IMPACT REPORT FY 2020 - A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE Singapore's first co-operative for changemakers, by changemakers
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IMPACT REPORT FY 2020 A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE Singapore's first co-operative for changemakers, by changemakers
Table of Contents 01 About A Good Space Co-operative 02 Chairperson's Message 03 General Manager's Message 04 Key Highlights of FY 2020 05 Our Impact for Changemakers 06 Nurturing Changemakers in Schools 07 Nurturing Changemakers in Workplaces 08 Key Relationships Forged in 2020 09 2021: The Year Ahead 10 Contribute to Our Movement 11 Our Members 12 Friends of A Good Space 13 Media Features A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 02
SECTION 1 | About A Good Space Co-operative
Why We Exist We believe every human being can realize their talents
and potential to create a better society and in doing so,
discover their purpose and humanity.
A Good Space (AGS) started as an informal movement in
What We Do
2017 and was formally incorporated as Singapore's first
co-operative for changemakers, under the Co-operative
Societies Act (Chapter 62) of the Republic of Singapore on
31st March 2020, UEN: T20CS0002H. We have 3 main
social impact aspirations:
Create a nourishing environment for changemakers
to find sustainability, resilience and flourish
Create opportunities for diverse changemakers to
collaborate and prototype solutions for complex
social issues
Inspire employees to care about social issues and
harness their resources to create social change
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 03
SECTION 1 | About A Good Space Co-operative
Committee of Management
Anthea Ong Tines Anbarasan
Chairperson Secretary
Evelyn Khoo T. Ranga
Member Member
Ashokan Ramakrishnan
Treasurer
Vincent Ng
Executive Team General Manager
Remi Ong See Tow Jo Ann
Community Marketing Intern
Development Trainee
Abhishek Bajaj Tiffany Gwee
Programs Lead Marketing Intern
(Until Aug 20') (Until Nov 20')
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 04
SECTION 1 | About A Good Space Co-operative
Co-Owners & Founding Members
Co-owners are members who own shares in the co-operative while Founding Members
are the first members who owned shares and set up the co-op.
Co-Owners
Chua Ningpei • Adrian Tan • Ashokan Ramakrishnan • Dean Ng • Een Yuan Long • James
Lim • Lee Zhong Han • Louis Puah • M. Ibnur Rashad • Michael Cheng • Quek Wan Ting •
Sherman Ho • Tan Ding Jie • Toh Kian Beng • Velda Wong • Bill Bannear • Douglas
O’Loughlin • Ranganayaki Thangavelu • Vincent Ng
Founding Members
Abhishek Bajaj • Anthea Ong • Melissa Kwee • Tines Anbarasan • Evelyn Khoo • Vincent Ng
* Two of our co-owners preferred to remain anonymous
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 05
SECTION 2 | Chairperson's Message
WHAT IS CHANGEMAKING? INVEST IN CHANGEMAKERS AND COMMUNITY
I see it as being constantly curious about, We must go beyond the service provision
and inspired by, a different and better model through social service agencies
version of the future for self, community (SSAs) and charities to embrace an
and humanity. This drives the upstream, more ecosystem-centric way of
changemaker to take proactive steps in supporting our vulnerable communities by
gathering knowledge and resources to including changemakers like ground-ups
make that change happen. and social enterprises who can focus on
building assets and harnessing strengths
Changemakers do not see problems as within our vulnerable communities.
someone else’s responsibility, they dare to
become part of the solution. We must go beyond allocating resources,
including funding, predominantly to only
If I were to describe the many registered charities. Instead, we can
changemakers I know in Singapore and distribute them more evenly across the
around the world, the word 'care' comes to value chain of support for these
mind but it also nicely sums up the traits communities, including changemakers as
and skills they have: Creativity, well as directly investing in the members of
Adaptability, Resilience and Empathy! these communities.
WHY IS CHANGEMAKING IMPORTANT? We must therefore include members of the
communities that we are trying to make
The societal challenges we face are
change for, not as beneficiaries, but as
increasingly complex and interrelated,
fellow changemakers to co-create the
especially in the light of COVID-19 which
solutions with.
has widened social inequality here and
around the world.
Everyone can be a changemaker. No one is
too young or too old, too poor or too rich,
We cannot solve these problems with the
too abled or too challenged to be a
same way of thinking that has not
changemaker.
disrupted traditional models of help.
Not only will we create more sustainable
I believe that changemaking is a
and dignified change with this co-
fundamental human aspiration
ownership, we also build stronger
because we all want to contribute
communities, a more resilient Singapore
- no matter who and where we
and a better world.
are. In doing so, we can discover
our purpose and humanity.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 06
SECTION 2 | Chairperson's Message
STARTING A GOOD SPACE
Experimenting with a disruptive model of social change by creating a unique community
of learning and collaboration for diverse changemakers, whether they be individuals,
ground-ups, social enterprises or small charities, were the reasons why I initiated A Good
Space in June 2017. These are the folks who often struggle with getting support, whether
financial, operational and/or emotional, from traditional sources that tend to favour
larger SSAs.
The seed of A Good Space would not have sprouted if not for the grace and generosity
from so many that I've been given, including Melissa Kwee and team from NVPC who
incubated us along with Philip Ong and team from MCCY for 2 years.
92 11 334 7,676
Changemakers Social Issues & Projects Participants
Reached Communities Created Impacted
Represented
From Aug 2017 - Jul 2019
However, none of what A Good Space is today would be possible without a young
changemaker, Vincent, who took a leap of faith with me to trudge this path of paving new
and inclusive ways for community building and social change. Now leading our
passionate Executive Team, I couldn't be prouder of him and his work with A Good Space
- he's truly my co-founder!
Challenging as it may have been to break new grounds and funding models, I am
immensely grateful to our expanding community of changemakers, strategic partners
and employers who have stepped forward to invest in this vision that is A Good Space as
we celebrate our first year as Singapore's first co-operative of changemakers.
I am excited about what we can do when we come together to build the Singapore of our
dreams that we cannot do alone.
Because we are the ones Anthea Ong
we have been waiting for. Chairperson
A Good Space
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 07
SECTION 3 | General Manager's Message
Four years ago, as a young business school
graduate feeling lost after graduation, I
was invited by Anthea to a gathering of
social changemakers on 23rd June 2017 -
where A Good Space was first launched as
an experiment to cultivate active citizenry
in Singapore.
Shortly after, she offered me a job to
support her with the curation of
changemakers and I stumbled into the role
of a community builder. For the first two
years, we had access to spaces at NVPC,
where we invited changemakers to create
innovative experiences to raise awareness
of various communities and social issues.
Over time, we evolved into a group of 92 So our then Programs Lead Abhishek and I
changemakers, comprising ordinary spoke to more changemakers and heard
citizens, ground-up movements, social them express their dreams and the
enterprises and charities. I was very challenges they faced. We discovered six
grateful to observe first hand their tireless challenges that made it difficult for them to
dedication for communities they cared sustain their changemaking projects,
about, during all those late nights and leading to many feeling burnt out and
weekends when they ran their activities. exhausted. We thought:
In mid-2019, 25 of our changemakers came What if we could unlock new
together to share their dreams for A Good possibilities to overcome our
Space and together, they drew a beautiful challenges by coming together,
picture of what AGS could be. They also instead of struggling alone?
shared their concerns about the
sustainability of their own changemaking And it was here that we took our first steps
projects. towards transforming A Good Space into
Singapore’s first co-operative for
It was then that the idea of a co-operative changemakers and exploring how we can all
was first suggested, but I didn’t have a clue thrive by working together.
what that was.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 08
SECTION 3 | General Manager's Message
Little did we know the journey ahead would be long and filled with winding paths. As our
potential members navigated the uncertainty of a COVID-19 world, we struggled to
discover what new possibilities we can unlock by working together and what our value
proposition might be to them and society.
It took us almost 8 months to be incorporated as a co-operative and in many ways, it
would have been much easier registering A Good Space as a social enterprise or a society.
But we chose to become a co-operative not because it is easy but because it is hard.
Because this is a challenge that we must be willing to accept, for its time has come.
COVID-19 has glaringly highlighted to us that no social issue is a single issue and we must
urgently build towards a more collaborative future of changemaking for Singapore.
Despite the setbacks we faced, 43 changemakers joined us as members across the
different membership categories. We broke new grounds for changemakers to invest in
making change through a community-owned co-operative, where members actively
share their gifts and take ownership to advance social impact objectives together.
This Impact Report contains key milestones of our journey in 2020 and the stories of
courage, resilience and humanity that members of our community displayed, in one of
the most difficult years in recent history.
I hope you'd enjoy reading about them and feel excited by the initial glimpses of the
possibilities we can create as a collective changemaking force for Singapore, this home
we cherish and love.
Let us be the ones to say that we undertook this endeavour for our fellow citizens and
changemakers now and into the future. Let us be the ones to say that we are stronger,
together.
Thank you for stopping by!
Vincent Ng
General Manager
A Good Space
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 09
Key Highlights of FY 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted to us that social issues are complex, interconnected and that no social issue is a single issue. At a glance, here are some of the highlights of this memorable year, as we discovered the possibilities we can unlock when we work together for the social issues we care about.
SECTION 4 | Key Highlights of FY 2020
FEBRUARY
1. Compiling ground-up initiatives and
responses for COVID-19
As the COVID-19 situation started, we started an
Excel Sheet to help society keep track of the
various ground-up initiatives and responses that
were springing up to offer support for their fellow
citizens.
MARCH
Screenshot of the Excel Sheet we created 2. AGS registered as a Co-operative
We were formally registered as Singapore’s first co-
operative for changemakers on 31st March 2020!
Eventually, 43 changemakers across different
social issues decide to join us as members, to
create social change together.
MARCH
3. 'Healthy Helpers, Healthy Homes'
campaign launched
Screenshot of the 'Healthy Helpers, Healthy
Homes' campaign A few of our members produced a set of graphics
encouraging employers to take proactive steps to
support their domestic workers during COVID-19.
MOM helped to send these graphics to all
employers in Singapore.
APRIL
4. Supporting our migrant brothers
As COVID-19 infections in migrant worker
dormitories worsened, our Chairperson Anthea,
supported by our member Abhishek, brought
Our Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary
opening our bank account! together most of the changemakers in the migrant
worker communities through a WhatsApp group,
allowing for a coordinated humanitarian response.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 11SECTION 4 | Key Highlights of FY 2020
APRIL
5. AGS Community Care Force set up
A few of our members set up the AGS Community
Care Force to help Social Service Agencies (SSAs)
cope with the surge of help needed during COVID-
19. Some members procured grocery vouchers,
found volunteers and secured laptops for youths'
home-based learning while others helped rental
flat communities apply for social assistance
schemes, arranged for food distributions and
A few of our members went door-knocking in provided financial assistance from the Mind The
rental flat communities, just before Circuit
Breaker in late March / early April
Gap Collective (see below).
MAY
6. Mind The Gap Collective raises $1.1
million for vulnerable families
Our Chairperson formed the Mind The Gap
Collective with 8 ground-up movements, charities
and NPOs (AGS included), in response to the
public's desire to donate to low-income families
struggling financially due to the pandemic. Over
$1.1 million from 585 donors was disbursed
through Beyond Social Services, one of the
Screenshot of the Mind The Gap fundraising organisations in the collective, as short-term
campaign page on Give.asia
financial assistance to vulnerable families and
individuals (including sex workers, transgender
individuals and Pulau Ubin residents) to support
them through COVID-19.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 12SECTION 4 | Key Highlights of FY 2020
JUN
7. Future of Social Services for Low-
Income Families conversation
Using OPPI, 292 participants voted on what they
felt was the future of social services for low-income
youths and families post COVID-19. These findings
were shared through a webinar attended by almost
500 people. We are hoping to use the insights
generated from the poll and webinar for our Living
A screenshot of our webinar: What is the Labs for Low-Income Communities in 2021.
Future of Social Services for Low-Income
Youths and Families post COVID-19?
JUN
8. Members teach each other to design
transformative online events
As online events became the new normal, we
organised a community learning circle, for
members to share practical wisdom on designing
online events. We discovered that despite serving
different communities, we can still learn from each
other’s experiences and benefit from our collective
Screenshot of a poster for the Community
Learning Circle we organised wisdom.
AUG
9. #SGGratitudePack for NDP 2020
Led by members Ashokan Ramakrishnan and
Tines Anbarasan to express their gratitude for
migrant workers on National Day. After going viral,
over 2,400 NDP funpacks were collected from the
public and a corporate partner, Astrazeneca, and
repurposed with essential items before
Migrant brothers receiving their
redistributing them to our migrant brothers. We
#SGGratitudepack
discovered that by working together, we can raise
significant awareness for causes we care about.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 13SECTION 4 | Key Highlights of FY 2020
SEPTEMBER
10. Conversations with migrant and
foreign domestic workers
We conducted a series of conversations with
migrant workers and foreign domestic workers to
better understand their mental well-being during
the pandemic and how they would like to be
supported. We are in the midst of reviewing these
insights and planning for a Living Labs for Migrant
Workers and Foreign Domestic Workers in 2021.
Screenshot from a virtual conversation we
had with several migrant brothers
OCTOBER
11. Lived Intersections for World Mental
Health Day
We organised our first ever Lived Intersections
event, where we explored how mental health
manifests in communities, such as the deaf,
migrant workers, environmental groups,
transgender communities and the differently-
abled. We discovered that our diverse
Screenshot of our first ever Lived changemaker members enable us to have deeper
Intersections event on mental health
conversations into social issues.
FEBRURARY
12. The Ground Speaks: Budget 2021
Conversations
How can Budget 2021 adequately address the needs
of low-income communities? We partnered with
CAPE to organise a conversation for ordinary
citizens, changemakers and Parliamentarians to
Screenshot of Parliamentarians listening discuss issues and recommendations across
into ideas and concerns from citizens
different segments of low-income communities.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 1443 19 84,378*
Members in our Social issues and Est. number of
community communities people our members
represented have impacted
Our Impact for
Changemakers
We registered as a co-operative because we believe that coming together could
unlock new possibilities for changemakers to sustain their projects and
amplify their impact, instead of continuing to struggle alone.
* This number was collated from 23 of our members and is an estimate that reflects the number of
people they have served through their changemaking initiatives in 2020, as well as the number of
people who attended their public events. It does not include people who interacted with them on
social media or volunteers in their initiatives.SECTION 5 | Our Impact for Changemakers
Our members have formed collaborations with each other
that have expanded their social impact
1. SerendipET x Be Kind SG
When COVID-19 first started, Sherry from Be
Kind SG wanted to pack 7,000 care packs for staff
of the National Centre for Infectious Diseases
(NCID) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). Tines
and Yuan Long from SerendipET immediately
offered to help, mobilizing their staff to help pack
and deliver the 7,000 care packs for the NCID and
TTSH staff.
"I'm really grateful for the friendships I've formed with Tines and Yuan
Long. I trust them with the logistics for my projects and they are always
open to lending a hand and their advice, which helps me deliver more
care items to our beneficiaries."
Sherry Soon
Be Kind SG
2. Skillseed x SG Assist x 6th Sense
In Skillseed's first iteration of the virtual Asset-
Based Community Development (ABCD)
Assembly, they tapped on the AGS network
and collaborated with Abhishek from 6th
Sense and Adrian from SG Assist, who joined
the panel to share their stories as practitioners
of ABCD on the ground.
"The changemakers in AGS are very supportive. When a request or
need is shared, the group responds and shares their resources/
contacts. It helps us to respond more efficiently and tap on the
gifts of the community instead of relying on structural processes."
Raine Ong
Skillseed
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 16SECTION 5 | Our Impact for Changemakers
3. Happiness Initiative x Multiple Members
Over the past year, Happiness Initiative has organised a Netflix watch party with Evelyn
from Aphasia SG (aphasia) and a webinar with Kathy from The Dorsal Effect
(environment). For their upcoming Happiness Film Festival, they are also collaborating
with members like Adrian from SG Assist (seniors), Nicole from WIMBY (migrant
workers) and Ranga from Beyond Social Services (low-income).
"AGS has been a fantastic place in helping us to connect with various
changemakers working for different causes and the community is a
great source of inspiration in the work that we do. We often
underestimate what we can achieve when we pull resources together
and work towards a common goal. We have much more in common
then we often think we do - and AGS has often reminded me of that."
Sherman Ho
Happiness
Initiative
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 17SECTION 5 | Our Impact for Changemakers
AGS has supported our members to grow as changemakers
"Despite the pandemic in 2020, our "I gained at least 30 new connections
team was able to do more public with fellow changemakers having
outreach workshops to spread the diverse skills and resources. Through
word about Aphasia and this was AGS, we also got to know of helpful
only possible because we got access grants such as the SG United
into schools like NUS, SUSS, Traineeship (which helped us to save
Nanyang Girls' High School and $21,600 on a full-time trainee for 9
companies like SingPost because of months) and the Youth Corps
AGS. We were also able to earn some Internship Scheme (which helped us
revenue from these workshops to save $7,200 to hire 3 interns for 3
which helps us to sustain our months). This was extremely
projects" valuable in helping us to expand the
team to amplify our social impact."
Evelyn Khoo Adrian Tan
Aphasia SG SG Assist
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 18SECTION 5 | Our Impact for Changemakers
Our members feel emotionally supported in their
changemaking journey
"While AGS was of tremendous help with OPPI reaching out to potential users and
customers, the impact of AGS goes beyond the financials and the material.
Changemaking is a lonely path but the walk is a lot bearable and enjoyable when I
can walk with a group of noble changemakers who want to improve our society,
holding hands and supporting one another.
Which other community of changemakers can you lay your emotions bare and be
vulnerable with your struggles and yet feel accepted unconditionally not for what
you do but who you are as a human being? This is the real deep impact AGS has
on our society.
Where else can you find a shoulder to cry on or someone to share your
frustrations and burdens with except for others who can empathize with these
same struggles?"
Santosh Kumar
OPPI
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 19Nurturing Changemakers in Schools We hope to nurture young changemakers in schools and support them as they discover their purpose and contribute their strengths towards creating positive social change. We create immersive experiences that spark curiosity and cultivate empathy. It is important to us that through these experiences, students get to interact with members of different communities and practice appreciating their strengths instead of seeing them as problems to fix or people to be saved. Some schools we have worked with include:
SECTION 6 | Nurturing Changemakers in Schools
We curated activities to immerse students in social issues, including:
We curated a Human Library experience for
around 90 student leaders of Evergreen
Secondary School as part of their leadership
camp. We curated 13 human books,
representing the low-income, seniors,
homeless, ex-offender and mental health
communities to name a few, including a
Deaf person and migrant worker.
Students heard first hand stories about their
strengths, struggles and aspirations and I enjoyed listening to the “books” share
cultivated a deeper empathy towards about their experiences with different
diverse communities that they don’t usually issues that are common in Singapore, yet so
get a chance to interact with. unheard of. I think there is much more we
can do to raise awareness and take action
towards a better society.
Student,
Evergreen Secondary School
We curated 5 sessions for the Singapore
University of Social Sciences as part of a
community module for freshmen students.
Around 150 students got to learn from 11 of our
changemaker members across issues like
climate change, caregiving, participative
democracy, Aphasia and more. We also
introduced students to the structure of a co-
operative as an alternative structure for
changemaking in Singapore.
A Good Space worked with us to curate a positive learning experience for
our students, providing them with opportunities to interact with diverse
changemakers and new perspectives on how they could create change by
working with the community through an asset-based approach
Chloe Lee
Assistant Manager
SUSS
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 21SECTION 6 | Nurturing Changemakers in Schools
We designed a journey to nurture students to become changemakers
With teachers of the Applied Sciences Faculty in
Temasek Polytechnic, we designed a journey
with different programs to nurture their
students to become changemakers, starting with
the 'youth-at-risk' community. Our members
designed two immersive activities: "Sinderella" -
a theatre-based game based on the classic tale
Cinderella, that highlighted themes like single
parenthood and bullying.
And "Risk and Rewards" - a role-playing game where students made choices based on
scenarios designed by ex-offenders and ex youths-at-risk. Afterwards, the students had an
opportunity to interact with children of a rental flat community to appreciate their
strengths and learn more about the circumstances they face. We are continuing to work
with the teachers to identify other opportunities we can create for students who are want
to do more, including channeling them towards skills-based modules in school such as
Design Thinking, that may aid them in becoming changemakers.
"What started out as an attempt to engage students and
staff in charitable causes and to find greater meaning in
Dr. Goh Lay Beng
life is slowly but surely evolving into a journey to nurture
Director
them to become changemakers. Our partnership with A
Temasek Polytechnic
Good Space has advanced way beyond my imagination. I
School of Applied Sciences
am humbled by the progress and how much the students
have grown in their minds and in their hearts."
"We are grateful to be given the opportunity to work with A Good Space to spearhead
community projects and inspire our schoolmates along a changemaker journey. Not only
were we given the space to express our ideas, we also managed to push ourselves out of
our comfort zone and become a better leader."
Nur Harisa Terina Tay
Student Leader Student Leader
Temasek Polytechnic Temasek Polytechnic
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 22Nurturing Changemakers in Workplaces Purposeful employees doing good can be good for business and society. We believe that empowering employees to be changemakers can be a powerful lever for business objectives such as boosting employee well-being, attracting top-notch talent and skills development. We are focused on creating authentic, tailored experiences for employers to engage and develop employees to drive social change with diverse, under- served communities. When every employee is empowered to be a changemaker, everyone wins.
SECTION 7 | Nurturing Changemakers in Workplaces
Younger employees prefer value-
based employment... care for the
community and social purpose are no
longer nice-to-haves, but are expected
to sit at the core of an organisation's
operational philosophy
Recharging Employee Engagement
Report by: Edelman, NTU WKWSCI and Marsh &
McLennan Companies
1. We give workplaces fast access to
diverse, under-served communities
that fit their social impact priorities
We curated a series of immersive learning
experiences for employees of Singapore Post
to learn about diverse social issues and
communities during their Brown Bag Lunch
sessions.
Such experiences included a silent tea
experience facilitated by Deaf persons, an art
workshop conducted by a blind artist and a
virtual learning session about Aphasia, a
neurological condition that impairs a patient's
ability to communicate after a stroke.
Besides this, we also curated an experience for
staff of CapitaLand Singapore to gain an
appreciation of issues relating to the quality of
life for seniors, before they embarked on a
volunteering activity to distribute meals to
seniors in low-income communities.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 24SECTION 7 | Nurturing Changemakers in Workplaces
2. We align creating social change
with business objectives
We had conversations with workplaces like ONE
Championship to organize a day of social good
activities for their employees and athletes
around the theme of "at-risk youths".
We also explored bringing activities of our
changemakers for the staff and international
guests of the Fullerton Hotel and the Hilton
Group. While these conversations did not come
to fruition, they did help us envision new ways of
working with workplaces.
3. Looking ahead: We build more
changemaking workplaces for society
We are in a strategic partnership with Ashoka to
build a rigorous framework and a set of
programs that develop employees to be
changemakers, while bringing about better well-
being, talent retention and development
outcomes.
We will be focused on partnering more
employers who share this vision to bring this
framework and programs into their workplaces,
so as to build more changemaking workplaces
for society.
Workplaces we have worked with
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 25Key Relationships Formed In 2020, we had an opportunity to form deeper relationships and friendships with 3 organisations, namely: Ashoka Malaysia & Singapore, the Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre and OPPI.
SECTION 8 | Key Relationships Formed
Ashoka Malaysia & Singapore
Knowledge and Resource Partner
Ashoka is a global non-profit organization that identifies and supports the world’s
leading social entrepreneurs, learns from the patterns in their innovations, and
mobilizes a global community that embraces these new frameworks to build an
"everyone a changemaker world." Ashoka Singapore is a regional hub supporting
Ashoka Fellows and programs in Asia. With Ashoka, we in a strategic partnership
to work towards a shared vision of changemaking in Singapore.
As part of this partnership, Ashoka and A Good Space will be developing a series
of exciting projects that will actively build a culture of teenage (12 - 20 years old)
changemaking in Singapore.
We are also excited to work with Ashoka on a rigorous framework to get
employees to go from passive participants to active changemakers creating
solutions with, rather than for, members of vulnerable communities, so as to
build more changemaking workplaces in Singapore.
Ashoka and AGS believe in the power of
changemakers and through this
partnership, we want to build a culture
of changemaking in Singapore, where
empathy is as important as being a
smart digital nation.
Rajesh Varghese
Country Director
Ashoka Malaysia &
Singapore
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 27SECTION 8 | Key Relationships Formed
Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre
Space and Youth Outreach Partner
The Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre (HYC) is a new interfaith youth centre in
Yishun which aims to provide a platform for youths to learn, grow and serve our
society through various activities and opportunities. The centre, where our office
is currently based, has beautiful views of a lake along with staff members who are
kind, compassionate and collaborative.
Amongst other areas, we are in a partnership for A Good Space's members to
collaborate with the centre to reach a wider base of youths through organising
activities at the centre around 3 key themes in 2021: eco-awareness, youth mental
health and arts & heritage.
With the variety of visionaries and
changemakers in AGS, we believe that
our collaboration will bring valuable
programs and opportunities for HYC to
become a hub for engaging youths in
creating social change.
Lim Choon Choon
Centre Manager
Tzu Chi Humanistic
Youth Centre
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 28SECTION 8 | Key Relationships Formed
OPPI
Sense-making and Public Engagement Partner
OPPI is a local team of civic-tech visionaries that would like to help strengthen the
state of democracy, civil discourse and civic engagement across South East Asia
by facilitating multi-stakeholder discussions and nurturing consensus on divisive,
polarising and complex societal issues.
We are in a strategic partnership to understand public sentiment on divisive
issues and potential tension points, through running polls using OPPI’s emergent
sense-making tool. This will help us create events and projects that are more
meaningful and will be an integral part of our Living Labs process.
Beknown & OPPI are excited to partner
with A Good Space to empower
changemakers to engage citizens in
participative conversations that matter.
Through OPPI, we can have citizens
realise the common ground and
embrace differences. With this
Adrian Liew partnership, we are onto something
Founder great, which is just the beginning of an
Beknown / OPPI even better Singapore.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 292021: The Year Ahead As we look ahead into the beginning of a new chapter in 2021, we hope to go deeper into the following areas.
SECTION 9 | 2021: The Year Ahead
1. A Good Space Living Labs
To address stubborn, complex community issues,
we often require cross-sectoral solutions. Our goal
is to create a sustained infrastructure for diverse
changemakers to learn, prototype new approaches
and create impact collectively to advance complex
community issues.
We are calling this program the AGS Living Labs
and have identified three pressing societal issues to
begin with, namely: Dignity of Low-Income
Communities, Well-Being of Migrant and Foreign
Domestic Workers and lastly, Privilege in Race and
Religion.
2. A Good Space @ Workplaces
Our goal is to bring changemaking to more
workplaces and disrupt the traditional notions of
Corporate Social Responsibility by demonstrating
the business value that nurturing employees along
a journey of changemaking can bring to
workplaces in terms of employee engagement,
retention and talent development.
We will tailor a series of authentic and immersive
learning experiences for employees to learn about
diverse, under-served communities and work with
changemakers beyond established charities to
harness their skills to solve issues with
communities, rather than for communities.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 31SECTION 9 | 2021: The Year Ahead
3. Monthly Calendar of Programs
We will aim to create monthly programs that are
memorable, innovative and inspirational, sparking
new ideas for how we can create social change.
As part of this, we will organise more of the Lived
Intersections series, where we design experiences
for the public to learn about multiple perspectives
within an identified social issue, either from
people working across levels of the system or from
changemakers across various communities.
4. The Ground Speaks: Dialogues for
Participative Democracy
With the world becoming more volatile, uncertain,
complex and ambiguous, our country's leaders face
greater challenges than ever before.
The change needed to move our society requires all
hands on deck. If policies don’t enable, then there
is a limit to the change that we can bring about on
the ground because policies shape behaviours and
attitudes - the two must work in tandem.
We hope to organise more sessions of The Ground
Speaks for ordinary citizens and changemakers to
contribute their ideas and collective wisdom to
Parliamentarians and policymakers, towards a
#SGTogether vision of an informed citizenry and
participative democracy.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 32Contribute to Our Movement Changemaking is often a long and lonely journey but it doesn’t have to be this way. As we are discovering through this co-operative, we can unlock new possibilities and do more for the social issues and communities we care about when we come together. If you have enjoyed what you read so far, we’d love to invite you to consider contributing to our movement in the following ways.
SECTION 10 | Contribute to Our Movement
1. Become a Member!
We invite you to contribute your ideas,
talents and networks to this collective
changemaking force! Come be part of a
community of kindred changemakers who
genuinely want each other to succeed. In
creating social change with a community,
we have an opportunity to heal, transform Scan QR code to learn more or visit:
and discover our humanity. agoodspace.org/changemakers
There are different categories of membership in our co-operative
Explore
For people just starting out and wanting to discover what they are
passionate about
Start
For people starting their first projects or hoping to become more
active in social issues or communities
Grow
For people looking to create more systemic change for the issues or
communities they care about
Co-Owners
For people who believe in the vision of our co-operative and want to
invest in a more collaborative future for changemaking in Singapore
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 34SECTION 10 | Contribute to Our Movement
2. Bring Changemaking to Your
Workplace
Position yourself as an employer of choice
by inspiring employees to discover purpose
at work through creating change with
Scan QR code to learn more or diverse, under-served communities; while
reach out to us at: improving their problem-solving and
experiences@agoodspace.org empathy skills.
3. Bring Changemaking to Your
School
If you are a time-stretched educator wanting
to cultivate empathy in your students
towards diverse issues and inspire them to Reach out to us at:
lead meaningful community projects, we experiences@agoodspace.org
can help design a variety of experiences to
nurture your students to become
changemakers by learning from and
interacting with changemakers on the
ground.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 35SECTION 11 | Members of A Good Space
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
Ang Huan Ting Carmen Lok Lily Goh Raymond Chang Revathi Priya Roxanne Koh
Lingua EO Horizons Vaangae Anna
Singapura
Santosh Kumar Vernessa Chuah Zuby Eusofe Amos Liu Anne Neo Kathy Xu
OPPI Mindful Space The Healing OpenJio The Giving The Dorsal
Circle Collective Effect
Nicole Ooi Raine Ong Sherry Soon Tan Yi Han Tina Tan Chua Ningpei
WIMBY Skillseed Be Kind SG Mother Earth S.P.A.R.K Hush Tea Bar
Toastmasters Club
Abhishek Bajaj Adrian Tan Ashokan Dean Ng Een Yuan Long Evelyn Khoo
6th Sense SG Assist Ramakrishnan The Affirmative SerendipET Aphasia SG
S.P.A.R.K People
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 36SECTION 11 | Members of A Good Space
Trust makes ordinary people
do extraordinary things Frederic Laloux
James Lim Velda Wong Lee Zhong Han Louis Puah M. Ibnur Rashad Michael Cheng
Emmaus Conversations We Tell Stories Praxium G.U.I.L.D Tapestry
Strategies Without Borders Playback Theatre
Quek Wan Ting Sherman Ho Tan Ding Jie Tines Anbarasan Toh Kian Beng Vincent Ng
Moving Circle Happiness Humanist Society SerendipET M2 Cafe
Initiative Singapore
Anthea Ong Bill Bannear Douglas Melissa Kwee T. Ranga
O'Loughlin
This could be you!
List of Social Issues / Communities Covered by Members of A Good Space
Mental Health • Mental Wellness • Civic Participation • Participatory Democracy • Low-Income • Aphasia •
Micro-Giving • Autoimmune Disease • Seniors • Deaf • Maker Culture • Humanism • Migrant Workers •
Environment • Children & Youth • Education • ADHD • Community Care • Marine Biodiversity
* Two of our members preferred to remain anonymous
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 37SECTION 12 | Friends of A Good Space
It takes a village to raise a child and we think the same can be said for a community. We
have come a long way, on the back of inputs, friendships, advice and contributions from
many unsung heroes.
Here is a special mention for all the people who were part of, contributed to, or helped to
build AGS since we started in 2017.
Individuals
Aaron Yeoh • Aarthi Achuthappa • Abdullah Khurshid • Abigail Fernandez • Adelyn Lee • Afzal Hadi •
Alecia Neo • Alethea Liau • Alice Chiu • Amelia Lim • Aminur Rasyid • Angeline Chin • Anna Leong •
Audrey Yumiko Anzai • Carol Kuan • Carol Yuen • Cherie Ling • Choo Kah Ying • Chris Jensen • Chua
Ying Xuan • Clarice Song • Corrine Ong • Dave Lim • Dawn Soh • Denise Ho • Dexter Tai • Edwin Ng •
Eleanor Yap • Chuah Ting Ying • Elle Zhang • Leezibet Heinzraiden • Eva Ng • Evon Chua • Fari Wu • Fey
Foong • Gabriel Chen • Goh Ann Tat • Harikumar Rajasekharan • Ho Sze Hui • Ho Xiang Tian • Hyzue
Gimin • Iris Ng • Jacey Ong • Jared Wong • Jasmine Chua • Jerome Chan • Joan Huang • Joan Swee • Jonta
Koga • Joshua Phua • Juliana Johan • Karen Yeo • Kari Tamura • Keith Chua • Kelvin Kho • Kevin Wong •
Khadijah Madihi • Khee Shihui • Khoo Yi Feng • Koh Jia En • Kuik Shiao-Yin • Lee Meichuen • Lee Min
Xuan • Leon Toh • Lewis Liu • Lim Jingzhou • Lim Jun Wei • Lim Yi-Nyn • Lionel Koh • Low Yi Juan •
Lynn Chia • Marc Goh • Marissa Teo • Marla Arnall • Melissa Tan • Mohd Irshad • Na Xinyi• Nadim Van
Der Ros • Nigel Ng • Nikole Wong • Oh Shu Xin • Pan Vic Qi • Phua Huijia • Porsche Poh • Pratibha
Kurnool • Raymond Tang • Sammie Ng• Santhiya Subra • Sara Mei Woo • Seah Beng Nah • Selena Chong •
Seri Taspirin • Sharon Eng • Shane Yan • Shirin Beevi • Steven Nilam • Sumita Thiagarajan • Tammie Tan
• Tan Tatt Si • Tang Yiting • Tilda Yeow • Tok Xinying • Tommy Goh • Tong Yee • Tricia Tan • Varun Soni •
Vincent Soo • Victoria Ow • Winifred Ling • Yap You Min • Yasmin Begum • Yoann Fol • Yong Mei Ling •
Yong Yoek Ling • Yvonne Looi • Zeng Wanyi
Organisations
AstraZeneca • Beyond Social Services • CapitaLand • CAPE • Evergreen Secondary School • Johnson &
Johnson Singapore • Nanyang Girls' High School • National University of Singapore Student Affairs
Office • Singapore Post • Singapore University of Social Sciences Center for Experiential Learning •
Temasek Polytechnic School of Applied Sciences • National Volunteer Philanthropy Centre • Ministry of
Culture, Community and Youth • ONE Championship • Hilton Group • The Fullerton • The Constellation
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 38SECTION 13 | Media Features
The media has been a great ally for us in raising awareness of the good work of our
members. Here are some of the features in print and online media that we received in 2020:
TODAY Online, 20th May 2020
Our spreadsheet to compile ground-up
initiatives and responses during COVID-19
was mentioned in an article on TODAY.
Channel NewsAsia, 21st May 2020
The initiatives of several of our members
were featured in this article about different
events and activities that supported the
mental well-being of our fellow
Singaporeans during Circuit Breaker.
Mothership, 10th August 2020
The #SGGratitudePack campaign put
together by some of our members went
viral, receiving features in Mothership, The
Straits Times, Zaobao, Berita Harian and
other media platforms.
The Straits Times, 27th December 2020
A panel we co-organized with our member
Nicole from WIMBY and HYC showcasing
the voices and reflections of our migrant
and domestic workers in looking back on
2020 was featured in The Straits Times.
A GOOD SPACE CO-OPERATIVE PAGE 39Together, we can do more for the social
issues and communities we care about.
A Good Space Co-operative Limited
Registered under the Co-operative Societies
Act (Chapter 62) of the Republic of Singapore
UEN: T20CS0002H
30A Yishun Central 1, #01-04, S768796
W: www.agoodspace.org FB: facebook.com/agoodspacesg
E: admin@agoodspace.org IG: @agoodspacesgYou can also read
