Standard Chartered affirmed its commitment to building an inclusive digital society in Singapore by pledging to help senior citizens keep pace with technology and live confidently in their golden years.

As part of its ongoing collaboration with IMDA that started in 2017, about 1,200 staff volunteers from the bank supported seniors from various Active Ageing Centres (AACs) operated by Social Service Agencies (SSAs) for this initiative, which included teaching them how to connect their mobile phones to cellular or wi-fi networks, find information online, plan for their commute, and safeguard themselves against common online scams such as phishing.

The bank’s volunteers, with support from the Digital Ambassadors from IMDA’s Singapore Digital Office (SDO), used content from IMDA’s Digital Skills for Life (DSL) framework to teach seniors digital skills. The DSL framework, introduced by IMDA in January 2024, is a set of digital competencies to support Singaporeans in carrying out their daily tasks online.

Experiential learning at Gardens ‘Byte’ the Bay event

The three-day event was in support of the national Digital for Life movement, which mobilised partners from the private, people and public sectors to help Singaporeans embrace digital as a lifelong pursuit and enrich their lives through digital technology.

About 1,200 seniors, ranging from those in their 50s to the oldest in their 90s, have put their newly acquired digital skills to good use at Gardens by the Bay over three afternoons, as part of the bank’s global employee volunteerism month in June. Accompanied throughout by the staff volunteers, the seniors snapped photos of their favourite flora and fauna, and exchanged WhatsApp messages with their friends, as they toured around the scenic location. This event provided participants with a fun and engaging hands-on experience, which reinforced their digital learning. Interested seniors could continue their learning with SDO at 37 SG Digital Community Hubs, in selected community clubs and public libraries, and about 200 roving counters in workplaces and community spaces.

Monthly digital literacy workshops from July onwards

In addition to its partnership with IMDA, the bank will also participate in Project V, a national corporate volunteering programme conducted in collaboration with the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS).

Over the next six months, the bank will scale up its corporate volunteering outreach to the silver generation in partnership with SSAs like FaithActs and Presbyterian Community Services (PCS) by conducting monthly digital literacy workshops at AACs located across Singapore. This is expected to involve more than 250 staff volunteers and benefit about 450 seniors. This programme will also be expanded to other AACs next year (2025).

Patrick Lee, CEO, Singapore and ASEAN, Standard Chartered, said: “As our community continues to evolve digitally, we all have a role to play to help everyone be included in the digital journey. We are particularly happy to partner with like-minded agencies like IMDA and NVPC to help our senior citizens live active and dignified lives through our volunteerism efforts. This also aligns with the refreshed social compact as mapped out from the government’s Forward Singapore engagement.”

Doreen Tan, assistant chief executive for strategic planning and digital readiness at IMDA, said: “As Singapore continues to digitalise, it is crucial that we build an inclusive digital society so that no one is left behind. We are glad to partner Standard Chartered in this meaningful initiative where their staff volunteers are helping seniors build confidence in adopting digital skills. We are also heartened to see seniors being able to capture memories of their outings and share with their friends using smartphones. We encourage more seniors in our community to pick up digital skills at IMDA’s SG Digital Office.”

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker