Spirit of Forward Singapore (ForwardSG)

Our way forward

The Forward Singapore (ForwardSG) exercise launched in June 2022 brought over 200,000 Singaporeans together to chart a roadmap for Singapore’s next stage of development.

Through the ForwardSG conversations, Singaporeans reflected on new elements they wanted for our Singapore dream, and exchanged views with Singaporeans from all walks of life. We identified several key elements for our way forward:

• More opportunities for all Singaporeans to chart our own path, as we pursue diverse aspirations and definitions of success.

• More assurance for Singaporeans that they will be taken care of at every life stage.

• More collective responsibility from all stakeholders, including the Government, businesses, community groups, families, and individuals, doing their part to support and uplift those around us.

United in purpose, stronger in action

Through ForwardSG, the Government is enhancing our social support system. Under ComLink+, we partner and empower lower-income families with children to make progress towards stability, self-reliance, and social mobility. ComLink+ families are supported through:

• Family coaches, who will co-develop action plans, coach, motivate, and journey with families towards achieving their long-term goals. Family coaches also connect families to the appropriate assistance and support programmes across government agencies and the community, such as KidSTART and Project DIAN@M³.

• Volunteer befrienders, who offer moral support and encouragement to families to overcome their challenges and progress towards their goals. As at December 2023, there were about 1,600 volunteer befrienders journeying with ComLink+ families. Community organisations and corporates also stepped forward to co-create programmes that meet the families' diverse needs.

• Financial top-ups via the ComLink+ Progress Packages, which support preschool education, employment, debt clearance, and home ownership for families that take concrete steps towards their longer-term goals. These packages are funded through the combined efforts of the Government, corporates, and philanthropic organisations.

Feature Story: Empowering families as a community though ComLink+

Mr Zeke is the MSF family coach for Ms Aini, Mr Wali, and two-year-old Laila who live in a public rental flat. Through conversations with the family, Zeke understood their hopes to achieve financial stability and purchase their own Build-To-Order flat. To reach these goals, they first needed to pay off their debts and settle care arrangements for Laila, so that Aini could secure stable employment.

Zeke created an action plan with the family and connected them with Workforce Singapore for employment assistance, as well as Bethesda CARE, Central Singapore Community Development Council, and Etonhouse Community Fund for financial assistance to help with their household expenditure. Ansel and Adele, NUS student volunteers with ComLink+, also provided support by befriending the family and organising outings.

With their near-term challenges addressed, Aini and Wali were able to focus on their longer-term goals. They have since paid off their debts, and Aini recently started a full-time job. The family is now closer to their dream of moving out of rental housing and purchasing their own BTO flat. Ansel and Adele have witnessed the resilience and strength of Aini and Wali, and are humbled to be able to make a positive difference in their lives.

Read more: Social Safety Nets

Through the Mentoring SG movement, we partnered individuals, corporates, mentoring organisations, and the community to develop a culture of mentoring and make mentoring more accessible to youths. Mentors, with their life experiences, provide valuable perspectives to support youths to navigate through life. To strengthen the ecosystem of support for mentoring, we enhanced capability building for mentors. This included the introduction of the “Mentoring For Youth” Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications accredited course from February 2024, to train learners to be confident and effective mentors. As at September 2024, Mentoring SG has engaged over 2,500 skilled mentors and connected more than 6,000 youths to mentoring networks and resources.

Read more: Building Our Future Together

We have also strengthened our preventive and aged care system:

• Healthier SG will empower Singaporeans to lead healthier lifestyles through preventive care. As at September 2024, over one million residents have enrolled with a primary care provider. We are working with government agencies, healthcare institutions and community partners to provide support for Singaporeans in their health journey. This includes connecting Singaporeans to healthy lifestyle programmes, organised by government agencies such as the Health Promotion Board, Sport Singapore and People’s Association.

• Age Well SG complements Healthier SG by enabling seniors to age well in the community. It anchors ageing in the community by tackling social isolation through a multi-faceted approach, encompassing areas such as housing, transport, active ageing, and care services. This all-rounded approach to managing health and ageing was made possible through close collaboration across multiple government agencies and community partners to enhance the delivery of health and social care services to seniors.

Read more: Health and Wellness | Retirement

To foster active, green citizenry, we partnered Singaporeans to take ground-up action towards building a sustainable Singapore.

Feature Story: Green Action for Communities and SG Eco Fund

The Green Action for Communities movement, launched in 2022, enabled and empowered citizens to take ground-up action within their communities to achieve Singapore’s climate and sustainability goals together with the Government.

Over 800 community leaders and sustainability champions in the community co-created green initiatives for their communities. These included initiatives to involve residents to build a community playground using discarded materials and setting up a green hub to engage residents on energy efficiency, recycling, and exchanging of used goods.

The SG Eco Fund supports projects that involve the community in advancing environmental sustainability in Singapore. As at April 2024, the SG Eco Fund supported over 250 projects with $12.8 million across various topics, such as waste reduction and recycling, community growing of food, and education and outreach on sustainability.

One example of an SG Eco Fund project is by the Sustainable Living Lab, which started Repair Kopitiam communities and the Repair Kampung initiative to train community volunteers as local handymen to repair common household items within their community. This has helped to save many useful items from being disposed as waste, while building capabilities and connections among Singaporeans.

Read more: Environment and Sustainability

Doing our part for our shared future

These examples exemplify the impact that we can make when our social compact is strong and everyone plays their part. We will continue to collaborate closely with Singaporeans to chart our future.

Read more: Building our Future Together

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