Design For Good Talk 2018: The "Wonder" Series

Make The Change Design For Good Talk 2018:

The Wonder Series

Have you ever wondered why some people are so willing to use their entire lives to do good?

What made a music teacher leave her career of 30 years to dedicate her life to charity work?

How did a young talent unintentionally stumble into friendships with children from the slums of Kolkata?

An annual affair, MTC’s Design For Good Talk is an initiative aimed at engaging and provoking communities to use works of creativity and design to positively influence the world.

Moving well into its fourth edition in 2018, MTC’s Design For Good Talk had a wonder-full session on March 17th. Plugging into the world of social changemakers, the possibilities are endless and potential immense for real-life heroes and heroines to touch lives in their own ways, with their own hands.

The talk was kickstarted by a real sharing from Suraj, our first "Wonder" speaker. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Air Amber, he seeks to positively impact and co-develop communities. His passion and dauntless spirit has led to numerous large, medium and small scale efforts to improve and dignify the lives of those in marginalised circumstances.

In his engaging sharing, he touched on his personal journey thus far. Humble and uplifting, he encouraged the audience to notice the gold in every person. The individuals whom he met each had a skill or talent to offer the community. For instance, an elderly auntie at an eldercare was a seasoned coffee lover, and her knowledge and expertise in brewing coffee have impressed many.

By matching the right talent to solve the right problems, social changed is created for the community, by the community.

The session was continued by Aileen Ong, the founder of Solutions To End Poverty (STEP). After a golfing accident, she had a revelation on how she really wanted her life to be. She never looked back since then, and sought to understand what do people really need.

An ardent believer of empathetic innovation, she always seek first to understand her communities before empowering them. Her vault of experiences accumulated from years of ground work in the Philippines and Cambodia has led her to craft out a holistic approach that radically overcomes poverty faced by slum dwellers.

Her current multi-dimensional work is Smile Village- a home, campus and workplace in Cambodia. Investing her efforts in debt-financing and child-care, she aspires to lift people up for life.

Michelle Lim, Founder of Make The Change Pte Ltd, drew the conversation to a close by thanking both the audience and guest speakers. Ultimately, design is about solving problems. Great design often comes from empathy, and this is what we need to create, resonate and connect to what really matters.