Ground-up efforts key to social impact: Ong Keng Yong

SINGAPORE — Sustainable development goals, such as tackling climate change, inequality and poverty, can best be achieved through public-private partnerships initiated by ground-up efforts, said Singapore International Foundation’s (SIF) chair Ong Keng Yong at the Young Social Entrepreneurs 2017 dialogue yesterday.

Addressing the gathering of 155 youths representing 18 nationalities from around the region, Mr Ong said that “young change-makers” are key partners in working with established social entrepreneurs, business consultants, investors and policy makers to ensure significant social impact.

“Social entrepreneurs often join forces with civil society, private companies and/or government. They appreciate the value of building collaborative partnerships and leveraging multi-sectorial networks for systemic and scalable change,” said Mr Ong.

The YSE 2017 Opening Workshop saw a 30 per cent increase in applicants this year to discuss social entrepreneurial solutions for today’s pressing social issues in areas including agriculture, education, environment, disability, elderly and youth, healthcare and housing.

Citing an example of the Social Development Initiative (SDI) Academy — a social enterprise empowering Singapore’s migrant workers — Mr Ong highlighted how the company’s co-founders reached out to their beneficiaries and the community through collaboration with government agencies and stakeholders.

SDI helps migrant workers through its English language, vocational and computer courses while its Befrienders Programme connects them with Singaporeans over food and games.

In 2016, SDI Academy worked with the Bangladesh High Commission in Singapore to raise awareness about their programmes among the Bangladeshi workers community and delivered over 10,000 hours of lessons to 1,000 workers.

Another example of a community initiative is WateROAM, a programme that provides portable and affordable water filtration systems to resolve the issue of lack of access to water sources at disaster-stricken sites. Through a partnership with World Vision, WateROAM tapped on the international non-governmental organisation’s network to dispatch its water filters to more than 1,000 victims of the flood-stricken areas in Kelantan, Malaysia last year.

In a panel discussion on partnerships for sustainable development goals, Ms Christy Davis, executive director of Asia P3 Hub, World Vision International, noted that multi-sector partnerships have to include mutual benefits and transparency to achieve an equitable relationship.

“It is about finding a sweet spot within an equitable arrangement that is win-win for all,” she said. “There has to be a shared purpose with a road map laying out key priorities and investment strategies well in advance.”

According to another panelist Ji Xiaocong, director of entrepreneurship centre of the youth league, Tsinghua University, “choosing the right strategic partners is important”, and universities play a key role in connecting entrepreneurs and governments. “However, partnerships should not be for profit at the education stage,” Dr Ji added. 

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this report wrongly identified a panelist. The Singapore International Foundation has clarified that the panelist quoted is Dr Ji Xiaocong, director of entrepreneurship centre of the youth league, Tsinghua University.