Speech by President Halimah Yacob at TCS Sustainathon Singapore Finals 2021

Mr Girish Ramachandran, President of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Asia Pacific

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning. I am happy to join you today at the 2nd edition of the TCS Sustainathon Singapore Finals. Our young people will be the ones shaping the future of our societies, and the Sustainathon is a meaningful opportunity for them to come together to tackle the challenges we face.

The socio-economic well-being of a society is closely related to its literacy and education level. And it has been no different in Singapore, where our economic progress and ability to close poverty gaps in the past few decades have come on the back of our successful drive to provide quality education to our people.

One of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Yet, in the past two years, COVID-19 has shown that a significant gap still remains in our collective ability to achieve this goal.

In ASEAN alone, statistics from the United Nations have shown that more than 152 million children and youth have been affected by school closures due to the pandemic, with 27 per cent of these children not able to fully participate in online learning. In Singapore, we ensured continued access to education despite the pandemic, providing additional support for students in mainstream, special education schools and Institutes of Higher Learning who required more help. For example, during the Circuit Breaker period, schools remained open for students who lacked a conducive home environment or care arrangements for home-based learning (HBL) to return and learn under the guidance of school staff.  Schools have also ensured that all students have access to computers and the Internet for HBL. In 2021, schools loaned more than 17,000 computing devices and 800 internet-enabling devices to students who lack digital access.

Under the President’s Challenge, we have been very privileged to work with many social service agencies and IMDA to provide our students and children access to computers. We funded some of these programmes which complements the Ministry of Education’s efforts to make learning more accessible to our students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated our adoption and proficiency in using technology to enhance learning. It is imperative that we build on this, and consider what the future of education could be like for our younger generations.

It is therefore timely that the TCS Sustainathon 2021 has chosen to focus on the important topic of reimagining education, so that in time to come, we can build a truly future-ready and inclusive society for all.

World events in the past two years have increasingly shown that digital innovation has been, and will continue to be, a force of change in enabling us to solve different issues. Similarly, we can overcome some of the challenges faced by our students or teachers in Singapore today, by fully harnessing the power of technology such as artificial intelligence.

Technology is a game-changer for everyone, including vulnerable groups such as low-income families and persons with disabilities. At the TCS Sustainathon, participants are encouraged to be drivers of change by leveraging technology to solve real-world issues, such as supporting inclusive learning for persons with disabilities. The TCS Sustainathon has grown from strength to strength since the inaugural edition last year. I understand that this year, TCS has taken the Sustainathon brand global, with similar competitions held in the Philippines, Malaysia, India, Australia, New Zealand and even in parts of Europe.

But no matter which country it has travelled to, I am heartened by the fact that our younger generations remain at the heart of the TCS Sustainathon. Students and youths hold the key to our future, and today’s event is a good example of how we can use a common platform to engage younger minds and involve them in solving the challenges and issues we face, using technology and no small amount of creativity.

I am confident the TCS Sustainathon has been a rewarding experience for the participants and everyone involved; and I would like to encourage all of you to continue to pursue your passion in helping to build a better Singapore and a better world.

I would also like to express my appreciation for the partners who have made today’s event possible. Our youths will be better for the valuable experiences they have gained over the past few months, and I wish to thank you on their behalf.

Finally, I hope TCS can continue to play a leading role in leveraging the power of technology and innovation to strive for a better and more sustainable future for all of us.

Thank you.