Singapore, the next Silicon Valley for social innovation?

If you have a way to tackle a social challenge, you can soon make your case to different sectors in just one event.

Members of the public are encouraged to come forward to share their solutions to existing social challenges in the Global Social Innovators Festival (GSIFest) on 20 and 21 October, when several pop-up satellite centres will be set up in different parts of Singapore.

The inaugural GSIFest is part of this year’s Global Social Innovators Forum (GSIF), a bottom-up initiative spearheaded by the Social Innovation Park (SIP).

Said Member of Parliament and president of SIP Penny Low, "As our society ages and changes [and] we are faced with increasingly complex challenges, my team and I feel that is the right time to expand GSIF into the community, to engage the hearts and minds of Singaporeans in coming up with innovative solutions to create a better Singapore for us and our future generations."

The forum itself, now into its fifth year, returns in bigger form as it celebrates this year’s theme “Inclusive Innovation: Walk the Talk”, which also happens to be in line with calls from President Tony Tan and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to build an inclusive Singapore.

Noting in his National Day Rally speech that the government cannot do everything, Lee said, “Every Singaporean must play his part in creating an inclusive Singapore. This is how we can nurture a united community, and do the best for ourselves and one another.”

Likewise, the GSIF advocates that real change can only start with the individual. Thus, this year, it let five young enthusiasts take over the uphill task of planning and leading the initiative in its first collaboration with Geneva-based Global Shapers Community.

The GSIF 2012 will begin with a two-day closed-door forum at the Grand Park City Hall from 18 to 19 October and end with the open GSIFest in the two succeeding days.

Over 200 delegates and 50 speakers are expected to be present.

Key speakers include Michelle Guthrie, director of strategic business development at Google, NTUC Fairprice chief executive Seah Kian Peng, People’s Association chief executive Yam Ah Mee and Penny Low.

Launched in 2006, the GSIForum is Asia’s first forum on social enterprise and innovation which gathers key decision makers and leaders from all sectors to explore how innovative thinking can create opportunities for a more sustainable world.