'Make sure next generation is always better than us': Chan Chun Sing

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing at an SGfuture engagement session on Saturday. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

SINGAPORE - Singaporeans should pass on their knowledge "to make sure that the next generation is always better than us".

This was the call of Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister, Prime Minister's Office and deputy chairman of the People's Association (PA) at Saturday's (March 5) SGfuture engagement session, which focused on lifelong learning for senior citizens and how the community can support them.

"If we as individuals keep learning but never pass on the experiences, then we'll be back to 1965," said Mr Chan.

Brainstorming ideas at the Future of Us exhibition venue at Marina Bay were about 80 participants aged 23 to 78 from all walks of life.

Retired electrical engineer Ho Hew Lee, 73, gives free IT talks and hands-on sessions for over-50s once a month at Bukit Merah Public Library. "It is a challenge to get the seniors to come out of their comfort zone," he said.

Nanyang Technological University undergraduate Sai Fengjia, 24, teamed up with three friends on a final-year project, named Savvy Silvers, to help seniors get to grips with smartphones. "We created a curriculum to teach them basic functions of the phone, and then we advance to specific apps on the phone as well," she said.

Mr Chan said that the PA is working with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and other agencies to create more courses tailored for seniors where they can use their $500 SkillsFuture credit.

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