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Future of Media COVID-19 The Future of Work

How Singapore is using social media to increase vaccination rates and upskill its people

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By Shawn Lim, Reporter, Asia Pacific

August 30, 2021 | 6 min read

While Singapore has experienced digital acceleration since the Covid-19 outbreak, there is a need to continue to close the digital divide that has widened in many communities over the past year. The Drum finds out how Singapore is working with tech giants such as Twitter to close this gap.

The Singapore government has worked with major tech companies such as Twitter over the past year as an integral part of its multi-platform and multilingual efforts to enhance public understanding of Covid-19 and vaccination, as well as to address speculation, rumors, scams and misinformation.

This enables trusted and authoritative information sources, including Gov.sg and the Ministry of Health’s websites, to be featured prominently on these platforms.

For example, Twitter provided pro bono advertising credits for the government’s Covid-19 announcements and continues to ensure government agencies are up to date on Twitter best practices.

Twitter has also worked closely with the Singapore government to drive awareness of and encourage vaccination by extending its #vaccinated emoji to the Singapore government so that the #vaccinated emoji will appear with its #IGotMyShotSG hashtag.

At the time of writing, Singapore is the most vaccinated country in the world after vaccinating 80% of its population.

“It has always been the government’s priority to ensure that all segments of our public receive accurate and timely information to help them make informed decisions on pertinent issues. This has been especially important during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic,” says a spokesperson from the Ministry of Communication and Information.

“As we move forward into the digital future, we want to galvanize ground-up support and mobilize partners, networks and community resources across various sectors to promote good digital habits in our society.

“Our key priorities are to encourage cyber safety and media literacy, and mitigate the risks of online harms among youths. We are glad to have Twitter onboard our Digital for Life movement to help Singaporeans embrace digital lifelong learning and the benefits of going digital.”

Beyond Covid-19

Aside from fighting misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic and its vaccine, Twitter is also working closely with government agencies and community organizations to promote literacy and internet safety via outreach sessions.

This is because, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Singaporeans have increasingly turned to digital platforms to navigate the nuances of daily life in the ‘new normal’.

On a wider level, as Singapore’s digitalization efforts continue to accelerate, the country wants to guard against a widening digital literacy gap. In addition, coupled with the prevalence of mis- and dis-information, digital literacy is more critical than ever.

One such partnership saw Twitter supporting The Infocomm Media Development Authority’s Digital For Life movement, with a focus on supporting mental health and wellness and combating violent extremism, as well as helping to improve understanding of Twitter’s safety policies and features.

For example, Twitter conducted a virtual safety workshop for Roses of Peace and its youth ambassadors to share safety and security tips for young people. During #SaferInternetDay in February 2021, Twitter hosted a conversation on Twitter with the Singapore Media Literacy Council (@MLCSingapore) to discuss the community’s role in promoting a safer internet and shared digital literacy resources to keep people safe online.

“As of June 2021, we have promoted digital literacy best practices and online safety tips to nearly 7,000 Singaporean youths via our partnerships with Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL) and local non-profit organizations. We hope to continue to support Singaporean youths and are working closely with partners on a series of upskilling and digital literacy programs, and mentoring initiatives for the community,” explains Amanda Ang, head of public policy at Twitter in Singapore.

“Safety on Twitter and the health of the public conversation is one of Twitter’s top priorities in Singapore and around the world – and digital literacy is a core component to achieving this. We are committed to working with the government and community partners to create a digitally inclusive society.”

The road ahead

To build upon Singapore’s existing technical competencies and the nation state’s growing demand for a skilled digital workforce as it works toward achieving its Smart Nation ambitions, the government has kickstarted many initiatives to develop digital delivery of services to its citizens.

Singapore has also invested in the tech startup ecosystem by developing the local market and positioning the country as a launchpad into the region and beyond.

Twitter, which established its first Asia Pacific Engineering Center in Singapore in 2020 with a commitment to hiring and developing more local talent, will be working with the government and universities to develop a series of virtual immersion programs targeted at current students, recent graduates and mid-career individuals in the coming months.

One of these programs is #DevelopHER, a two-day virtual immersion program introducing 40 female computer science or engineering students to Twitter’s engineering work in the region.

Participants will be divided into small groups to work on coding challenges, and attend technical workshops and mentorship sessions with Twitter’s engineers.

In addition, Twitter held a career roadshow in tandem with SkillsFuture Month and invite 200 individuals to connect directly with Twitter employees to network and seek technical advice on how to transition into the technology sector.

The program was co-designed by Twitter and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to address the jobs and skills needs shared by participants, and share information on the relevant SkillsFuture initiatives and support that they can tap into.

“The pandemic has accelerated digitalization globally, presenting both challenges and opportunities for Singapore and Singaporeans. In today’s environment, we must focus our efforts even more on enhancing our people’s digital literacy and skills,” explains Ang Chin Tah, the senior vice-president of Digital Industry Singapore (DISG), a joint office of the Economic Development Board, Enterprise Singapore and IMDA.

“As part of DISG’s ongoing work in engaging companies to grow our tech ecosystem and workforce, we are heartened to see trusted partners such as Twitter stepping forward to work with us. DISG continues to actively partner other government agencies and other leading tech companies to identify skills gaps, brainstorm solutions and roll out targeted training programs for Singaporeans to prepare them for opportunities in the digital economy.”

Future of Media COVID-19 The Future of Work

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