Enabling Lives Festival, A Signature Event Championing Disability Inclusion in Community, Returns with Over 60 Partners Across 10 Locations for its 4th Edition

Singapore, 8 November 2024 – Enabling Lives Festival is back with its fourth edition on 30 November to 3 December 2024.

Organised by SG Enable, Enabling Lives Festival 2024 showcases the talents of the disability community, advancing its outreach to foster inclusivity in Singapore through over 40 programmes island-wide this year.

Enabling Lives Festival is one of the key drivers of SG Enable’s public education initiative, i’mable, that encourages everyone to take positive action for disability inclusion, commit to building inclusive society and enabling lives. By promoting proactive participation at the Festival, SG Enable seeks to inspire the public and foster positive mindset shifts to build an inclusive nation where persons with disabilities are enabled to live, learn, work and play.

This year, the four-day festival is put together with over 60 partners, including popular destinations Gardens by the Bay to offer disability accessible tours as well as Punggol Regional Library, the first public library with a suite of specially designed facilities for persons with disabilities, to host a series of workshops and programmes with CaringSG which includes the CAREcottage Bazaar where visitors can shop for unique crafts made by caregivers.

Inclusive businesses, like Edible Garden City and Foreword Coffee, also join as satellite partners to share their expertise in fostering workforce inclusivity. Edible Garden City will be showcasing inclusive business operations through farm tours while Foreword Coffee @ Esplanade Mall will host engaging fireside chats with deaf artist Lily Goh from ExtraOrdinary Horizons to raise awareness of the deaf community.

Ms Emily Ong, Senior Director, Employment and Lifelong Learning at SG Enable said, “Public participation plays a crucial role in driving disability inclusion on the ground. When persons with disabilities and the community rally together, there is a deepening of appreciation and understanding on how to strengthen a thriving community for people of all abilities. The Enabling Lives Festival is one such platform in Singapore where we hope more will come forward to advocate for persons with disabilities. Through participation, they come to recognise the talents showcased and gain invaluable experiences, whether it is co-creating activities or through unique opportunities to interact, play and learn. We are especially encouraged by the support we receive from partners, stakeholders, sponsors, tenants at Enabling Village, and the public who remain committed to champion building an inclusive society and enabling lives.”

Enabling Lives Festival 2024 – Key Highlights

Enabling Village Open House | 30 November 2024

The Enabling Village exemplifies purposeful urban space planning through its universal design features, such as hearing loops, barrier-free pathways, and Braille signage, and fostering collaboration among partners and stakeholders to develop innovative inclusive prototypes.

In this one-day only Open House, public can visit an inclusive gym, preschool and playground as well as learn more about assistive technology and inclusive accessibility. During the exclusive tour led by docent guides, visitors can also participate in unique workshops, engage with craft makers whilst shopping at the signature i’mable Gift Market and ‘Christmas at The Art Faculty’, and watch an array of live performances of music, dance and theatre.

• i’mable Gift Market:  The annual gift market returns with more than 30 makers under the i’mable Collective – a community of creatives and makers with disabilities – offering a wide selection of unique gifts, handcrafted treasures, F&B delights and experiences, all under one roof. Shop and meet the makers and be inspired by the stories behind their work.
  
• Artistic Showcase: ‘Inclusion in Motion: Moving Art Forward’: Curated by ART:DIS and spread across eight activation sites at Enabling Village, the showcase is dedicated to empower persons with disabilities through the arts. From dance to theatre, experience captivating performances co-led by artists with disabilities, including ‘Speaking of Which’, a spoken dance choreographed by NAC Young Artist Award recipient Zhuo Zihao. For those seeking tranquil spaces, check out two immersive installation pods specially designed for quiet reflections. Other highlights include inclusive storytelling, and hands-on workshops on Cyanotype and Gelli-plate printing. 
• Interactive Workshops: Visitors can explore their creativity in Wildflower Studio’s pilot Chill and Paint in Monochrome workshop where participants immerse themselves in painting within a monochrome setting or join theSanta’s Workshop - Nutcracker Series to decorate Christmas ornaments in the therapeutic company of cats.

New Festival Partners

Satellite Location: Punggol Regional Library | 1 December 2024

Over at Punggol Regional Library, visitors can engage in thoughtfully-curated programmes to support persons with disabilities and caregivers. As part of Enabling Lives Festival 2024, the CAREforward event by CaringSG features family-friendly activities such as performance by young dancers with diverse abilities from RAW Moves, experiential activities, talks and storytelling session, and the CAREcottage Bazaar where visitors can discover crafts made by caregivers. Another highlight is the launch of "The Healing Journal: A Caregiver's Path to Self-Care," a new book created by two caregivers that offers guidance for managing challenges and enhancing self-care.

Satellite Location: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay | 1-2 December 2024

Celebrating music beyond boundaries, Esplanade's signature "Come Together" stage invites visitors to indulge in performances by talented musicians with disabilities, embracing inclusion, artistry and friendships in a time of collaboration, reflection and revelry.

Satellite Location: Gardens by the Bay | 2-3 December 2024

As a pilot programme to provide inclusive experiences for persons with visual impairment, one can now enjoy the tranquil and healing power of nature through a new tactile and sensory tour at Gardens by the Bay. Pre-registration is required.

Other programmes include a guided walking tour for the hard of hearing community, sensory-friendly tour designed for children with autism, and craft workshops at the Flower Dome open for all to participate.

New Festival Programmes

 In this fourth edition of Enabling Lives Festival, satellite partners put together new creative performances, workshops and immersive experiences for public participation:

• An Urban Farm Exploration: Organised by Edible Garden City, visitors will have a deeper understanding of the concept of urban farming and how the inclusive social enterprise enlists the help of colleagues with disabilities to fulfil the demand from almost 100 restaurants every week.
  
• Celebrating Talents & Abilities through Food & Art: A dynamic collaboration by Juice Stories and APSN where participants can experience the diverse skills, creativity and talents of persons with disabilities through food, art and craft exhibition and terrarium-making.
  
• Stories of Impact: A pop-up by Foreword Coffee @ Esplanade Mall, it aims to bring together people and social impact organisations to its cafe space. Featuring a marketplace for inclusive businesses and merchandise, coffee appreciation sessions for people with disabilities and their caregivers, and fireside chats where deaf artist Lily Goh will share lived experiences of deaf persons in Singapore. Forword Coffee hopes to create more awareness for the community.
• Sowing the Seeds: Wandering Words: A captivating online performance of poetry, dance and photography presented by Maya Dance Theatre, it features dancers from the Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC) and original poems by Catherine Joan Devadason, a local poet with Down Syndrome. A blend of the evocative visuals and movement with the expressive depth of spoken word, audiences are invited to an immersive experience that celebrates creativity, diversity, and inclusion.