The global pandemic has posed challenges to many adults, but youths have not been spared either. In Singapore, our collective mental health has been declining and youth aged 18 to 29 had the highest proportion of poor mental health in Singapore. "Suicide is the leading cause of death for those aged 10-29. Of the 452 suicides reported in 2020, nearly a quarter were people aged 10 to 29." (https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/youth-mental-health-challenges-a-profound-issue-preoccupying-government-ong-ye-kung)

This is our inaugural SDN SG Chapter in Social Design. We have engaged many of our close partners, design professionals, and mental health experts. Gathering youths, design mentors, mental health experts, and design educators in exploring multiple perspectives to tackle today’s youth mental health challenges through a series of workshops, mentor sessions, and activities.

A total of 63 aspiring participants and 14 dedicated design mentors and experts formed 15 exceptional teams from Singapore, India, Vietnam, and Australia. Teams harness their design sensitivity, varied skill sets, diverse knowledge, and compassion through an iterative design process. Engaging multiple stakeholders in co-designing solutions using Service Design methodologies and tools.

“We realized how prevalent the issue was.. enjoyed the learning, collaborative process. There can be many approaches to the problem. Many products were designed. We learn to narrow down what particular aspect will address today’s youth mental health.” Team - Dinner Dives

Every team presented a unique approach and a wide array of perspectives while laser focusing on the same challenge. Proposals such as Dinner Dives seek to open new conversations during meals with fun cards on the dinner table to make it easier to start a conversation and describe feelings. OTOT (Own Time Own Target) concept encourages youth to take effective breaks based on their availability and interest. Bro-sure is an anonymous peer support system that aims to provide upper secondary school students with a listening ear.

“Our design expert, Megan, was amazing and I am grateful for her help in this project. We gained valuable insights when presenting to her our initial drafts of the “Bro-Sure!” initiative, letting us know that we could possibly do away with the “counselling with friends” part of our idea and instead focus on other areas, which ultimately worked in our favor.” Team - Bro-sure

“Some of the participants needed a longer time to warm up when trying to do discussion and presentation of their work, while some participants needed more motivation on embarking this Open Innovation Challenge. As for me, it is a valuable experience for me to try to motivate and guide design juniors.” Design Mentor

We are thrilled and would like to congratulate all the teams and their stellar teamwork. Kudos to all the design mentors and mental health experts for providing such a wonderful job in guiding the teams. We look forward to the fruition of these concepts in creating a positive social impact! 

Cheers!

Raymond Tan

SDN SG Chapter Rep

Committee members

• Celine Oomen - Service Design Consultant, Ideactio Pte Ltd
• Charles Tan - Director, Philanthropy, The Majurity Trust
• Ho Kah Yoke - Manager, Philanthropy, The Majurity Trust
• Nav Qirti - Founder & Principal, Ideactio Pte Ltd
• Raymond Tan - Programme Lead, Nanyang Polytechnic School of Design and Media
• Roma Menon - UX Designer, Ideactio Pte Ltd
• Vilvum - Lecturer, Nanyang Polytechnic School of Design and Media

Special thanks to

• Alumni from NYP Specialist Diploma in Service Experience Design and Innovation
• Asher Low from Limitless
• Bharath Haridas from Philips Design
• Buvenasvari Pragasam from Solace Art Psychotherapy
• Charlene Heng from Samaritans of Singapore
• Chow Yen-Lu from WholeTree Foundation
• Lecturers from Nanyang Polytechnic
• Lionel Dorai from Character and Leadership Academy
• Martin Tan from The Majurity Trust
• Narash from Impart
• Staff and students from Singapore University of Technology and Design
• Staff and students from Singapore Institute of Technology