Singapore, 18th Nov 2023 - the inaugural BEACON 2023 conference, spearheaded by passionate volunteers from the charity better.sg, and supported by Meta and Marina One, convened tech enthusiasts and changemakers to drive conversations on leveraging technology for social impact in Singapore. The event served as a catalyst to inspire discussions and initiatives around #TechforGood, showcasing the potential of technology in creating positive societal change and attracted over 260 diverse audience members for a full day of panels and workshops!
Launch of a Tech Guide for Non-Profits: A commendable initiative at BEACON 2023 was the launch of a tech guide specifically tailored for non-profits, focusing on the strategic use of low-code / no-code technological tools to amplify their impact. Isaac Lee and Amanda Goh, volunteers from the better.sg team, published this guide, showcasing practical ways that non-profits can leverage technology to automate, digitise, and better use technology to support their mission.
An Exceptional Line-up of Speakers: BEACON 2023 boasted an impressive array of speakers representing both for-profit and non-profit sectors, including CEOs of Carousell, Homage, and The Majurity Trust, leaders from Grab, Meta, GOODSTUPH, GIVE.asia, HERA Digital Health, Myloh, and better.sg’s project leaders. Their ability to empathise with challenges that non-profits face as they adopt technology resonated deeply with attendees. Their insights also fuelled attendees' exploration of the vibrant intersection between technology and social good.
Innovation-centred Future-Thinking Workshop: Attendees cherished the insightful workshop conducted by Hyper Island, exploring scenarios that may seem distant yet hold significant relevance. The workshop encouraged participants to think beyond conventional boundaries, challenging perceptions and fostering future-focused thinking, so that they can design more innovative solutions to tackle the problems of tomorrow.
TechForGood Project Showcase and Awards: While there were many projects launched by the volunteers at better.sg this year, the award for the Best New Project went to CheckMate (https://checkmate.sg), which aims to combat misinformation and scams through a combined crowdsourcing and AI classification system, using a simple chatbot interface. The award for Best Project Adoption went to ToBeYou (https://tobeyou.sg), an interactive fiction game which aims to develop greater empathy among people by letting them experience life as someone unlike themselves. The community also gave out awards for their most active volunteer, most active developer, and most active designer.
In his closing remarks, Gaurav Keerthi, one of better.sg’s co-founders, emphasised that “We started better.sg because we believed that there was a way to make society better through technology. We discovered that the most powerful way to make that difference was to organise, enable, and unleash the full potential of all of the wonderful individuals who are willing to devote their free time and skills towards a good cause, and we are very grateful to all of you for believing in and striving towards our shared vision.”
Media Contact: Audrey Tim, Head of Branding, Marketing and Communications, audreytim@better.sg
