"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.

What have we been designing for good these days? Students of MTC’s Essential Communication programme recently had a visiting guest lecture conducted by M.A.D. School guru Mr Kenji. Spanning for four hours, the guest lecture brought an alternative designing perspective to the class, giving students a platform to connect new ideas with what they have learnt so far. Mr Kenji also touched on a macro perspective of design by elaborating on layouts. The arrangement of elements and awareness of space are keys to presenting a strong, communicative piece of artwork. In order for the artwork to be coherent and harmonious, the designer also has to take note of the relationships between these elements. Ultimately, an artwork has to fulfill these 3 points to be functional: it must first (1) serve its purpose, (2) be easy to read and (3) is practical enough to be executed. These valuable takeaways help to further enhance the MTC Essential Communications programme, giving students a holistic introduction into the world of design.

It's time to bring out the party hats! Make The Change (MTC) is four! To celebrate our birthday, let’s grab a cup of hot teh and see what our CEO has to say as we enter our year in the socio-creative landscape. Q1: Congrats Michelle! It’s MTC’s fourth year, how do you feel? Thank you. I feel awesome- I am very grateful to many organisations and great people whom we have met in the past 4 years. These people have been believing and supporting what we have been doing. I am also grateful to my team who devoted their time and energy to make this happen. Without their consistent sowing, we wouldn't be celebrating our 4th anniversary this year. Q2: What are the 4 most rewarding MTC highlights for you so far? MTC has supported 85 NGOs, VWOs and corporates in both small and big creative projects. The huge figures took me by surprise as we have a very lean team. MTC conducted trainings for youths-at-risk and persons with disabilities (PwDs). This allowed us to reach out and better understand their needs. Design For Good (DFG), our annual event, has been running for three years. It was first started to encourage secondary school students and the public to understand societal issues as we work together to solve them through empathy and design-thinking. Personally, the most rewarding part was seeing how our team responded to challenges each time. We have always been behaving like a start-up, asking ourselves: "WHY NOT?" at every turn. Carrying that spirit, our team constantly innovates with fresh ideas to Take The Chance, Make The Change. Q3: What are the challenges that MTC faced and how did you and your team overcome it? In running a sustainable social business, our challenges are very similar to SMEs. There are misconceptions of how we only hire volunteers. Just like other competitive firms, we hire talents, pay rent and incur operating costs from day to day as well. Other than that, we also encounter challenges in changing the mindsets of our clients (NGOs / VWOs / SMEs). Many still perceive that SEs should offer heavily-subsidised and almost pro-bono rates despite professional and quality services. To me, clients should appreciate SEs more than any other vendors. Not only are we offering quality services, we are also channeling the resources to make a positive social impact for the needy community though our income, resources and time. Beyond the business aspect, a social enterprise like us also have another mandate to fulfill and that is to benchmark our social impact to other charitable organisations. We prioritise transformative and sustainable impact over mass. Our focus is on the youth sector aged between 13 to 35 (youths-at-risk, persons with disabilities and ex-convicts). Designing relevant programs and activities to meet the needs of this group is a great challenge. To overcome the challenges with innovative and effective solutions, we have to send our team for training. Be it learning from inspiring leaders overseas or locally, these platforms spark off innovative thinking and solutions in the socio-creative landscape. We also have a board of advisors who are active in the marketplace to guide us. Lastly, through our various touch points such as public activations and educational programs, we are at the frontier to sense changes and as a lean team, to respond in a strategic, timely and agile manner. Q4: If you have to give an analogy to MTC’s journey since birth, what would it be? To me, it is like parenting a child. You have to nurture, educate and guide a child with patience and love while also letting go at the right time to allow your child room to make mistakes so that he / she can stand on his / her own foot. MTC is like a teenager to me now, he has his own position and identity within his circle of friends (community). From now onward, he has to continue building his capability and capacity to mature as an independent grown-up with a sharpened purpose and mission in life. Q5: What do you envision for MTC’s future, as we move on to be half a decade old in 2018? MTC will continue to strengthen its’ presence in the marketplace through excellent creative services and innovative community programs. We aim to become an excellent creative agency that scales impact globally. In the next 18 months, we will focus on building our team’s capability in acquiring talents and getting more business deals to be financially sustainable. We will actively look for the right partners to scale our community projects and leverage on technological / digital advantage to have a greater outreach and deeper impact. And that's all we have from Michelle and her thoughts on MTC's fourth birthday. We are humbled and in awe of how far we have come on our journey for sustainable social good. Rome was never built in a day and it wouldn't be possible without your support. We would like to express our gratitude to all of our fellow changemakers. Truly, we raise by lifting others up.

“The strawberry plant is a perennial. This means if you plant one now, it will come back next year and the following and the year after that. It may not bear fruit immediately, but once it does, it will remain productive for about five years.” There’s much more to a strawberry. Don’t let our easily-bruised exterior fool you, we pack a punch as a strawberry army. Around a quarter of the Singaporean population are strawberries. If you get the chance to plant one of us in your garden, you can witness a harvest year after year, after year. Five years is an honest benchmark because the frequency of job switching heightened- it will be dishonest to promise anything longer. No shame in that as well. Again, it is not because strawberries can’t take pressures. Rather than that, it is more about how an average strawberry has 200 seeds. Every seed out of that 200 is, botanically, its own separate fruit. 200 seeds of ideas, interests, passions and values move us when we should. 200 of them move us to redesign lives when and where gaps are. You will not get immediate results, of course. We need some time to warm up and pick up the right ropes. Perhaps you can think of when you first started out; I am sure you did not begin as a perfect, flawless success. Plenty of strawberry-planting has been done, for the life-long harvest of social good year after year, after year. Schools like universities and polytechnics hold their own classes, majors, student groups, competitions and even incubators to incite interest and gather like-minded strawberries to collaborate. Inspiring guest speakers have been regularly invited to share and sow seeds. It is an eco-system like never before, and we are already seeing the first-fruits of this labour. Technology fertilises an idea to grow, while the network incubates it overtime. Social businesses and the concept of social entrepreneurship has been gaining more traction, as strawberries look for meaning in their careers. The paycheck is no longer the sole determinant. This is where the idea of doing business with a heart becomes more attractive. This is where we design for good. It is now much easier to share an idea and move because of an idea. It is only a matter of time before we start to witness our perennial trait on a scale like never before.

It’s time to take out the party hats! Make The Change (MTC) is turning 4 next month! Moving along with the celebratory spirit, let’s grab some tacos and see what our business development manager, Pedro Aguirre, have to say as MTC treads deeper into the waters of the socio-creative landscape. Q1: Congrats Pedro! MTC is 4 years old! how do you feel? It is great to see how everything just started with an idea. It has since evolved into a movement. This movement has been incited by so many people who are trying to make the change for the world to be a better place. Q2: What are the 4 most rewarding MTC highlights for you so far? The 4 most rewarding highlights are (1) winning the Commendation Award on the Start-Up category for the Singapore President’s Challenge in 2015, (2) kickstarting our creative programmes for PWDs, (3) reaching out to secondary schools to empowering the next generation of changemakers and (4) starting the Design For Good(DFG) movement. Q3: What are the challenges that MTC faced and how did you and your team overcome it? We faced many challenges along the way, and we overcame them with nothing less than hard work and the support of our team and community. When we first started out, our main challenge was to build up trust. As a fresh entrant, we had to set the tone and be true to our word. Only then can we grow to be a credible name overtime. Q4: If you have to give an analogy to MTC’s journey since birth, what would it be? It would be an adventure to make the world a better place. Q5: What do you envision for MTC’s future, now that we are inching to half-a-decade old? MTC will continue to build up her community and expand. We envision to initiate more exciting projects for good. We also strive to extend our reach and create sustainable impact to a larger community.

“Strawberry generation” or “草莓族” is a term brought forward from Taiwan. It has largely been a distasteful term describing millennials born after the Generation X (baby boomers) as a group of overly-sheltered and easily bruised youths. Does that label still apply today? How do we relate to it? Give the strawberry a chance. Perhaps there is something more it beyond first impressions. Perhaps youths should give it a chance themselves before smacking it down instinctively in ninja defensive mode. Our identity is unique — it is easy to differentiate ourselves amongst the generations. With the baby boomers, we are a tech-savvy generation suggesting to streamline processes and leverage on new platforms. It could be a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter or a refreshing itinerary with Airbnb. At the same time, our identity is embedded with the authenticity of old as well. Many of us still prefer real books to online screens, and we have our own childhood toys and tech-free outdoor games. Here are two facts showing us how we can flip the game around and turn the term “strawberry generation” for our good. Fact 1: Strawberries are the only fruit that wear their seeds on the outside. The average berry has 200 of them. So apparently a strawberry is the only fruit that sashays all her seeds on the outside. Hardly any of its peers comes close. We have so many seeds. So many ideas, thoughts and interests in the face of incessant information and immediate knowledge today. It is easy for us to express them on the outside; we share articles that speak to us on Facebook, curate our own Instagram feed and we even vlog down our lives in micro clips. For better or worse, this makes us connectable and relatable to each other. A strong community of strawberries has the power to push for change through multiple channels, all at once. Take Carousell for example. The peer-to-peer selling platform raised $35 million in a series B funding round, and the app was first founded by 3 university students. That's 3 strawberries making us proud right there, for their simple idea of meeting a need (online space to sell used textbooks) turned into an awesome start-up idea. Fact 2: Strawberries belong to the rose family. Subtly and freshly scented, strawberry bushes smell as sweet as they taste. Strawberries smell good in their natural habitat. So do we, when we make the change for good in our own spheres. The fragrance comes from acts of doing good; it could be a simple sharing of a Facebook article to help raise awareness or giving up MRT seats for older aunties. Within school, it could be the heart to share lecture notes with an absent course-mate or the $2 donation to the fund-raising activities across campus. In subtle ways, strawberries give off an aromatic culture that has been understated by many. Harvesting from years and years of education, each and every one of us have a different mix of experiences, skills and passions to be tapped on for good. Many of us have already been giving off the collective fragrance in ways more than one. For the extra miles ahead, there is a larger field for us to take what we have on our hands for changemaking. To illustrate, wateROAM is a water innovation enterprise founded in Singapore in 2014 to develop water filtration solutions that bring about the quickest access to clean drinking water at disaster-hit locations, and help to promote social change in rural development areas. Until 2016, it has already impacted 25,000 people. Founded by 3 other strawberries in our generation, this is yet another example that invites us to think about our potential and capabilities as fellow fruits. Moving forward, this DFG series shall seek to sieve out the berry good stuff that our generation has been embarking on to design and redesign society today.

Our annual Design For Good (DFG) talk successfully ended on the 11th March! It has been yet another heartening and humbling year for us as we witnessed the gathering and representation of the ecosystem behind dis-ability. Our inspiring speakers took the stage to share their own slice of insight and took us on a rewarding session from designing environments to redesigning lives. Here are some of our DFG highlights from distinguished speakers: 1. Mr. Alfred Yeo Mr. Yeo started the session by offering fresh perspectives as a member of the Deaf community himself. He shared on how simple changes like including captions in movies and adding kiosks to order a Mcdonald's meal can greatly benefit the community. Inclusion goes beyond sharing the same space- it seeks to cater to the needs of everyone. 2. Mr. Phua Hong Wei Mr. Phua took the audience further to elaborate on the thought process behind the afamed Enabling Village. The blueprint of the buildings explored dynamic relationships between the user and architecture, and shouldered the responsibility to facilitate a space accessible for everyone, including nature. Interesting elements like upcycling sea containers contribute to the detail-oriented project, giving the village an unique identity and voice of her own. 3. Ms. Ruth Lee Li Sian Ms. Lee weaved in another refreshing portion as she touched on how a comprehensive, bio-psycho-social model is required to help someone #returntowork. Every journey should be individualised to cater to the potential employee. With empathetic innovation, dedicated return-to-work planners help to matchmake them to new avenues of employment. 4. Dr. Subhasis Banerji Dr. Subhasis Banerji took the stage and brought in his research and product design of SynPhNe to the DFG table. Rethinking heathcare, he explained the theories of brain and muscle function. Demonstrating the functionality of the wearable device, Dr. Subhasis also shared clips of how stroke patients made considerable improvements in just a few sessions. This case study ended with a live demonstration to facilitate better understanding. From here, we would like to express our utmost gratitude to everyone who made this happen. The speakers, our beloved MTC crew and every participant involved in creating an auditorium of joyous, sign-language clapping. You are the reason why DFG is held year after year, and we appreciate it. Thank YOU for your continued support!

The two might not have been formally introduced to each other yet- but when they do, it shall be love at first sight. The idea of social entrepreneurship naturally complements ASEAN’s economic landscape. As a bustling platform, the newly formed ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) promises immense benefits for the entire region. Through the gradual formation of ASEAN into a single market and production base, ASEAN houses the potential to become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030. That alone is insane. Furthermore, one of the primary aims of AEC is to bring about a more equitable economic development across the region. With that in mind, ASEAN can then march forward together to greet investors and foreign interest worldwide. This aligns with the core of social entrepreneurship - firms seek to be financially sustainable while impacting the community for good. Having said that, there are still several challenges to be mitigated beforehand. Regional collaboration has its own fair share of criticism. National interests and boundaries have been slowing the pace and quality of integration. Feelings of distrust and protectionism prevent member states from fully opening up markets. These missing gaps underline the necessity of a pragmatic, bottom-up approach for the top-down political framework. This is where social entrepreneurship flows in as a gap-filler. The traditional lens of isolating the profit, nonprofit and government sector has to be merged and changed to embrace necessary grey areas as a dynamic whole. This is a shared space where business has to be done with a heart, for uneven growth to be reduced and trust to be fostered from the bottom up. In this group, Singapore has always been an avid cheerleader who is also, in relative comparison, the most developed member state. If anything, we are poised with the capability to initiate change and spearhead closer collaborations. What a better business model than one that embeds social goals into its vision, mission and daily grind? Several recommendations can be considered. For example, social enterprises venturing to other ASEAN states should consider collaborating with local NGOs or other existing social organisations so as to better comprehend and empathise with local needs and contexts. What you think they need might not be what they actually need, and it is always wise to employ a human-centric approach for this. With such a match made in Heaven, shall we not step in as matchmakers and welcome the union for sustainable social good?

What kind of opportunity does Singapore’s Budget 2017 bring for social entrepreneurs? What can and should we consider as we design for good in Singapore this year? The unique genetic make-up for social enterprises draw attention to the political will injected into both the profit and nonprofit sector. This year, the emphasis seems to proportionately land on both, and this opens up a good, cross-sectional window for local social enterprises to venture, adapt and improve their capacity along the waves of Budget 2017. 1. Nonprofit: The Social of Social Enterprise According to the Budget 2017, the Government has been gearing towards a comprehensive approach to bridge domestic gaps. In a bid to empower the disabled community, more have been invested in enhancing the employability of the disabled community. A larger group of beneficiaries are now eligible to sign up for training programmes and courses for the relevant skills to embark on their own future careers. Furthermore, the eco-system thought of the unsung warriors as well. A disability caregiver support centre will be set up so as to foster an inclusive network of assistance and community support. More attention will also be given to mental health services as they are said to be available at polyclinics. This heightens the accessibility of professional care and reduces the age-old stigma that mental illnesses carry. In addition, there is more awareness and sensitivity towards the creation of environments for our aging population since last year. More dementia-friendly communities are said to be set up, with the National Council for Social Services (NCSS) spearheading projects to integrate those with mental health issues back into the workplace and society. 2. Profit: The Enterprise of Social Enterprise Social businesses aim for sustainability. Profit-making is important to them for they need to be financially independent to create lasting social impact. Every year, they need to develop (or at least maintain) capacity to enhance quality goods and/or services so that they can hold their ground in the common marketplace. According to the Budget 2017, there are three keys that most enterprises require – the ability to use digital technology, embrace innovation, and scale up. Catering to specific technological needs of individual SMEs, this budgeting decision is designed to meet enterprises where they are. For example, the more digitally advanced firms can get specialist advice from the SME Technology Hub. This comes across as a opportune moment for social enterprises to equip themselves with the relevant digital technology so as to increase efficiency and streamline processes. The next point is scalability. The ability for local enterprises to scale up globally is vital in maximising the capacity of the economy, and this is especially true in our Singaporean context of trade-oriented growth. Needless to say, social enterprises can amplify their impact to a larger audience of beneficiaries in other countries when they scale up. The local landscape of social entrepreneurship needs to go further in order to heighten its sustainability, for only then can Singapore step up to become an impact investment hub across the region. Social enterprises with the right set of skills and capacity to scale up should harness the platform fostered by the Government’s development of a smart financing ecosystem, as up to $600 million in Government capital has been set for a new International Partnership Fund. Furthermore, IE Singapore’s Internationalisation Finance Scheme will also be enhanced to further support growth in this sector. This seeks to support more enterprises to embark on projects beyond the nation. With both sides of the coin turning to our favour, how can we compass our direction as we seek to design and redesign ideas, spaces, relationships, lives and communities for good? References Lam, L. (2017, February 20). Singapore budget 2017: 7 things about budget plans for disabled, mental health issues. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/singapore-budget-2017-7-things-about-budget-plans-for-disabled-mental-health-issues Singapore Budget 2017. (2017, February 20). Retrieved February 27, 2017, from http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/data/budget_2017/download/FY2017_Budget_Statement.pdf

“One of the most profound trends in the social sector today is the emergence of a new class of entrepreneur: the creative social entrepreneur. Creative social entrepreneurs generate market demand for their goods and services while also contributing to the dynamic shift in cultural sustainability, social justice, and economic development around the world.” – GIA Reader, Vol 26, No 2 (Summer 2015) http://www.giarts.org/reader-26-2 A creative does many things. The palpable industry is arguably one of the most flexible and dynamic ones in the world today. From basic interactions and to bridging ideas, communication and self-expression are essential things that we seek, no matter who we are and what we are doing. Here are some ways in which a creative can benefit should he or she decide to join the social sector: 1. The Capsule Wardrobe Effect I’d like to address this industry as the “socio-creative” landscape. The venn-diagram of the social sector and the creative industry produces a unique cross-section. For the creative, he or she has to enter into a different ball game and play by new rules. This seeming act of conformity can actually work for your good. Similar to the idea of capsule wardrobes, where the emphasis is on streamlining your wardrobe pieces, the act of working with more “rules” can help you to refresh existing perspectives. Cutting down on pieces that are repetitive or redundant, now you have just a select few pieces to expand and stretch out into, say, 30 outfits or more. It challenges your comfort zone and ironically heightens your creativity in the process. In the social sector, non-profit organisations often have to deal with multiple bottom lines. In many ways, this makes their strategic budgeting more challenging than the profit sector. Hence, you probably would need to amplify impact and seek engagement with the smallest funding possible. Additionally, the social sector also houses other considerations that the profit sector does not. For example, accountability and transparency towards donors, stakeholders, volunteers and so forth. Playing by these rules, it will surely be a stimulating experience that will stretch you further in your creative pursuit. 2. Witness Purpose in Action Needless to say, many volunteers and full-time practitioners can testify to the rewarding sense of satisfaction that this sector brings to them. When you get to be part of their project and become a gap-filler, you receive your own special portion as well. You could have helped to connect a beneficiary with the non-profit organisation that he/she really needs, you could have helped to touch hearts and encourage youths to volunteer on weekends. All these can be done by you as you engage in the line of work that you so enjoy. Take a moment to think about it. How awesome can it get? It has been said again and again that happiness is not just about tangible gains. And deep down perhaps we all know it to be true. Not only does contributing add value and meaning to to your work, you get to witness the social impact that you get to make. You could have ignited a movement, you could have changed stifling stereotypes that stagnated communities for ages. You have so much to offer. 3. Spider-Web Yourself In As you take the plunge to enter a new playing field, you get to know new friends as well. One of the noteworthy byproducts is probably the networking. By exposing yourself to the social sector, you are opening up new rivers and new roads. You will never know when your paths will cross again and given the nature of work in the social sector, impact-making is definitely a good memory to recall down the road. Who knows, maybe you will get to discover a cause or vision that speaks straight into your heart along the way. You are likely to meet and share with other like-minded individuals who care and feel for it as much as you do.

I can't say this for everyone, but when i look or think of the individuals less fortunate than me, i see how they look, what they do. What they cannot do. I think about how it feels, to be in their shoes. I think about what it feels like to be them. But i rarely thought of the support circle behind this one person. I hardly glance at the person pushing the wheelchair. Have you ever thought of the caregiver? What do you think being a caregiver feels like? What caregivers do, what caregivers cannot do. How do they look. What does it feel like, to be the main supply meeting demands that come, one after another? How the caregiver feel, when she accidentally snaps after a long day at work? How does the caregiver feel, when he repeats the same instruction over and over again only to see the same mess at home everyday? Maybe the caregiver has to be stronger than the care given. Maybe the caregiver has to look further than the care given, and maybe the caregiver has to be cared first before the care given. In DesignForGood (DFG) 2017, we are calling out the whole community behind disability. The beneficiaries, the caregivers, the government sector, the social enterprise. The whole ecosystem. https://www.designforgood.sg/dfg-talk

It says a lot, when a creative veteran like Robert Gaxiola throws you the classic line of “less is more” for you to survive the advertising world of fast surpluses today. This rhetoric doesn't seem like it makes any sense. It makes us restless and we can never quite settle. How can you feel secure when your simple pitch competes against fancier counterparts? No one wants to end up on the other side of the bell curve. How can you afford to not include all of the techniques and skills learnt? You paid the school fees. Less is more, even in the creative field. The world today screams overchoice. A layer of filter stacks another, stacks another. With years of experience in the industry, Robert and his team beg to differ. It is okay to think very simply. Actually, simple wins because it makes it easy to communicate. The heart of advertising is real communication. It is a marriage counsellor bringing the client and consumer together, with a blessed hope that this union will last. The gold is found in decluttering. The cleaning of excess bombastic words. The rewinding of explosive colours into tones more familiar to our eyes. There is something charming about you when you are raw. For instance, his team project on Greenfields milk focused on trust. They got the idea after exploring the milking process and Greenfield factories. With that settled, their art direction headed straight for “honest milk”. Every design that they do revolved around this one glass of milk. Another example comes from Bobson Jeans. Bringing the emphasis back to the brand’s japanese origins, the team reformed advertising strategies to add value for the consumer. Being simple definitely does not equate to insincerity. It neither compromises on time nor research. Quite the contrary, it shows confidence and quality at its best. Nothing to hide, nothing to google for.