Latest news with #President'sChallenge2025
Business Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Business Times
President's Challenge 2025 to support 52 organisations, with focus on longer-term funding
[SINGAPORE] The President's Challenge 2025, which was launched on Wednesday (May 28) by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will support 60 programmes by 52 organisations. Although this is fewer than the 88 programmes supported in 2024, the initiative aims to focus on more significant and longer-term funding for beneficiaries. The refreshed President's Challenge this year received applications from 272 programmes – more than twice the number in 2024. In a doorstop interview with the media, Tharman said: 'The happy problem we face is that we've had a lot more applications for this new President's Challenge. And we could therefore afford to be selective, choose programmes which we felt had the greatest potential, and yet cover a broad ground.' Six selected programmes that have established track records will receive a higher tier of funding of S$715,000 to S$1.25 million over five years. The other 54 programmes will receive funding of S$105,000 to S$300,000 for each programme over three years. One of the six programmes is Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore's (RDA) equine-assisted activities. Meanwhile, one of the 54 programmes is Playeum's Open Minds, Open Doors programme. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up RDA currently runs therapeutic riding sessions for persons with disabilities, as well as the Ground Programme, in which beneficiaries can get involved with activities such as horse care. Gerard Sivalingam, general manager of RDA, said: 'We use horses as a form of therapy… (The beneficiaries) see joy in what they are doing. What we offer them is a hobby and something that's not easily accessible.' He added that the funding from the President's Challenge is vital in keeping the programmes free of charge, especially amid rising costs. Meanwhile, one of the 54 programmes is Playeum's Open Minds, Open Doors initiative, which has been ongoing since 2019. It is a community play programme for children with disabilities. Charlotte Goh, executive director of Playeum, said: '(Open-ended play) enables social and emotional skills and 21st century skills like critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication, self-regulation and self-awareness.' As part of the programme, Playeum also runs workshops for parents to learn about children's holistic development and family bonding through play. It has developed manuals that can be used by both parents and educators. Tharman added: 'All the programmes we're supporting aim not just at meeting immediate needs, but uplifting people, by discovering talents and developing their potential.' In addition, the S$250 million SG Gives Matching Grant announced at Budget 2025 will provide dollar-for-dollar matching by the government for all donations to the President's Challenge. New fellowships This year's President Challenge includes new fellowships, which will cover three tracks. The first track, called Civil Action, offers one or two-year sabbaticals to those who have a minimum of five years of work or active volunteering experience. It is supported by Quantedge Foundation, Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Social Sciences. Tharman said: '(This track) is to enable people who are engaged in the social sector – in social work, social services, youth work, and even active volunteers from other professions – the time and opportunity to reflect, do some research, network and develop new ideas for social impact.' The second track, called Springboard, supports individuals who have faced challenges in life and are ready to enter the workforce or become an entrepreneur. The selected fellows can choose between employment and upskilling programmes either for employment or entrepreneurship. Springboard is supported by the Singapore Institute of Management and Temasek. It aims to help individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, ex-offenders, women facing vulnerable circumstances, and more. The third track is ITE Inspire, which recognises alumni from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) who have made strides in their career and can act as role models for the younger generation. ITE Inspire is also supported by Singapore Business Federation Foundation. ITE will shortlist and select up to five awardees. These awardees will organise programmes such as mentoring, learning journeys and industry visits in Singapore and/or overseas, and workshops or fireside chats to benefit the ITE community. More opportunities in arts and sports The President's Challenge has also partnered the National Arts Council (NAC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) to broaden opportunities for beneficiaries in the arts and sports sectors. The Enabling Sports Fund aims to expand community-initiated disability sports and support early identification of talents among young persons with disabilities. Under the partnership, the President's Challenge will also enhance access to sports for all via SportSG's academies and clubs, as well as more inter-school sports competitions and carnivals. It will also help NAC and SportSG expand their scholarship offerings.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Successful ITE graduates to be recognised under a new fellowship in President's Challenge 2025
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and his spouse, Ms Jane Ittogi, posing for photos with Women At Work programme lead Zuria Yusope (right) and beneficiaries Nuruljannah Sehab (left) and Norsuryani Abdul Jamal during the launch of the President's Challenge 2025. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG Successful ITE graduates to be recognised under a new fellowship in President's Challenge 2025 SINGAPORE - A new fellowship to recognise Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates who have had outstanding career achievements was among three tracks launched under the refreshed President's Challenge on May 28. The ITE Inspire Fellowship recognises those who have achieved success following a technical education background to serve as role models and mentors to motivate others. The fellowship was introduced by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam during a visit with Netball Singapore, an organisation receiving funding this year under the President's Challenge. The President's Challenge was established in 2000 by then-President S R Nathan to raise money for and support various social causes. It has provided funding for many social service agencies to run their programmes. The two other fellowships launched in 2025 are the Civic Action and Springboard fellowships, which aim to develop new approaches in the social sector as well support individuals who are bouncing back from major setbacks respectively. The Civic Action Fellowship will be open to social sector professionals and allow them to deepen their expertise and develop new approaches for the sector through full-time and part-time sabbaticals that span one to two years. The Springboard Fellowship will help those bouncing back from adversity and provide them with education, skills and entrepreneurship training so they can embark on new career paths. The three fellowships will tap partners like Quantedge Foundation, Singapore Institute of Management and Singapore Business Federation Foundation for their resources and networks. Applications for the Civic Action and ITE Inspire tracks will be open from June 3 to July 18 via the President's Challenge website. Nominations for the Springboard track in the first year will be sought through agencies in the social and civic sector. Speaking to media at the event, Mr Tharman said the fellowships aim to broaden the 'canvas' of leadership in society. 'We want more catalysts and role models, and they come from different walks of life,' he said. He said he wanted the Springboard Fellowship, which helps people bouncing back from adversity, to be part of the President's Challenge to show that it is important to recognise that there are many paths in life. And very often, the path involves a setback along the way. Singapore is at a stage of development as a country where intangibles matter greatly, he said, adding that the ultimate objective of the President's Challenge is intangible - to build a community of respect. 'This intangible respect for all is how we motivate and uplift each other, recognising the very different life circumstances we all have, putting ourselves in someone else's shoes and realising that they face obstacles, and encouraging and motivating everyone to overcome those obstacles.' In 2025, the President's Challenge will support 60 programmes from 52 organisations, including six initiatives that will receive more funding. These programmes will receive funding ranging from $715,000 to $1,250,000 over five years, enabling them to scale their impact. This includes a therapeutic horseback riding initiative for those with disabilities run by the Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore, and a community patrol initiative that engages youth facing adversity by Shine Children and Youth Services. New Life Stories' Family Strengthening Programme is also one of the six that will receive significant funding this year. The programme, which helps inmates and their families, supported more than 650 families in 2024. 'The funding will not only help us increase the number of families that we support, but also allow us to go further in-depth with each family and improve the quality of service we provide so we can make really deep, meaningful impact in their lives,' said chief executive of New Life Stories Saleemah Ismail. The initiative helps incarcerated parents connect with their children through open visits and special activities like letting the parents write storybooks in prison that their children can read. Another programme that will receive extra funding this year is Women At Work, an initiative by Yayasan Mendaki to help unemployed Malay-Muslim women get back into the workforce. Programme lead Zuria Yusope said the programme helped 200 women in 2024, 54 per cent of whom attained a job within six months. 'With this sustained funding over five years, we will be able to reach out to even more women and increase the number of sessions that we hold to improve their employability,' she said. This year's grant call attracted applications from 272 programmes, more than twice of that for 2024. Other than the six initiatives receiving extra funding, the President's Challenge will also support 54 other programmes with funding of $105,000 to $300,000 each, spread over three years. This includes Netball Singapore's Netball Rising programme – a new initiative to provide regular coaching and competitive opportunities to potential athletes aged 12-17 from underprivileged backgrounds. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam throwing a netball at the Kallang ActiveSG Netball Centre on May 28. Looking on are President Tharman's spouse, Ms Jane Ittogi (right), members of NorthLight School's netball team and their coach Liew Hin Joon (foreground). ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG The President's Challenge 2025 expanded its scope to include support for arts and sports. The National Arts Council (NAC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) will act as partners to the President's Challenge and help with talent discovery, especially among those from less advantaged backgrounds. Under its partnership with SportSG, the President's Challenge will support the Enabling Sports Fund to expand community-initiated disability sports and support early identification of talents among young people with disabilities. Support will also be given to NAC's and SportSG's scholarships, to empower more individuals to develop their aspirations in the arts and sports. The logo for President's Challenge was also changed this year after a logo competition was opened to polytechnic, ITE, and University of the Arts Singapore students. The winning design among 153 entries was by Xandrea Alfie Isa from Temasek Polytechnic. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
