Award celebrates collective efforts of residents to promote neighbourliness within their community.

76 awards presented to outstanding community volunteers for contributions to strengthening neighbourliness and enlivening community spaces.

1 At the HDB Community Day today, Minister for National Development Mr Desmond Lee presented 76 awards to community volunteers in recognition of their exemplary efforts in promoting gracious HDB living and fostering active and cohesive communities in the heartlands. These community volunteers comprised individuals, schools and organisations who have helped to strengthen neighbourly ties and enliven community spaces. Among them were 12 recipients of the inaugural Singapore’s Friendly Neighbourhood Award, who were picked from 234 nominations for keeping the kampung spirit alive in their neighbourhood.

Promoting Neighbourliness: Inaugural Singapore’s Friendly Neighbourhood Award

2 Good neighbourly behaviour and habits are fundamental to building a harmonious living environment and enhancing community resilience. They make living in the HDB heartland more pleasant for all. To celebrate friendly neighbourhoods in Singapore and grow the community of thoughtful and considerate neighbours, HDB collaborated with the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) to organise the inaugural Singapore’s Friendly Neighbourhood Award (SFNA) 2023¹. Other supporting partners include the People’s Association, Municipal Services Office, Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY, SG Cares Office).

3 The SFNA seeks to celebrate friendly neighbourhoods, particularly the collective efforts of neighbours who support and care for one another. Through sharing stories of neighbourliness, we hope to inspire more positive interactions and gracious behaviours that will result in close-knit communities in HDB towns.

4 Out of a total of 234 nominations received, 12 neighbourhoods from both HDB and private housing estates, received the award for keeping the kampung spirit alive. From conducting fitness activities to encourage residents to embrace an active lifestyle, to accompanying seniors for their vaccinations, and organising food rescue and grocery distributions to tide neighbours through difficult times, the acts of neighbourliness are testament to the collective efforts of our heartland communities.

5 For example, at West Terra @ Hong Kah North, a relatively new estate with young families, residents started a weekly storytelling activity to encourage the children living in the precinct to speak better Mandarin. Dog-owning residents also come together to celebrate the birthdays of their dogs and exchange gifts. During the pandemic, residents banded to deliver basic necessities and facilitate the delivery of packed meals to households serving their quarantine.

6 "We are elated over the overwhelming response to the inaugural award”, said Dr. William Wan, General Secretary, Singapore Kindness Movement. "We are grateful to all the neighbourhoods who have submitted their inspiring stories. It was indeed a challenging task to narrow down the selection to only 12 of Singapore's friendliest neighbourhoods that have exemplified the kampung spirit, collective strength, and kinship. We hope that other neighbourhoods will be inspired by the awardees’ stories. Together, we can foster a culture of kindness, resilience, and support, making Singapore a kinder and stronger society.”

Enlivening Heartland Spaces: Lively Places Challenge 2023

7 The Lively Places Challenge² (LPC) 2023 – HDB’s fifth edition – received a total of 23 ground-up proposals to enliven neighbourhoods and bond communities in seven HDB towns (Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Merah, Jurong East, Jurong West, Queenstown and Sembawang) and two estates (Bukit Timah, Central Area). They range from physical improvement works to organising of events within the community.

8 One of the winning LPC winning projects came from residents in Queenstown, the oldest HDB estate and home to Singapore’s first Health District. Concerned that their ageing neighbours may find it challenging to navigate their way around the estate, a group of residents decided to paint wayfinding murals to help seniors, especially those with dementia, find their way around the neigbourhood. In consultation with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and Dementia Singapore, they roped in over 50 elderly residents living in the area and designed the murals to include familiar images, such as kaya toast and chapteh, that evoke their treasured memories. Over 110 residents, including some dementia patients and their caregivers, came together to paint a series of ten captivating murals.

Growing Heartland Volunteering: Friends of Our Heartlands Network

9 In 2017, HDB launched the Friends of Our Heartlands (FOH) network to provide a continuum of volunteering opportunities for Singaporeans to grow and deepen their involvement in community-building according to their own interests and capabilities.

10 About 2,500 volunteers have been actively helping to further our community-building efforts over the past year, by implementing projects to bring neighbours together, facilitating community conversations, and building consensus for neighbourhood improvement works.

11 This year, HDB celebrates two exceptional FOH volunteers – Mr Chong Teng Kok and Mdm Tan Ha Eng – who have been championing HDB’s community building efforts since 2014. Both Mr Chong and Mdm Tan, who are in their 70s, have contributed more than 110 hours and 120 hours respectively, over the last 10 years, in various ways, such as training younger volunteers, and spreading messages of gracious and eco-living. For their unwavering contributions, they were awarded the FOH Platinum Award – the first to receive this award. Besides Mr Chong and Mdm Tan, 53 volunteers were presented the FOH Gold and Silver awards³.

Digital Exhibition

12 To find out the inspiring stories on our community champions, the public can visit the digital exhibition which will open from the evening of 30 June 2023 on HDB InfoWEB.

[1] The SFNA was inspired by HDB’s Good Neighbours Award, which was launched in 2009 to recognise individual residents who had gone the extra mile to enrich their community with exemplary acts of care and neighbourliness. Seeing how many Singaporeans have gone the extra mile to connect with and care for their fellow residents in the community, HDB worked with the Singapore Kindness Movement and other supporting partners to organise the inaugural SFNA 2023 to celebrate neighbourliness at the community level.

[2] The LPC aims to empower the community in proposing and implementing solutions to address communal issues, encourage community bonding and enhance the vibrancy of neighbourhoods.

[3] There are 2 Platinum Award winners, 6 Gold Award winners and 47 Silver Award winners. Another 729 volunteers received the Bronze Award while 515 volunteers received the Certificate of Appreciation for their contributions to the community. In total,1,284 individuals and 15 schools were recognised for their contributions under the FOH network.

HDB Community Day 2023: 234 Nominations Received for Inaugural Singapore’s Friendly Neighbourhood Award