Mr Andy Sim, Vice President & Managing Director, Dell Technologies,
Professor Lee Cheng, President, Singapore Association for Mental Health,
Mr Geoffrey Ong, Board Chairman, MINDS,
Ladies and gentlemen.
1. Good afternoon. I'm delighted to be here at the third edition of Dell InnovateFest.
2. I am glad that you are focused on how technology can help to support mental health – specifically supporting the mental well-being of both caregivers of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (PWIDs), and teenagers navigating today's complex social landscape.
- I want to thank Dell, MINDS, and the Singapore Association for Mental Health for organising this hackathon. By providing this festival, we are not only giving our students an opportunity to showcase their talent and their passion for a purpose, we are also showing to our students as well as society, that technology has great potential to do good, to help, and to enable the development of a more inclusive and caring society.
- In turn, you give our students an opportunity to deploy their learning in school to undertake a challenge such as this. And of course, the opportunity for our students to meet industry leaders as well. In an age where technology and AI is disrupting, creating new value and transforming the workplace of the future, you give our students the opportunity to interact with the movers and shakers of industry. Thank you, on behalf of all our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs).
- I want to also thank all the participants for your hard work. You have your school load, but you are also actively taking part in this competition, in order to make a difference.
3. Now, technology is advancing so rapidly that it is reshaping societies all over the world.
- For example, social media has allowed us to connect more easily across thousands of miles. But their algorithms push content that it thinks we want to see, and in a way splits us into echo chambers. Social media has also been used at times to spread fake news, carry out cyberbullying, and more. So there's a lot of plus, but there's also a lot of downsides to deal with.
- Indeed, social media is a major reason why today's social landscape for teenagers is a lot more complex than in the past.
4. So we must find ways to harness technology for good, and mitigate its negative effects. As young people, our participants, you are digital natives and well-positioned to lead the charge – with your energy, your fresh ideas, and your perspectives.
Supporting Mental Health and Well-Being
5. The causes you have worked on through this hackathon are important. Strengthening our mental health and well-being ecosystem is a key priority.
- Caregivers of persons with intellectual disability face significant stress, strains and anxiety – the need for them to be a caregiver on one hand, while balancing other commitments on the other. And of course, less time for social and leisure activities. These can lead to burnout.
- Teenagers also face different issues today. Growing up has always come with its pains. But today's young people are expressing more concerns over mental health than previous generations. In part, this may be due to increased awareness of the importance of mental health. But there are also worrying trends too, such as increased rates of youth anxiety and mental illnesses.
6. So we have been increasing and strengthening support to help address these issues.
- For example, for caregivers, we provide grants to alleviate some of the caregiving expenses. We offer respite care services so caregivers can take some breaks, and have expanded community-based programmes for caregivers to get connected with each other.
- In fact, yesterday morning, I had my regular community breakfast and get-together – known as 'Care Khakis'. These are families and caregivers who have children, both young and adult, with disabilities. It's always a delight to meet them, and their family members as well. I met a mother who stopped work to be a full-time caregiver, but she herself had gone through a period of illness, a serious illness that she had to fight. She felt that she had less energy during her recovery, while also having to care for her adult child with disability. She was one of a number of older caregivers of adult children with disability. You can see the tremendous love and care, and concern and worry, but also great tiredness, fatigue, even at the risk of burnout. So we'll have to do more, physically, personally, in terms of community support. Technology can also play a part in helping.
- When it comes to young people, we want to be able to intervene upstream as much as possible, before serious mental health issues arise. So we have embedded mental health education in schools' Character and Citizenship Education. And our educational institutions have ecosystems of support – peer supporters, educators, school counsellors – who can encourage students to seek help, and to facilitate intervention when needed.
Conclusion
7. But we all know that Government action on its own is never enough. We need a "whole of society" approach to create that ecosystem and network, pervasive throughout community, to tackle such social issues. And we need the partnership of every family, every institution, every employer, everyone.
8. So I would encourage all our participants to take your efforts beyond this hackathon – whether by deploying your ideas in the community or contributing your talents and energy in other ways. As Andy has said, every single one of you is a winner, and winners take these ideas beyond competitions. As you do so, take the spirit of this hackathon forward: that you can make a difference for the causes you care about.
9. Indeed, whether you win prizes or not, you are all richer for what you have put into your projects. Now what remains is for you to bring these lessons you have learnt, and ideas you have generated, out into the world.
10. So on that note, congratulations to everyone, and thank you.