Addendum to the President's Address

Mrs Josephine Teo
Minister for Communications and Information

1. The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) seeks to enhance opportunities, sustain trust, and strengthen our communities to reap the full benefits of digital and technological advances, while mitigating the potential harms.

   • Enhancing Opportunities for All in a Digital Age

2. MCI will work with partners to develop a new Digital Connectivity Blueprint for strategic, sustainable, and future-ready digital infrastructure. We will also continue investing in research and innovation, including in quantum technologies and artificial intelligence, as part of Singapore’s Research, Innovation, and Enterprise 2025 Plan. These efforts to enhance digital infrastructure and encourage innovation are the foundation for our businesses and people to thrive in a digital age.

3. MCI will continue to support digital transformation of our businesses, particularly to help Small-Medium Enterprises improve their productivity and access new markets. MCI will scale adoption of digital utilities that support core business functions, such as e-payment and e-invoicing. MCI will also refresh the schemes to help firms improve their cybersecurity posture and raise their overall digital maturity. These will be brought together under the new Digital Enterprise Blueprint, a comprehensive guide to the Government’s support for enterprise digitalisation. We will also work with partners to shape international rules, benchmarks, and norms, through Digital Economy Agreements and other initiatives.

4. MCI will continue to help Singaporeans raise their digital proficiencies, both to access digital services and navigate confidently online, as well as to access good opportunities in tech. Initiatives under the Information and Communications Jobs Transformation Map will equip tech workers with the tools to stay competitive. We will also help workers, both within the information and communications sector and across the economy, upskill and deepen their proficiencies in high-demand areas such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. As part of the Forward Singapore exercise, we will work with the Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Education, as well as industry partners, to ensure that good opportunities remain accessible to all, through initiatives such as the TechSkills Accelerator for ITE and Polytechnics Alliance.

   • Sustaining Trust Through the Communications, Information, and Digital Domains

5. Trust among our people, and in our institutions and systems, is essential to the continued vitality and resilience of our society and economy. MCI takes a comprehensive approach to building and strengthening trust.

6. MCI will continue to protect users from harmful online content, with codes of practice for social media services and app stores, and advisory guidelines for the protection of personal data. Through the Singapore Cybersecurity Strategy 2021, MCI and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore will also enhance efforts to protect our critical information infrastructure and other important systems and entities from cyber threats, and raise the cybersecurity posture of companies and individuals through the Cybersecurity Labelling Scheme and Cybersecurity Trust and Essentials Mark certification programmes.

7. MCI, together with partners from industry, academia, and the community, will grow the digital, information, and media literacy of Singaporeans, and promote better social cohesion, wellness, and health outcomes. MCI will continue to coordinate Whole-of-Government public communications on major national issues to ensure that the public receives timely and accurate information. MCI will also support efforts to protect public interest and trust by providing the public with a reliable source for facts, addressing misperceptions, and alerting the public to scams and other threats.

   • Strengthening our Singapore Communities in our Offline and Online Spaces

8. MCI is committed to building and strengthening our Singapore communities in both offline and online spaces. We will continue to provide timely, accessible, and inclusive Government communications, through in-person engagements as well as traditional and digital media platforms, to reach Singaporeans from all walks of life. We will also engage the community through REACH, to better understand stakeholders’ views, needs, and aspirations.

9. All Singaporeans should be able to participate meaningfully in society and reap the benefits of digital technologies, regardless of ability or personal circumstances. MCI will expand its digital inclusion efforts by:

   • a) Providing subsidised devices and internet access under the DigitalAccess@Home and Mobile Access for Seniors schemes;

   • b) Offering tailored training and assistance for the elderly and other groups through the Info-communications Media Development Authority’s SG Digital Office;

   • c) Organising outreach efforts under the National Library Board’s Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025; and

   • d) Mounting people, private, and public partnerships under the Digital for Life movement.

10. Access to credible sources of information and content that reflect our Singapore voice and values is vital to our social cohesion, cultural heritage, and national identity. MCI will support the creation and delivery of high-quality news and content across various media platforms and languages to the public. We will also continue efforts to implement subtitling or sign language interpretations for more free-to-air television programmes.

11. MCI is committed to doing our part, alongside the public and our partners, to meet the challenges ahead and build a thriving digital future for all.