Mr Stefan Löfven
Former Prime Minister of Sweden,
Dr Maliki Osman, Former Minister, in the Prime Minister's Office, Singapore,
Mr Chavalit Frederick Tsao, Chairman of Tsao Pao Chee,
Ms Tai Sook Yee, Chairman, No.17 Foundation,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Introduction
1. Good morning. I am glad to join all of you here at Impact Week. It is a gathering of leaders, innovators, educators, and changemakers who share a common belief that the future is not something we should passively accept. If we work together, we can shape our future. This conviction is all the more important when we look at the challenges we face, wherever we come from. We are seeing significant geopolitical uncertainty, with conflicts around the world. In many places, nativism is rising – a strong distrust of others, and a reluctance to collaborate. Climate change is no longer a distant possibility. Its damaging impacts are here and now. And at the same time, we stand at the threshold of transformative technologies, especially AI, artificial intelligence, that bring tremendous opportunities, but also disruption.
2. These are challenges that many of our countries face, and these times call for global leadership at the political level, corporate level, and community level to come together to build consensus. Because if we do not proactively shape our future, it will be shaped for us, by forces beyond our control.
3. This is why events like Impact Week are important. They allow us to come together across countries, across sectors to exchange ideas, build partnerships, and turn ideas into action.
Evolving Social Compact
4. Even as we respond to big global shifts, we must not lose sight of the impact they can have on our people, or of the changes already happening within our own societies. In times of uncertainty and rapid change, some people can lose their footing and get swept behind, but we must find a way for everyone to move forward together.
5. That is why we have to refresh our social compact, to ensure it is relevant even as we confront the future and its challenges. Here in Singapore, we launched Forward Singapore in 2022, to do just that. We engaged Singaporeans to distil their perspectives and hopes, and set out a roadmap for our way forward as a nation.
6. Our Prime Minister also spoke about this at length in his National Day Rally last month. To keep Singapore going, he emphasised that we must be a "We-First" society. If each of us does our part for the wider community, the "we" – care, contribute, and look out for one another – then the individual, the "me" - will thrive and flourish too. When the whole is strong, each of us becomes stronger too.
Tackling Inequality
7. This approach is important, because in successful cities around the world, we often see the formation of a permanent underclass who have less, not having the opportunities to get ahead, no matter how hard they try, even as others race far ahead. With the global headwinds that we are confronting, we will all need to work harder, and find new ways, to act against these powerful forces that can fragment our societies.
8. In Singapore, after listening to our frontliners – social workers, counsellors, community workers and educators – we designed ComLink+. ComLink+ is a far more integrated, coordinated way of empowering lower-income families than the system we used to have. For some families, it is not just an issue of providing more assistance or resources. Many of them face a complex web of interlocking challenges, and despite their best efforts, find it challenging to sustain progress. It is not just about Government doing more, giving more, and spending more – it is about trying to do better.
9. Through ComLink+, we put families at the heart and centre of our work. We organise and coordinate our support around the families, rather than around our agencies and schemes. We proactively reach out to families, to get a better understanding of their needs, strengths and aspirations. Family Coaches and volunteer befrienders work with families, to develop individual dynamic roadmaps, tailored to their unique circumstances, and journey with them to achieve their aspirations. With the support of community partners, donors, corporates and more, we bring in customised programmes and services, tailored to the needs of the family. This way, we are doing more, but we are also ensuring that our resources and programmes achieve greater impact.
10. We must also address inequality early, starting with our children. We want to give every child a good start in life, regardless of their background. That is why we introduced programmes like KidSTART, where we invest heavily in early childhood. To keep preschool affordable, lower-income families can pay as low as $3 per month for full-day childcare in a government-supported preschool. We bring together early childhood professionals, healthcare workers and educators to improve outcomes for lower-income families with young children, and set them on the right path to success. Similarly, through UPLIFT initiatives, we want to enhance upstream wraparound support for students from lower-income families. These include providing more resources to schools, strengthening after-school programmes and deepening partnerships between schools and the community.
11. The common thread that runs through all the examples I have talked about is clear:
they are built on close relationships and strong partnerships, with communities, social workers, volunteers, schools, and more. Because tackling inequality and shaping an inclusive future – it is something all of us must take ownership of. We must all do our part, as a society, to help those who need it most.
12. The Social Transformation Project (STP), an initiative by Octave Institute under Tsao Peo Chee, which will be launched shortly, embodies this same spirit. It is a community pilot in Fengshan that brings together diverse stakeholders, each contributing their unique strengths and expertise, to uplift our most vulnerable families. We welcome philanthropists, corporates and community organisations such as Octave, to work with local communities on the ground to try out various approaches.
Conclusion
13. As we look into the future, we must remember that the true strength of any society lies not in how much we achieve individually, but in how we can lift one another up and move forward together. The road ahead will not be easy. The big shifts we are witnessing today will continue to shape the world in ways we cannot fully predict. But if we walk this path together, and support one another, partner one another, and share in this responsibility to uplift every individual, then we will not only navigate these challenges, but emerge as a stronger, more united, and more resilient society. I wish all of you a productive and meaningful time during Impact Week.
14. Thank you.