 4, 20 13 at: Ch al le ng e On lin e w w w. ch al le ng e. go v.s g Ple as e inc lud e yo ur na me , em ail ad dr es s, ag en cy an d co nt ac t nu mb er. Al l wi nn ers wi ll be no tif ied by em ail .

Congratulations to th e wi nn ers of th e Ju l/A ug 20 13 Tri via Qu iz Da isy An g (H SA ) Sh ell y Ch an (M OM ) W on g Da n Lim (M OT ) Ta n Hw ei Ch oo (H DB ) Sa ra h Ta n (C SC )