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Design For Good (DFG) 2017 has officially come to a beautiful close. We can't be any more proud of the works that came in. The submissions this year has certainly heightened our expectations for future works. We particularly love how students explored different mediums of art online and offline, some even using their own photos to craft out a story. Creativity is shown, along an excellent use of colours and design principles. Several works also caught our eye due to their thought-provoking text. A poster often reflects the thinking process of its artist. DFG's heart is to invite participating students to step out and think about communities-in-need. Not just looking at them living their separate lives, but also re-imagining lives with empathy to speak for them. Roll the drums for our finalists! Assumption Pathway School Mohammad Zikry B Mohammad Yusof Hwa Chong Institution Lewin Basil Slader Marsh Yeo Jun Seng Erasmus Dillon Poh Jiahe Chen Yiming Foo Jun Wei Aloysius Hung You Zhi Institute of Technical Education Naveen S/O Pannirsilvam Loh Ngin See Matthew Lee Ban Hock Miza Umairah Bte Mazlie Muhammad Nazri B Nasir Liew Zhi Bei Sharifah Nurul Fakhirah Bte N Jurongville Secondary School Harith Daniel Bin Zanudin Fildza Fitrina Bte Mohamad Y Tan Sok Leng Khor Yun Xuan Koh Kian Yew Juying Secondary School Shauna Ng Nisha Elyana Mohd Nur Sarah Nazaruddin Ang Jia Xing Nur Umairah Mohd Cherlyn Leong Alicia Ng Safi Arinah Saad Nur Muhd Muhaymin Sahari Firzanah Hanem Ahmad Effie Nursarah Mohd Nur Hidayah Zulkifli Jay Lam Han Thit Saing Methodist Girls' School (Secondary) Chia Jenxi Jamie Seow Tze Jen Clara Sim Pei Ting Sarah Loh Yen Ann Celyn Tan Shi Hui Glenda Chan Yan Tong Inez Aw Jun Yenn Erin Wong Wenjin Saffron Zenta Banks Cathlyn Wong Yan Ning Sharon Liang Yu Qing Ngee Ann Secondary School Chen Jia Qi Lynn Sim Quek Tian Yi Yeh Ming Hui Pasir Ris Secondary School Sharifah Qistina Binte Syed Faries Alkaff Siti Nuraqilah Bte Ahmad Sheridan Sherine Sum Siong Yue Guo Xin Nur Soon Hui Qi Serangoon Garden Secondary School Evelyn Lim Kai Xian To Guan Yu Avril Shaine Sandejas E Ashley Koh Hui Xuan Benzon Anne Jolina Carillo Mohammed Iraj Khan B Mohammed Iraj Khan B Mak St. Anthony's Canossian Secondary School Ang Shi Hui Whitley Secondary School Clara Ng Khai Sharn Jocelyn Yeo Heng Joo Pratibha Pokhrel

Make The Change (MTC) is honoured to host the graduation ceremony for her latest batch of graduates at M.A.D. school last friday evening. Together with 11 graduates from Essential Communication Design and 16 graduates from Digital Marketing, everyone gathered together to celebrate the end of a journey and at the same time, mark the start of another fruitful one. The CEO of Make The Change, Michelle Lim, gave her opening address to congratulate the graduates. She emphasised that the completion of the two programmes was not the end of learning, but rather the beginning. She opines: “your success keeps us motivated”, and urges the graduating batch of PwDs to approach the team with aspiring ideas for change. Furthermore, she highlighted that MTC will continue to keep the community together. There will definitely be challenges ahead but no one would be left alone. Our nurturing lecturers Andy Xu and Tiziana also shared on their sentiments. Andy concluded his journey with the current batch of students as inspiring, for the students’ consistency to pursue a better self motivates him as well. As tough as it was, his students still wanted to try and give it a shot. Tiziana looks forward to seeing her students’ future works, and she warmly welcomed opportunities to work together. Moving forward, MTC strives to continue offering programmes for persons with disabilities (PwDs). Essential Communication and Digital Marketing will welcome their 3rd and 2nd intake respectively. Highly anticipated, the next chapter will also open up a new course for Website Management and E-commerce. Applications are warmly welcomed at http://www.makethechange.sg/personswithdisabilities

The global village of today is home to millennials who practically live, breathe and play connected. As digital natives, almost every youth is connected to at least 1 social media platform at any given time. Leveraging on their personal publishing spaces such as Instagram and Facebook, this Make The Change (MTC) programme is created for youths to consciously engage and promote social awareness as active citizens. When done right, it can grow into a powerful peer-to-peer influencing opportunity rooted in empathy and giving. Here are 9 keys to unlocking a purposeful yielding of social media marketing for good: 1. Keep it real The voice of your social media account should remain authentic even as you seek to advocate for a cause. How does this NGO/VWO/SE stir your heart? What makes you feel like you want to stand with them, and speak for them? Jotting that connection not only enhances your reliability, it also gives your stand authenticity. Furthermore, it is often hard to write from a persona different from your own. 2. Keep it fresh One important note is to be aware of the big picture. Have you been posting similar posts, with the same message over and over? Social media fatigue can cause your audience to scroll past your posts without batting an eyelid. Keep it fresh by tapping on various platforms and mediums. What if the event booth is captured by boomerang or hyperlapse instead of a still picture? Can you involve other stakeholders to share their view instead of constantly airing just your own? 3. Consistency is king Consistency might very well be the single hardest thing to do in life. Yet, it is also the biting necessity. One good question to ask yourself: "Would you still believe in the same thing that you are writing about 5 years later?" Also, don't be afraid to own your style, it helps you get momentum and people know it's you. Re-read what you wrote before posting- this self-check helps to see if you are being true to your voice, instead of highly regrettable text and sudden emotive frustrations. 4. Know who you are talking to We often forget to be conscious of who we are talking to. Take a good look at your friends list, and try to make your thoughts relevant to at least 70-80% of the intended audience. Where are your audience at? Are they just becoming aware of your social cause, or do they already have basic understanding? How many of them have been convinced to take the next step? Would they be willing to commit and stand alongside you in the long run? Your posting content depends on where your audience is. 5. Remember, it takes two hands to clap The word "communication" is a Latin word that means "to share". You will want the person behind the tablet or phone to gain something from your content. Write like you are expecting to share that information with someone. 6. Less is more If your audience is not there, you don't have to go there. Social media platforms like Instagram might be the trending spaces, but it will not do you any good if the people whom you are looking for cannot be found in that context. Also, online-offline marketing is crucial as well. Many, if not all successful social media movements have a offline-online connection ie. Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014. 7. Put your heart into it Your target audience are people and individuals like you too. Like a dear friend, they can feel it when you are sincere about supporting a beneficiary group or advocating for environmental conservation. Being sincere would also necessitate you to be inclusive as well. Simple acts like adding captions in videos will help the deaf to understand your content, for example. 8. Try something new It does not always have to be a tear-jerking video that resembles the moving Thai commercials. Be willing to experiment with a variety of styles, especially in moving pictures and videos. For example, local social marketing tend to be on the more emotional side, with a heart to unveil stories behind broken people. What if we produce something that is shorter, and more straightforward without compromising on the sincerity? 9. Keep calm and ask At the end of the day, ask yourself this question: "Does this social media post further or detract me from my purpose?" If you find yourself uncertain and hesitant, perhaps you can hold the post first, and ask for other opinions.

For the month of July, the MTC spotlight is shining on GobblerShop! A dear partner, GobblerShop has been liaising with us to engage our first intake of graduates in Essential Communication Design. With their employment opportunities, our graduates were able to venture out into the marketplace and put what they have learnt in class into good use. A nimble problem-solver with a heart for social change, GobblerShop bridges the practical gap of costly living expenses. Let's hear what they have been gobbling up these days. Q1. First and foremost, tell us a little more about GobblerShop! How do you guys make the change? Our Social mission is to change the lives of low-income single parents through groceries and retail. We work with corporate partners to raise awareness of the struggles of low-income single parents and at the same raise grocery hampers as financial aid to our beneficiaries. For every grocery hamper donated by a customer, GobblerShop will sponsor half of hamper cost towards a single parent beneficiary. Q2. What made you open the door to welcome PwDs on board? We believe every human being, who may be disabled, underprivileged or marginalised should have the ability to showcase their talents and gifts and at the same time, earn a living. GobblerShop believes in helping such individuals identify and harness their abilities to gain self-confidence and meaning in their lives. Q3. Were there any considerations or thoughts that challenged this move? Our considerations were about work processes. As the company has set them in place over the years, perhaps further thought needs to be put in for a comprehensive structure towards the employment of PwDs. Another considerations are human-resource related, like whether our full-time staffs have the right mindset and skills to manage the beneficiaries as they might have different needs and sensitivities. Q4. How has the collaboration been so far? Collaboration with Make The Change has been meaningful and we have been providing several jobs to PWDs. Q5. Tell us more about some of the interesting or memorable incidents that happened in this project! I think what was memorable was the time when we went down to MDAS office for the training of the students regarding the tasks that we would like them to work on. They inspire us with their passion to learn and their independence despite their disabilities. It was indeed a very pleasant experience to work alongside with these PWDs as they proved to be very trustworthy and accountable in their timeline and delivering quality work.

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” – CS Lewis Often, we remember the hardest moments in life as times when we feel most alone. We glance towards the end goal somewhere far, far away and then look down at what we have in our hands. It probably doesn't look like we are ever going to achieve much. When things don’t really go our way, or when we just had a rough day trying to convince others of what we see and believe in, sometimes we just need an encouraging tap on the shoulder or a knowing smile that goes: “Me too, my friend, me too.” And yet, coming together is never easy. The initial stages of fostering a community look like the scaffolding of an incomplete building. It’s a work-in-progress, with metal poles, wooden planks and green nets towering everywhere. Huge ugly machines moving random things that are seemingly unimportant. It’s dusty, raw and chaotic. You can’t see the complete picture just yet, but this is a necessary stage for us to finish strong and build a foundation firm enough for social enterprises to leave their own legacy as one eventual, big kampong. The recent gathering from raiSE is one such example. Walking the talk, participants question and leverage on what they know and have to bridge gaps. It is not just about solving the problem, but also exploring what we can join hands to paint the bigger picture. An example would be collaborating together to enter the overseas market (say, ASEAN?) as a whole. With sustainable social impact as a common goal, we can cut off unnecessary administrative costs and overlapping projects. Big dreams start small, and every hand matters.

For three years running, Design For Good (DFG) has been engaging, challenging and educating different local sectors in their sphere of influences. We are very much heartened by the increasing interest for our youth competitions, as these promising young students reinterpret conventional definitions of societal issues and weave in their own story to produce their final works. We invite them to hold empathy's hand and take a step closer,to discover the world of another. Our DFG Youth Competition is still ongoing (the final submission date is 7th July, go sign up for it if you haven't)! We can't wait to see what these designers have in store for us this year. Moving on the same note, we just held our annual DFG talk during the Singapore Design Week, with the topic being "Seeing Ability in Dis-ability". You can read more about it here: http://www.makethechange.sg/single-post/2017/03/12/DFG-Talk-2017-Seeing-Ability-in-Dis-Ability After three long years of scoping the landscape and sowing seeds, we can't be more thankful for the support and love that the DFG community has given us. YOU are the reason why we have grown, and this is why we want to share this piece of good news with you! Expanding horizons, Design For Good was first founded with the vision to make a difference and positively influence the world. We would love to see it grow into a sturdy platform promoting works of designers from ALL walks of life. We are ready to take our first step out. Our destination? Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We are super hyped to present our first collaboration with the Krafters'. Like all of us, these amazing people are broken in beautiful ways. Each of them carry a special portion to the krafters’ table, all running with a unified purpose of escaping poverty and building a better life for their families. Our brand houses three teams, and we will be sharing more on their stories and works real soon! “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” ― C.S. Lewis

This month, we managed to have a short catch-up with our alumna (singular noun for a female graduate, fyi) student, Eloise, to see what she’s been up to. Being part of our pioneer batch, Eloise went through Make The Change's (MTC) Essential Communications course under our two lecturers, Andy and Wendy. In collaboration with SGEnable, the programme was offered as an viable option for individuals with a heart for design and aesthetics. Eloise started her first ever job shortly after, and her working experience included a learning process of transiting between education and work. Typically, she undertakes a new assignment every week. To weave design elements and ideas together, she researches for separate elements to get inspiration for the piece, and manifest the ideas through Adobe Illustrator. An example of such an assignment is a graphic illustration for a blog. Just like many budding designers out there, Eloise came a long way to get to where she is today. Her journey has never quite been a bed of roses. When asked about what inspired or motivated her to sign up for the course in the beginning, she remembered feeling scared and unsure. Prior to this, she has been seeking job opportunities for over a year but the doors opened for her were not the ones that she was interested in. As her primary interest lies in design, she preserved in the pursuit and tapped on her knowledge gleaned from previous multimedia classes conducted by SPD. She signed up with a "Why not?" mentality when SGEnable notified her of this new programme. Big dreams certainly start small. Life took her by surprise as a light hop towards design gradually built her up to accepting and participating in design projects. Recalling the classes, Eloise brought up the steep learning curve and how she challenged herself to adapt to varying deadlines. Other than posters, she has also been exposed to various mediums such as social media platforms, envelope and name cards. Her favourite one so far has to be the one on logos, and her least favorite one being web design.The lecturers pioneered an open and friendly culture for the students to ask and learn along the way. Before we left, we asked about where she saw herself in the future designing industry. She envisions herself to take one step at a time, being present in every moment to experience the entire journey as much as possible.

If “SE” refers to social enterprise, then what does "WISE" mean? In the landscape of social entrepreneurship, it refers to “Work Integration Social Enterprise”. According to the Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy, it is arguably the most recognised framework in which social enterprises adopt today. In an attempt to integrate and reintegrate groups of beneficiaries back into the workforce, the WISE model helps them overcome structural unemployment by providing training and educational opportunities. The root of its rationale likens itself to the well-known mantra: “give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you’ll feed him for life.” Through WISE, communities of ex-offenders, persons with disabilities, elderly, youths-at-risk and single mothers get a chance to re-equip themselves with skills for the future workplace. In Singapore, many of us (social enterprises) are WISE, and they fall into this category of enacting change. They include Adrenalin Events and Education, Dignity Kitchen and Crossings Cafe. Some argue that wisdom walks hand in hand with maturity, while others couple it with the accumulation of knowledge. Not only does the appropriately-termed W.I.S.E model foster a sustainable platform of opportunity, it is also a weighty tool of empowerment that allows dignified baby steps to be taken by individuals themselves. References Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy. Landscape Of Social Enterprises In Singapore. Singapore: National University of Singapore, 2017. Print. Social Entrepreneurship In Asia: Working Paper No. 1

Can you trade what you can’t touch? It is certainly more meaningful to invest for impact than to play life monopoly. Just last month, founder of Singapore-based Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) and IIX foundation, Durreen Shahnaz, has been awarded with the 2017 Oslo Business for Peace Award. Spearheading the world’s first stock exchange dedicated to social enterprises, Impact Exchange (IE) evaluates sustainable value beyond coins and notes.To date, they generated more than $20 million in social value and have positively impacted nearly 12 million lives. Perhaps this weighing scale is more appropriate for the world today, even as one might argue about the ethics of equating a tangible value on human life. Something needs to start for the focus to shift right? If there is no clear aim for impact enterprises to justify why they do what they do, wouldn’t it be harder for our priorities to include social and environmental concerns in the longer run? Can you trade what you can’t touch? Perhaps you will only be able to see what you invested in at the end of the race, for what you eventually touch is life itself. This is where education and training programs receive their rightful portion of significance. This is where we can actually invest to empower. This is where innovation and design put on a whole new coat of purpose. How can the technology of driverless cars help to generate social impact? Can we use AI for good? How can virtual reality help the elderly to exercise and spend their time in a safe environment? How do e-kiosks improve user interfaces and help PwDs in their daily lives? Innovation is great but costly at the same time. There is a need to gather a stronger will, and it makes it necessary for us to draft out a clearer blueprint, for a convincing and attractive project pitched to investors out there. When we attune to the needs of a specific community and invest in their quality of living, what we eventually touch will be life itself. http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/founder-of-impact-investing-platform-in-singapore-bags-award

“If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than who you are.” – Master Shifu, Kungfu Panda Just as Po’s has his wise Master Shifu, MTC is home to two outstanding lecturers with big hearts to teach, share and impart skills. Following Wendy, our next lecturer-interviewee is Andy Xu. Teaching our classes in Digital Marketing, Andy has been a walking inspiration to both students and the MTC crew. Let’s hear what Andy has to say! Q1: Hi Andy! Thank you for taking time out for this interview! How do you feel, now that your classes are coming to an end? It felt like a new beginning! I reviewed works that inspired me, made friends, understood and learnt more about the differences. Q2: What were your thoughts and considerations when you first decided to take on this class? It definitely not what I was expecting. Unlike MAD school and MDAS, the students here (SG Enable) come from various backgrounds. So it is more about adapting and changing the way I share my design knowledge with them. Similarly, this would draft out a different set of expectations and goals. It was a challenge to both the students and I. I told the students to set a common goal for all of us, and that is to learn and be open to suggestions. Any feedback from peers and lecturers is a channel for improvement. Nothing negative there, especially when we judge works and give constructive feedback. This way, it eliminates negative energy in class. This helps students to understand in class it is a safe and positive zone where they can use their creativity to create things that they didn't know they are actually good at. Q3: Are there any differences between teaching this class of PwDs and your previous ones? If yes, what are they? Definitely. The various backgrounds and conditions require relevant adjustments and familiarisation. Q4: Has this class changed or inspired you in any way? Yes. As a brand designer, you need to know the insights of both companies and consumers. Each time you engage with a company CEO or a diehard fan of a product, you are living in their world, understanding their uniqueness. The same applies to the classroom. During our lunch time and break time, I found out that one of my student is a math genius. Give him figures and he can sum it up for you. Give him particular dates, he can calculate and tells you what day is it. Q5: I am sure your classes have been engaging and interesting. Tell us about some of the funny incidents that happened! A student came to me and said, "All my tools in photoshop is gone. Gone!" So I went to his computer and realised that it was one of the settings that he accidentally clicked on..I guess that shows how much he want to get his hands on? :) Q6: In your opinion, what are the main challenges that our graduates will face when they venture out into the workplace? How can we help to bridge that gap? In my opinion, these fundamental courses prepare them with a good foundation. They will probably face difficulties in going deeper with design ideation and conceptualisation. I would suggest for them to continue exploring design. In this era, more appreciate design-thinking than before. Hence, it is important to continue learning everyday. Q7: Lastly, what would you like to say to your graduating batch of students? Good is the enemy of great. Be divine discontent. And continue to improve yourself, I wish you all the best!

“If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than who you are.” – Master Shifu, Kungfu Panda Just as Po has his wise Master Shifu, MTC is home to two outstanding lecturers with big hearts to teach, share and impart skills. Teaching our classes in Essential Communication, Wendy has been a walking inspiration to both her students and the MTC crew. So, what is it like being a lecturer for our PwDs? Let’s hear what Wendy has to say. Q1: Hi Wendy! Thank you for taking time out for this interview! How do you feel, now that your classes are coming to an end? I had mixed feelings. On one hand, part of me was happy for them. After months of learning different softwares, practicing and going through lots of assignments, they were finally ready to “face” the design world. On the other hand, part of me was worried for them. Were they ready? Would they be able to handle the work? Would they still remember what they have learnt? Q2: What were your thoughts and considerations when you first decided to take on this class? I wondered: "Are they here to learn? Are they serious?" Q3: Are there any differences between teaching this class of PwDs and your previous ones? If yes, what are they? I was more prepared for the first batch of students. As they were all from the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Singapore), I could anticipate their needs and craft the class syllabus for the entire group. However, the current batch compromises of PwDs with different needs. Some are deaf while others have autism. The first class was more challenging as I had to explain the content first and then write or type out for those who can’t hear me. Q4: Has this class changed or inspired you in any way? Definitely yes. As we get to know more about each other, I found out that some of them only met with an accident a few years back. They may be disabled in some ways, but they are still very positive in life. This inspired me to be more positive as well, and it spurred me to look beyond their disability and treat them equally as my students. Q5: I am sure your classes have been engaging and interesting. Tell us about some of the funny incidents that happened! After a few lessons, the class warmed up to one another and slowly built up their own class culture. They would joke around and at the same time, encourage and help each other out with their assignments. There are no boundaries between them as they treated each other equally. Regardless of the disability, they find ways to communicate with one another. The funny incidents usually occur when they are teasing each other lightheartedly. For example, there is one particular student who gets anxious easily. As he couldn't really hear well, he double checks with his classmates whenever an assignment dateline was given. As mischievous as they are, his classmates will joke with him and tell him that the assignment is due the next day. Of course, they wouldn't let the joke go so far until he really went home thinking that. Everyone laughed in the end, including the student as he knows that they didn't mean any harm. Another incident happened on the day a minister of state visited the class at the Enabling Village. The class was very excited and joked amongst themselves that they would get to receive big red packets just by being present in class. That day, they were also tasked to design a CNY card and the best one would be presented to the minister. Just like other students, they started to brainstorm for funny and interesting ideas, and one of them was to include the minister's face in their card design. All in all, they tried to create something different and witty to get chosen. Q6: In your opinion, what are the main challenges that our graduates will face when they venture out into the workplace? How can we help to bridge that gap? The main challenge is probably getting the acceptance from society or their future workplace. I do hope that people will look beyond their disability and treat them as normal people like you and I. To bridge that gap, they(the graduates) themselves also need to have the confidence and prepare themselves whatever that comes along. Q7: Lastly, what would you like to say to your graduating batch of students? To keep having the passion in what you are doing and at the same time patience too. Not all clients are from heaven- there are some who are nasty and hard to manage, so you need to have the patience to deal with them. Believe in yourself and always strive to do the best.

"We are all dealing with things that we cannot see." No one waltzes straight down this off-beat journey we endearingly call life. We all go through challenges – some you can see, most you can't, says Michele L. Sullivan. It is amazingly heartening to hear how she looks beyond her own life to feel and listen, uncovering challenges dear and painfully personal to them. The usual rhetoric would prod you to walk in the shoes of another. But in this story, perhaps the only shoes you can ever truly walk in are your own. Only then will you be able to help others fit in theirs, celebrate their walk and design for good with them.