Building Our Future Together

Fostering national identity in a changing world

In an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world, we must continue to invest in fostering a strong national identity and a cohesive community in Singapore.

Three out of four Singaporeans polled in a 2022 Pew Research study felt that “Singapore is more united than before the COVID-19 outbreak”. This was in contrast to most people in other countries surveyed, who felt their country had become more divided.

To further strengthen this unity, we increased our efforts to foster social interaction, mutual respect, and understanding within our society. We also expanded opportunities for the community and businesses to co-create, shape, and own our collective future in Singapore.

Co-creating and shaping aspirations

A close partnership between the Government and citizens is key to ensuring our policies meet the diverse needs of Singaporeans. While various platforms are available for citizens to share their thoughts on key societal issues, we will continue to do more, as based on the 2023 Social Pulse Survey, about four in 10 Singaporeans agreed that “they wish to work with the Government in working towards a better Singapore”.

• To drive partnerships among citizens, community groups, and businesses, we formed more than 35 Alliances for Action to co-create and prototype ideas in areas of opportunity for Singapore, or address common challenges such as rallying support for local produce and helping employers attract and retain talent.

• During the Forward Singapore exercise, over 200,000 Singaporeans shared their aspirations to shape their communities and co-create policies, public spaces, and services. In response to this, the Singapore Government Partnerships Officewas launched in 2024 to strengthen partnerships and engagements with citizens.
  

Read more: Quality Jobs | Environment and Sustainability | Spirit of Forward Singapore

Empowering our youths

Youths today are passionate and care deeply about giving back and making a positive impact. We remain committed to partnering with youths to build a better Singapore. The National Youth Council has continued to support and mentor youths through initiatives such as Young ChangeMakers and Youth Action Challenge, to champion ground-up initiatives in partnership with the Government, businesses, and community organisations.

• Since 2019, more than 1,000 youths have engaged in more than 280 projects. One example is SpedGrow which uses gamification to offer personalised learning for individuals with special needs. The project benefitted over 500 people and partnered with more than 20 schools and organisations.

• The Youth Panels provide a platform for youths to co-create policies with the Government. For the inaugural run that began in November 2023, four panels with about 120 youths explored issues and ideas to improve financial resilience, career and employment opportunities, digital well-being, and environmental sustainability. More than 4,000 youths also contributed their perspectives and feedback through surveys and focus group discussions conducted by the panels, and over 1,000 participants attended the Youth Policy Forum held in August 2024, where they were engaged on the panels’ preliminary policy ideas.

Giving back to our society

The National Giving Study 2023 reported a dip in volunteering rates from 29% in 2018, to 22% in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, before increasing to 30% in 2023.

To boost community-led volunteerism, SG Cares Volunteer Centres (SG Cares VCs) create opportunities for citizens to volunteer where they work, study, or live. SG Cares VCs match individuals, organisations, and businesses to volunteering opportunities, and help build the volunteer management capabilities of community partners.

• Between January 2023 and March 2024, more than 72,000 volunteers were engaged and close to 4,000 collaborations were brokered by the SG Cares VCs with community partners, to meet the needs of more than 340,000 beneficiaries locally.

• In 2023, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), the Singapore Business Federation established the Environmental, Social and Governance Coordination Office to support businesses in giving back to society.

• The Corporate Volunteer Scheme tax incentive was also extended to 2026 to encourage corporate volunteerism.

Feature Story: Community Giveback Programme – Partnering the banking industry to serve the community

The Community Marketplace is a collaboration between the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), the SG Cares VCs, and MCCY to distribute daily necessities to 10,000 low-income households at 22 locations across Singapore.

This initiative is part of a larger Community Giveback Programme, led by ABS and supported by more than 50 member banks. The programme will channel $4 million and 6,000 bank staff volunteers to meet community needs over two years starting from June 2024.

Besides volunteering, Singaporeans play an important role in supporting those with greater needs through donations. Post-COVID-19 pandemic, overall donation rates have remained stable at 62% in 2023.

Read more: Social Safety Nets | Spirit of Forward Singapore

Maintaining our multi-ethnic and multi-religious harmony

A 2023 Pew Research study reported that “Singaporeans of all faiths are broadly tolerant and accepting of followers of different religions”, with 56% of respondents agreeing that diversity makes our nation a better place to live. While this is a good start, building harmony will continue to be a work in progress.

Over the past 22 years, Racial and Religious Harmony Circles have brought together various ethnic and religious communities to safeguard and promote racial and religious harmony. In 2024, we reached about 98,000 participants through national and local-level initiatives led by the Harmony Circles. One such initiative was the collaboration with the National Parks Board's OneMillionTrees Movement, which provided the platform for interpersonal mixing between participants from diverse cultural and religious groups through the shared goal of environmental stewardship.

Read more: External and Homeland Security

Shaping our Singapore Story

Our shared culture and heritage contribute to our sense of identity and belonging, drawing Singaporeans together. To build on this, the Founders’ Memorial Committee engages and partners Singaporeans from different backgrounds to shape the concept for the Memorial scheduled to launch in 2028. For example, “Semangat yang Baru”, the Founders’ Memorial 2023 pilot exhibition, featured artefacts and stories contributed by Singaporeans from different walks of life.

Feature Story: Semangat yang Baru – Forging a New Singapore spirit

The “Semangat yang Baru” exhibition aimed to bring to life a new spirit of courage and dynamism, as captured in our National Anthem. Held at the National Museum of Singapore from April to November 2023, it attracted more than 145,000 visitors. Over 8,000 participants engaged in bus tours, film screenings, Scenario Experience, and in-gallery conversations on the Singapore spirit.

Read more: Arts and Heritage

Building our future as One United Singapore

In the years ahead, we will continue to invest in fostering a strong national identity and a cohesive community by partnering and co-creating meaningful initiatives with citizens, community groups, and businesses. Through these shared efforts, we empower Singaporeans of all ages and from all walks of life to give back to society and explore their passions to build our shared future.

Read more: Spirit of Forward Singapore