Transcript of doorstop interview by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at Digital for Life Festival

This is a unique movement. Both as far as the number of people we are reaching in Singapore – a very large number – as well as the number of partners who are involved. It’s not just Government, it’s about 140 partners, both corporates including small tech companies as well as lots of community partners. So it’s really quite unique in breadth - as far as those who are benefiting from the Digital For Life movement, as well as those who are joining in their journeys.

I think we are doing very well as far as the hardware and software is concerned. Almost all our homes have access to broadband. There are still about two per cent or so that we want to reach out to, and do more to help them. Almost all have access to a computer at home. And having computers refurbished and repaired from time to time is a very good initiative that SG Bono and other volunteers are engaged in.

But it’s not just hardware or software, it’s giving people confidence, particular the elderly – giving the elderly confidence in using all these digital apps to live life fully. Because that’s what it’s about. It’s not about the elderly adapting to a digital world, it's about using digital applications to help them in their everyday lives.

So I’m quite impressed with the progress we’ve made. There’s still some way to go, and this will be a continuous journey. Because the apps will keep improving and changing, new technologies will emerge, and having confidence to use them, to live our lives fully, is what this is all about.

Question: What more can be done to help seniors pick up digital skills?

President Tharman: What’s important is seniors shouldn’t feel that they are having to adapt to a new world. It’s actually about using everything that’s new to help them, in what their desires are, what their needs are. And it usually starts with everyday life. It's about using the weather alerts to bring in your clothes in time, it's about knowing when the bus arrives, it's about knowing when there are cheap goods on offer in the supermarket. It's everyday life.

And what's really important as we get older, is the digital apps that allow us to keep our minds active, and to stay healthy. Reminders to take your medication, virtual assistants to exercise at home in a fun way, playing games in a way that keeps us healthy. And lots of other ways to stay healthy - but keeping our minds active is a very important part of this.

Several of the seniors I met who are themselves volunteers now in helping other seniors, they started off, in fact, taking SkillsFuture courses. And they took it very seriously. Which is why we gave SkillsFuture credits even for the elderly, which was very important. It helps everyone learn and keep their minds active at every age.

But what's most important is for the seniors to know that seniors, as well as low income folk and persons with disabilities, and everyone, to know that really, Digital For Life is about using new technologies to help them with their needs. It's not about us having to adapt to a new world that we don't belong to. It's about helping us in what we really need in our everyday lives. And that way, it sticks in the mind as well, because it's everyday life that people are preoccupied with, and enjoy.

So we've got to carry on this journey. It’s a very democratic journey, in terms of the number of people involved, the number of partners involved. And it's really a beautiful example of a public-private-people initiative or journey that's going to continue. So thank you very much. I want to thank IMDA as well as all the partners, many of whom have come forward as volunteers, and some come forward as companies but you know, they're charging little for this, because they too just want to spread awareness of what's available.

So we're doing well, but it's a continuous journey. Thank you.