Dear friends and supporters of AWARE,

Being part of AWARE is a significant part of my life, and I have always been proud to identify with AWARE and its mission. I’m sure practically everyone who has volunteered or worked at AWARE will agree with me that as much as we contribute to AWARE, AWARE returns to us in kind.

This is my second term on the AWARE Board, first as Secretary and now as Vice-President. It’s been an eventful 2 ½ years and I expect that it will continue to be educational and enriching in the months to come.

The last couple of months have been especially busy at AWARE, largely because of our biggest fundraising event of the year, the AWARE Supersonic Big Ball. It was held on Sept 10, 2012, at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel and we are glad to say that it was a rousing success! (Check out some photos of this fun event here.)

All the feedback we received from the many guests who attended were positive and encouraging. Everything from the event venue to the sound system to the entertainment to the food was well-received. There were a few very small hiccups, which we have taken note of and will work on for the next ball.

Many of the volunteers and staff of AWARE had been preparing for the event in various ways long before the big night itself. For me, the most important task was to work with our wonderful team of judges to decide the winners of the AWARE Awards, Singapore’s first and only gender equality awards.

This, as you can imagine, was not an easy task. The nominees were all deserving of recognition. But it was a good problem to have – it was heartening for us to know that there are a lot of people in Singapore who are working towards gender equality. I must thank my fellow judges: Prof Tommy Koh, Eleanor Wong, Ong Soh Chin and Siew Kum Hong, for patiently yet passionately deliberating until we reached a decision.

I’d like to take this opportunity to once again thank this year’s AWARE Award recipients for the good work they’ve done in the quest for gender equality, and to congratulate them for their much-deserved win.

So THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS to:

• Kanwaljit Soin (AWARE Heroine Award)
• Radha Basu (AWARE Heroine Award)
• Mark Goh (AWARE Hero Award)
• Junie Foo & Juanita Woodward of BoardAgender (Cause of the Year – Local)
• Goldman Sachs (Cause of the Year – International)
• The Body Shop Singapore, UN Women Singapore & HOME (Campaign of the Year)
• Publichouse.sg (Significant News Story of the Year)

The other major award of the night was the Alamak! Award, which highlights instances of sexism in Singapore. Nominees included an unenlightened advertisement by London Weight Management, the Date With Dad campaign by Focus On The Family Singapore, the Bride Of The World pageant co-organized by the People’s Association, and Shape Run 2012. The winner of the ALAMAK Awards, decided by the voting public, went to Presidential candidates Tan Jee Say and Tan Cheng Bock for comments made during the elections.

On the night of AWARE’s Supersonic Big Ball, our volunteers certainly entertained us. Kudos to the Groove Dancers (Wong Yu Chien, Winifred Gomez, Susan Tay, and Alex Chan), as well as the AWARE Rapping Crew (Sherlin Giri, Aarathi Arumugam, Siang Hui Quah, Vivienne Wee, and Teo You Yenn) for showing the world that AWARE boasts talent as well as passion.

The other entertainment event of the night was brought to us by local parody group, Chestnuts. They brought the house down with a hilarious but good-humoured series of song-and-dance routines, highlighting the sexism of the Alamak! Award nominees. Chestnuts – we thank you for helping us laugh at situations which we normally find ourselves groaning over.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our Supersonic Big Ball sponsors: Tote Board, Hong Leong Foundation, Bengawan Solo, KOP Properties, Montigo Resort, and Bayview Hotel. This successful event would not have been possible without their support.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Ball next year!
Lindy