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SMART NATION 2.0 VISION TO ENSURE A THRIVING DIGITAL FUTURE FOR ALL
Singapore, 1 October 2024 – Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong today announced Smart Nation 2.0, Singapore’s refreshed vision for a society where everyone can thrive in the digital age. Smart Nation 2.0 focuses on three goals of Trust, Growth, and Community to guide our efforts to improve citizens’ lives and respond to digital trends and developments.
2. The announcement was made at the launch of Smart Nation 2.0, which was attended by around 200 guests, including partners from the industry, academia, community, and volunteers. Special guests included Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean, and Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo. The event was also attended by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Digital Development and Information Janil Puthucheary, SMS for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How, and Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam. The event was held at the Punggol Digital District, Singapore’s first smart and sustainable business district where the seamless integration of smart infrastructure, digital innovation, and green spaces redefines our day-to-day work and living.
Smart Nation 2.0
3. In 2014, the Smart Nation initiative was announced by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as a vision to build better, more meaningful, and fulfilled lives for our people, enabled by technology. Since then, we have made significant progress. We have invested heavily in our digital economy, society, government, and security. We have also used digital technologies to raise citizens’ quality of life across domains, ranging healthcare, education, and infrastructure. These efforts have helped establish important foundations to build our Smart Nation 2.0 upon.
4. Digital technologies have now become an integral and pervasive part of our lives, influencing how we live, work, and play. Technology holds tremendous promise for Singapore and we must maximise opportunities for our citizens. At the same time, we must continuously address emerging challenges that have arisen, such as threats to social cohesion, livelihoods, safety, and wellbeing.
5. Ten years on, we are refreshing our Smart Nation aspirations for the road ahead. Improving citizens’ lives and harnessing technology as a force for good will remain at the heart of our Smart Nation efforts. But we need to go beyond a narrow focus on digitalisation. We must carefully examine the impact of technology on our humanity and society. We must shape and direct digital developments towards outcomes that benefit Singaporeans. We must always be guided by the need to uphold our shared values as a nation to move forward together.
6. Smart Nation 2.0 therefore seeks to achieve three key goals: Trust, Growth, and Community. These goals will serve as a compass, shaping how we use technology to improve citizens’ lives and create a thriving digital future for all. These goals also reflect key areas of feedback and concern that citizens have raised over the years, gathered through the government’s feedback channels, surveys, research, and engagements, such as the Forward Singapore (Forward SG) exercise. The key moves under each goal are highlighted below.
(i) Trust
7. While digital technologies can enrich our lives, issues like disruptions to our digital services and the proliferation of online harms like scams can cause distress and exacerbate risks to our financial, mental, and even physical wellbeing. To build a Smart Nation that we can trust, we aim to (i) enhance the security and resilience of our digital infrastructure, (ii) strengthen our fight against harmful online activities, and (iii) expand our trusted digital spaces together as a society.
8. We have worked over the years to build a Smart Nation that is safe, reliable, and secure. For example, we enhanced the Cybersecurity Act in 2024 to regulate a broader range of organisations and systems that we increasingly rely on, such as cloud services and data centres. In the next bound of our Smart Nation journey, we will bolster our efforts to improve the reliability of our digital infrastructure and services. We are intending to introduce a new Digital Infrastructure Act in 2025 to address a broader set of resilience and security risks.
9. To enhance online safety and provide stronger assurance to victims of online harms, we will set up a new agency for online safety and assurance, backed by a new law to improve protection for victims of online harms. The agency will act on behalf of victims to direct perpetrators and online service providers to put a stop to the online harm quickly, providing added assurance on top of existing regulatory levers and court-based processes available today. We will focus on the most serious and prevalent online harms affecting victims in Singapore, such as cyberbullying and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
(ii) Growth
10. We will make every effort to help our workers and businesses adapt, prepare, and reap the benefits of digitalisation. To build a Smart Nation that helps us grow, we will (i) power our digital economy, (ii) empower our enterprises and workers, and (iii) prepare our next generation for life in a digital future.
11. We launched the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy 2.0 in 2023 to empower our people and economy to reap the opportunities AI presents. Since then, we have seen greater AI adoption and innovation across our government, economy, and society. We will add to our investments in using AI to push the limits of scientific discovery, with an additional S$120 million investment in “AI for Science”.
12. To prepare our next generation to become curious, confident, and creative users of technology and help them realise their aspirations in a digital world, we will enhance programmes, increase resources for schools, and strengthen support for educators to design effective learning experiences that develop students’ digital proficiency.
a) We will launch a new Smart Nation Educator Fellowship in 2025. The six-month1 Fellowship programme will help Senior Specialists and Teacher Leaders2 better understand the latest digital issues, offering them practical insights on the real-world applications of technology. Educators can then translate the knowledge and skills they acquired from the Fellowship into curriculum design or effective teaching and learning strategies which they can share with other educators.
b) Starting from 2025, we will introduce new “AI for Fun” modules. These five to 10-hour elective modules are available under the Code for Fun programme3, which all Ministry of Education primary and secondary schools can offer. These new modules will offer students further opportunities for hands-on exploration and tinkering with technology, such as through the design of prototypes incorporating AI.
(iii) Community
13. As Singapore navigates the digital age, we must ensure that our Smart Nation efforts benefit and uplift all segments of society. We must uphold our shared values and aspirations, deepen our care for the people around us, and preserve our sense of togetherness. To build a Smart Nation that keeps us together, we will (i) strengthen digital inclusion, leaving no one behind, (ii) use technology to help strengthen the unity of our people, and (iii) use technology to strengthen the government’s partnerships with citizens.
14. Today, some Singaporeans still find technology daunting. We will strengthen our outreach efforts and partnerships to reach more citizens and help them learn digital skills with confidence. For example, we will develop more courses on digital skills for everyday living and reach more citizens at their workplaces. We will continue to keep key physical services available for those who are unable to use digital channels.
15. Technology can also be used to expand common spaces for us to connect with our culture, heritage, and fellow Singaporeans. We have already employed digital tools to bring the community together, such as platforms that allow Singaporeans to raise funds for those in need. We will continue to launch and support more initiatives that reimagine and reinvigorate how we connect with one another and our culture through technology. For example, the National Library Board recently developed a new generative AI-powered prototype chat service, ChatBook, where users can ‘converse’ with a book and learn more about our history.
Smart Nation 2.0: A Whole-of-Nation Movement
16. We will refine and adapt our strategies and approaches in close consultation with citizens and businesses, responding to advancements in technology and emerging challenges. The goals of Trust, Growth, and Community will guide our responses to digital developments, even as our strategies evolve. Smart Nation 2.0 is a whole-of-nation movement, with every Singaporean and stakeholder contributing towards building a thriving digital future for all.
17. The report for the refreshed Smart Nation vision can be found at: https://go.gov.sg/sn2report.
1The programme duration, inclusive of optional modules, will be capped at 80 hours.
2Senior Specialists help to shape the national curriculum. Teacher Leaders include Master Teachers, Senior Teachers, and Lead Teachers. They play an important role in championing professional development and pedagogical excellence among the teaching fraternity.
3Since 2020, the Code for Fun Programme (CFF), or a comparable coding programme, has been mandatory for all upper primary students. While CFF remains an optional programme at the secondary school level, almost two thirds of secondary schools offered the programme in 2023.