15 people with disabilities honoured at 4th Goh Chok Tong Enable Awards

GCTEA (UBS Promise) awardees with President and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on Dec 1, 2022. 

SINGAPORE: Fifteen people with disabilities were honoured on Thursday (Dec 1) at the Goh Chok Tong Enable Awards (GCTEA).

The GCTEA  was launched in 2019 to advocate for greater inclusivity across Singapore and has since celebrated the achievements of 57 awardees over four editions. 

On Thursday, three people aged 35 to 72 were awarded the GCTEA (UBS Achievement), which celebrates people with disabilities who have made significant accomplishments in their own fields. They received S$10,000 each.

Among the three awardees was Paralympic bronze medalist swimmer Theresa Goh, who is also the first Paralympian to be elected to the Singapore National Olympic Council’s Athletes Commission.

GCTEA (UBS Achievement) awardees with President and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on Dec 1, 2022. 

“Today’s awardees prove to us that there are no boundaries to what persons with disabilities can achieve, when given the opportunity,” said President Halimah Yacob, who was guest of honour at the ceremony at the Istana.

“As a society, we must strengthen our collective efforts to build a more caring and inclusive Singapore – one where persons with disabilities are enabled to pursue their aspirations, achieve their fullest potential, and participate as integral and contributing members of society.”

The ceremony was also attended by Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong himself as well as Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth and for Social and Family Development Eric Chua.

“The awards matter because they give meaning to an inclusive society. We are happy to help our persons with disabilities fulfil their aspirations, as well as integrate them in the community and in the workplace,” said ESM Goh.

“They are part of our social fabric and can contribute to society.”

Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong speaking at the GCTEA.

In addition, S$5,000 was given to Bizlink Centre Singapore, Singapore Disability Sports Council and ART:DIS Singapore each, in recognition of their role in nominating and contributing to the success of the three award recipients under the UBS Achievement category.

Twelve people were also awarded the GCTEA (UBS Promise) in recognition of their potential and commitment to serve the community. 

They received S$5,000 each.

“We continue to be impressed by the high calibre of nominations we receive year on year, which is testament to the exceptional talent and motivation of persons with disabilities,” said GCTEA evaluation panel chairman Wong Meng Ee.

“The nominees have all demonstrated significant achievements in their own right and it was definitely not an easy selection process. We hope to inspire more persons with disabilities through the Awards and look forward to more applications in the years to come.”

The GCTEA is supported by Tote Board as a founding sponsor and UBS Singapore as principal sponsor.

It is an initiative of the Mediacorp Enable Fund (MEF), a community fund administered by the SG Enable agency with Mediacorp as official media partner. 

Chief executive officer of Mediacorp Tham Loke Kheng said: “Every year, we are reminded of the incredible grit and determination of persons with disabilities who continue to overcome many challenges to accomplish outstanding personal achievements and positively impact our communities.