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Kelvin Sim MTC Writer While persons with disabilities (PwDs) in Singapore are gaining access to higher education and training opportunities from social service agencies and corporations, statistics from the Ministry of Manpower showed that less than 30% of PwDs of working age were employed in 2020. Not only is this discriminatory and hinders PwDs from dignified and independent living, it also means that there is a largely untapped population of skilled and talented workers in Singapore. In addition to their technical skills and knowledge, inclusive hiring can benefit your organisation by adding diverse perspectives, inculcating empathy and adaptability in the workplace, and creating an opportunity for learning about different life experiences in a collaborative setting. PwDs are just like everyone else - they bring along their unique capabilities and challenges. At Make The Change, we practice inclusive hiring through various platforms including Younite, our network of freelancers with disabilities, and as members of our main staff. Here are 3 tips to maximise the benefits of inclusive hiring, and to make the experience smooth-sailing for both your organisation and the staff involved. 1. Understanding their Capabilities & Needs Even among persons with the same medical conditions, the specific experience and impact on a person’s capabilities and needs are different. It is important to understand each person’s specific capabilities and needs to know their strengths and weaknesses - so we can fully utilise their talents while providing support that is most essential for them to excel. Discuss this openly and honestly with potential employees to set the right expectations for both parties, and allow them to suggest scopes or ways of working that they can thrive with. 2. Finding a Suitable Arrangement After understanding their capabilities and needs, find an arrangement that is suitable for both parties. Alternative work arrangements that help to overcome their difficulties will allow them to work in an environment that is most comfortable for them. At the same time, tasks that utilise their capabilities and expertise are likely to be completed well. Some common alternative work arrangements include remote work, flexible work hours, or adjustments in the workplace to make the environment more accessible. 3. Tap into their Unique Life Experiences & Perspectives It has become increasingly important to make events and initiatives accessible to all groups of people, especially in our rapidly aging population. If your work involves interacting with or serving persons with diverse needs, consult staff with similar needs. They are likely to have life experiences and perspectives that can improve on the way you phrase something in a write-up, or suggest ways to make an event more inclusive. We highly encourage you and your organisation to consider inclusive employment practices, and diversify your work family. If that is not an option, but you still wish to support such causes, reach out to us! Every time you engage Make The Change and our services, we support such causes both in our operations, and by channeling profits to meaningful programmes. Do contact us here if you have any enquiries or are interested to know more about Inclusive Hiring.

We joined work attachment for design and marketing social enterprise from 7th November to 11th November (Monday to Friday) for one week. During this one week, we have learnt many new things from the people here and made a few new friends. We had an enjoyable week while learning about the design and marketing industry. On the first day, we were tasked to do a google document and research on instructions on becoming an apple teacher and an MOE instructor. We listened to a talk by the co-founder and CEO of make the change company and learned about past events done by the company and learnt about what a social enterprise was and what the company does. The CEO also showed us videos of when they were in Cambodia helping people with disadvantages and living in poverty to earn some money by selling some products online made by the people, and even helping them to build a village from scratch for them to live in. Following that, we had work from home on the next two days. We worked on the website, where they sell products the people with disadvantages and living in poverty made, we had to point out some things about how to improve the website and put it into a google document eg. how to get more people to buy the products and get more peoples recognition. We also listed out ways to reach more users on social media (IG and TikTok) to know more about the website so that they can raise their awareness to people in need around the world. On Thursday, we did another document about the environment where we had to edit a document using some slides and add in some other extra information. Thursday was the day where all 7 of us students got to know each other more as we introduced ourselves and got to know each other and even went out together to buy lunch at Chinatown together and got each other’s number and even created a group chat to communicate with each other even after the work attachment ended. On the last day (Friday), we did an email draft to be sent for schools to offer them to get a premium trial for a learning platform, a partner's company, as it helps with smoother education. We then went out to clarke quay central don don donki to buy some snacks and had pizza with everyone and continued the day by doing a reflection. We will definitely remember the week as it is really precious and memorable. We have learnt a lot of things from this work attachment and will continue our journey of learning in the future !! :D goodbye my friends i hope we get to meet up and talk again one day.

Photo Credit: SG Enable The Enabling Lives Festival is back! A signature event organised by SG Enable, its purpose is to celebrate inclusion and abilities on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, together with disability-inclusive partners and stakeholders. From 1 to 4 December, head down to the event and join us in celebrating inclusion and abilities! Interested in attending a course to learn more about User Interface and User Experience? In addition to all the fun activities you will be able to participate in during the festival, our programme: a course on UI/UX will also be showcased. The UI/UX Programme will equip you with a strong fundamental skill set in visual literacy, technical executions, and industry experiences. This course is targeted at aspiring UI/UX designers, with or without prior design experience, where exposure to industry workings, interaction, consultations, and hands-on assignments will fully prepare you for the interface design world. Should you be keen, we welcome you to register for our programme during this special event! You can also find more information about the programme as well as register your interest here.

In this episode of Conversation of Change, we had the honor to talk to Chis Marchant (CEO of Vitasoy) and David Bensadon (Managing Director of We Are Caring). They shared their journey to becoming a certified B Corporation and how their organisations Go Beyond!

In an increasingly digital world, the power of technology knows no bounds. The iPad, a versatile and intuitive device, can become an excellent asset for you. It is crucial to recognize that the iPad is not just a tool for the able-bodied but a gateway to a world of endless opportunities and independence. Technology has become a great equalizer, breaking down barriers and leveling the playing field for individuals with disabilities. The iPad, with its array of accessibility features, has emerged as a powerful tool for empowering these individuals to connect, learn, and express themselves like never before. We are Make The Change, a social enterprise that loves to empower people, and we have been providing training for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) for over five years. We invite you to join us in our upcoming iPad learning courses*. With the Temasek Trust-CDC Lifelong Learning Enabling Fund, you can attend our course for free AND get an iPad too**! The iPad can open doors to new career opportunities. Learning to use it effectively can empower individuals to pursue remote work, freelancing, or entrepreneurship, providing financial independence and flexibility. It can also be an excellent tool for self-expression and creativity. The iPad is not merely a device but a gateway to a world of possibilities, independence, and empowerment for individuals with disabilities. By enrolling in an iPad course, you are taking the first step toward unlocking your full potential in the digital age. Sign up for our upcoming course here: Drawing with iPad (28 & 29 September) *Please note that these courses are designed for PWDs only. **comes with 2 years warranty, an iPad cover and screen protector.

We are honoured to have received over 100 entries from more than 15 participating schools, and are delighted to announce the winners of the competition this year! Primary School: Secondary School:

We're thrilled to share the incredible journey of individuals who went through our 5-month program customised for Persons with Disabilities, and after the program, we helped the participants to find a job in the digital marketing field. Watch our YouTube video to see firsthand how our program equipped participants with the essential skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the digital marketing field. Discover how these remarkable individuals overcame challenges and embraced opportunities, ultimately paving their way to success in the creative industry!

In the month of December 2022, Make The Change, together with M.A.D School, made a trip down to Bogor, Indonesia, as part of the organisations’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. The main objective for our trip was to visit a Refugee Learning Centre located there. Visiting the centre also means meeting some refugees who have worked with MTC in person. During the three-day trip, training sessions were held for the refugees to equip them with digital marketing skills and different teaching approaches. As there has been a rise in demand for digital marketers – this has made digital marketing an essential and in-demand skill, especially for companies looking to expand their brands. As refugees are not allowed to work in the country they have sought refuge in, equipping them with up-and-coming skills can give them opportunities to find employment online, as digital marketers only require a laptop to get the job done. With employment, the refugees can send their children to schools and reduce their dependence on their families in their home countries for monetary support. Trainers from M.A.D school led the digital marketing workshops, teaching the refugees all aspects of digital marketing, including SEO, Google algorithms, keyword planning, and backlinks. Even though it was new to the refugees, they still put in their utmost effort to digest the information and readily asked questions to clarify doubts. On the 2nd day of the trip, a social media marketing workshop was run in continuation of the digital marketing workshop. Trainers from MAD taught the refugees how to run ads on Facebook to reach out to a larger audience as well as how to analyse and measure metrics that would give them an overview of their social media marketing performance. Similar to day 1, they were eager and fast learners and quickly adapted to the new terms introduced. When content marketing was introduced to them, not only did they learn how to create blogs and videos, but they also learned how to develop their self-branding. This is especially important for the refugees as having a well-curated personal branding can open up much more employment opportunities as well as leave a lasting impression on their potential employers. Simultaneously, workshops on different teaching approaches were also run during the trip. Teachers of the Refugee Learning Centre who participated learned about alternative approaches that they can use to engage students during their lessons. Conversations were also encouraged during the sessions to allow the teachers to share their experiences and discuss the best methods possible with trainers from both MTC and MAD. In addition to the workshops run for adults, programs were offered for the children at the centre. With the limited time, the program's focus is to encourage creativity and get them to try their hands on creative digital tools. They were introduced to applications such as Keynote and Procreate and were taught the basics of creating digital artworks, gifs, etc. The students enjoyed the session, and this was made apparent by the increase in the number of participants on the 2nd day of the workshop! MTC also did not just stop at workshops, and there’s more! Before the trip, an initiative was started to provide reading glasses to the community's seniors. The sponsor for the initiative, Essilor Luxottica, kindly donated 150 pairs of glasses for the trip. MTC staff were briefed on ways to check for the correct prescription, and all glasses were given away during the journey. A pair of reading glasses might not seem much, but it does affect the quality of one’s life. Therefore, this contribution will significantly help and improve the seniors in their day-to-day. In conclusion, CSR trips like this can make a significant impact on the lives of the people in the community. The trip has allowed MTC and MAD to give back and contribute to society. CSR trips like this will hopefully serve as an excellent example to other businesses on how they, too, can make a positive difference in people's lives. It is a reminder that everyone is responsible for contributing to the betterment of society and that anyone can make a difference, no matter how small the contribution may seem.

Written by Cherlynn Lai from CHIJ Saint Joseph's Convent Interning at MTC has been a very fruitful experience for me. I’m very appreciative of the friendly colleagues that guided me and welcomed me when I first joined. At first, I was very unfamiliar about the concept of social enterprises. However, after learning about what the company does and the projects that they do, it certainly piqued my interested and improved my understanding. It was an amazing experience at the company and I would be more than willing to come back and intern again.

Kelvin Sim MTC Writer Make The Change is a social enterprise, which means we support social causes through our work. Through the years, we have advocated and taken action for inclusive employment, empowering vulnerable communities, and climate conservation. In 2021 alone, we planted over 2,000 trees in Indonesia and Philippines, and increased job readiness for over 100 persons with disabilities and refugees - read more about that here! We have experienced first-hand how businesses can be forces for good - and we want to encourage more of that! That is why we incorporate social entrepreneurship in many of our training programmes, including the recent Apple New Media Programme conducted with over 27 schools. We speak to instructors from this programme, Mr Titus Ang and Mx Mieke Song to get a deeper understanding of the importance of nurturing a sense of social entrepreneurship in our younger generations. Titus (T) has worked with Make The Change for over 3 years in various training programmes, while Mieke (M) joined more recently in 2022 to conduct the Apple New Media Programme. 1. What is social entrepreneurship? T: Social entrepreneurship is the intersection of entrepreneurship and social impact. While entrepreneurship is usually focused on profit, that alone isn’t meaningful or helpful to the world. Social impact does a lot of good for people but isn’t always sustainable for people to make a living from. Social entrepreneurs tread that line of making an impact while making profit for themselves and their company. M: It requires people to get innovative with developing and starting businesses specifically to benefit a cause - usually to benefit the most marginalised groups in society. It is quite different from running a non-profit or charity organisation as it maintains a delicate balance between making a profit and using it to benefit a specific group. 2. Why is social entrepreneurship important? M: Social entrepreneurship draws on a different market from social service or charity organisations. The basic concept of it is easy to grasp and provides a great starting point for people who want to start a business that is truly aligned with their own personal values. It can be less daunting for individuals as starting a charity requires, comparatively, a lot more networking and personal relations. T: From a larger perspective, our world has developed into a complex social environment in the past decades, where we are all in contact with social issues one way or the other. Whether it’s mental health challenges, gender inequality, or other issues - there is no avoiding them. With social entrepreneurship, we may have the resources and ability to do something about them, if we try. 3. How do you teach social entrepreneurship to the younger generations? T: Some of my students can be very young, from as young as Secondary 1. Many of the concepts can be hard for them to understand. For these students, I focus on contextualisation and discovery. Contextualisation means bringing faraway topics closer to them, such as explaining that statistics suggest that in their class of 20 students, 5 may be affected by a diagnosable mental health condition in their lifetimes. It could also mean showing them more parts of the world, such as letting them know that while in Singapore, the expected age of graduating with a degree may be around 22 to 24 years old, that age could be 35 to 40 years old in Africa. This often becomes the seed for them to understand such topics better later on in life, and helps them to empathise with a larger group of people. For discovery, it is great to give students the space to explore different areas and topics according to their diverse interests. It is a powerful way for them to discover something meaningful they are motivated to act on. M: I try to define social entrepreneurship in easy-to-understand terms, and show them different social enterprises they may have already encountered in person, like Eighteen Chefs. We then look at the business models being employed, and the personal stories behind some of these social entrepreneurs. This helps to build a personal connection for students to the concept of social entrepreneurship and makes the concept more concrete and real for them. My most memorable moments teaching this topic is when students share their own creative ideas for social entrepreneurship. Often, they have wonderful ideas and keen insight into what groups in society really need our help the most. These classes are a constant learning experience even for me, and it is refreshing to learn from their perspectives. 4. Please share any personal stories or anecdotes of those who have put their social entrepreneurial knowledge to good use. T: In the specific context of these classes, I am happy to see changes in my students’ behaviour as they understand more about social issues. For example, I was once conducting the class for a rather loud and rowdy bunch of students. In the first few days of the programme, they made insensitive jokes about mental health. At their age, it can be hard for them to see how hurtful what they had said could be. As they started to understand the severity and depth of the topic, their tone started to change. Some of them even started to keep each other in check, and call each other out when someone goes out of line. These actions show a change in mindset, which is the foundation for them to become more caring people. M: Beyond the classroom, I noticed a growing presence of social entrepreneurship and the desire to help others during the Covid-19 pandemic. People got really creative in the ways they tried to help others. Some of them organised sales of pre-loved goods to raise funds for mutual aid, and I even saw persons offering tarot reading services to raise money for others. I loved that people identified what they were good at, what they could offer, and were essentially practicing social entrepreneurship in their own way. In the end, social entrepreneurship starts with a desire to help your community, and I think these actions show how important this is and what it can potentially achieve to help under-served communities. 5. Do you have any words of encouragement or advice for persons looking to become social entrepreneurs in Singapore? T: Ultimately, social entrepreneurship is a vehicle to make an impact. You don’t have to become a social entrepreneur to create an impact in a sustainable way. It can come in many forms, whether it is being really successful in a corporate job and donating a lot of money, or studying and making change on an academic or policy-making level. What is most important is the process of identifying and striving towards a goal that is meaningful to you. M: I find that it is empowering to know that you CAN make a difference. Leverage on your best skills and knowledge and use it to help others. It is so important to have empathy and ethics in general, and social entrepreneurship has the power and ability to show that businesses can be used for that purpose. Remember that failure is part of the process! You don’t have to make a big splash right away. Think it through, refine your ideas, start small, and keep trying. All the best!

Zayn Toghyan MTC Freelance Writer The first thing that matters is finding a way to measure your carbon footprint. Knowing your carbon footprint can help you make better purchasing decisions. Recent surveys show that the majority of Americans agree that climate change is a serious problem requiring urgent actions. As reality starts to set in, the next step is to learn what we can do about it. There is no single-simple-solution to climate change, but individuals are not powerless to make a good change. Carbon offset programs, when done right, are one way to maximize your efforts towards achieving a sustainable world. It may be just a drop in a bucket, but collectively it can still fill a bucket. What are Carbon Offsets? Carbon offsetting is a tool designed to help people reduce their carbon emissions. Offsets work by letting you compensate for your day-to-day greenhouse gas emissions through funding environmental programs that remove or avoid an equal amount of emissions. Though it’s common for large businesses to offset their greenhouse gas emissions, it’s now an increasingly popular way for individuals to reduce their own carbon footprint, too. Here are ways to navigate the world of carbon offsets: 1_ Calculate your emissions If you wish to do it, you can start by downloading a few Apps. There are many highly recommended Apps for both Android users and IOS users that can be downloaded for one to achieve carbon footprint offset. The apps are, The Klima, Earth Hero, Carbon footprint, CO2 tracker and others…. As mentioned above, to reduce the emissions and carbon footprint offset, you must calculate them first. If you do not have time to do it yourself, there are companies that offer services to do it on your behalf. 2_ Start the emissions reduction Start it from home by some small- energy saving habits. According to research, every Singaporean spends $1000 for electricity every year, which is above average. You can minimise your emissions by unplugging the unused devices, take shorter showers and do some other small but impactful practices. Doing all these things will help you to save up and reduce the carbon emissions. 3_ Choose an offset project If you are running a company, then you have to ensure that there is an offset project for the company emission’s reduction and carbon footprint offset. This is crucial as climate change is affecting our earth more and more each day. Since more people are paying attention to these disaster warnings, having a good carbon footprint offset can be considered as a good bonus and will promote your company. 4_ Rethink about F & B and consumptions Since, F & B are responsible for the 1.4% of carbon footprint emissions, choose to consume from companies that are taking actions about their emission’s reductions. You can make more personal decisions as well, such as less meat consumption and increase the level of vegetables intake instead. So, let’s not forget to play our individual role as a responsible citizen of the earth for Green gas reduction.

Make The Change was featured in NUS Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Centre 10th Symposium that was held on 14th May 2022. The students who presented in the symposium had previously completed a youth changemaker programme run by MTC. They hope that their findings will also benefit MTC in designing future social innovation learning programmes for the youth. Read the full coverage on the symposium here! https://news.nus.edu.sg/creating-impact-with-community-based-research/