This post was originally published as a press release on 30 November 2020.

In celebration of its 35th birthday, gender-equality group AWARE held a virtual fundraising gala, the AWAREHouse Party, on the evening of Saturday, 28 November. 

With official measures for COVID-19 limiting social gatherings to five guests, this year AWARE eschewed the hotel ballroom venue typical of its nine previous balls. The organisation instead arranged simultaneous parties at supporters’ houses across the island, united by a three-hour live-streamed programme and a multi-course feast catered by Grand Hyatt Singapore. A total of 300 guests attended these intimate affairs, dressing up in colourful outfits for the theme of “OutRAGEous”.

By the end of the night, donations totalled $500,000.* This amount was raised through direct donations, a silent auction and raffle, as well as ticket sales for the AWAREHouse Party. The funds go to AWARE’s NextGen campaign, dedicated to nurturing a new cohort of change-makers and ensuring that women and girls continue to receive essential assistance and support. NextGen will enable the maintenance and expansion of AWARE’s services, and sustain AWARE’s research on caregiving, workplace harassment, migrant rights and many other issues.

“It was such a privilege to celebrate this landmark anniversary with so many beloved guests, volunteers and members of the AWARE community,” said AWARE Executive Director, Ms Corinna Lim. “Even though we were unable to get together in person, the enthusiasm from our supporters was palpable. During a difficult year, these moments of camaraderie and love give us an extra jolt of energy to keep going with AWARE’s advocacy and services—especially as we gear up for the upcoming landmark gender equality review.”

Much of the AWAREHouse Party programme centred on AWARE’s historical successes in advocating for gender equality. Guests watched a “Herstory” retrospective video with heartfelt testimonials from women and men whose lives had been touched by AWARE’s efforts over the years. They also watched a montage of “happy birthday” wishes to AWARE, sent in by notable local names: from esteemed social scientist Noeleen Heyzer, influencer Preetipls and sexual assault survivor Monica Baey to Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister of Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam.

A major highlight of the night was the Alamak! Awards, AWARE’s annual tongue-in-cheek “tribute” to the year’s most sexist incidents. As per tradition, musical satire group Chestnuts presented each of the four nominees in the form of hilarious song parodies. This year’s nominees were the Telegram group SG Nasi Lemak, the podcast OKLETSGO, the gender pay gap and the “potential” that is commonly believed to justify light sentences for perpetrators of violence against women. As voted by Party guests and members of the public, the winner of this dubious honour was the “potential”. Ms Lim added that she was pleased that the government had recently announced a review of the sentencing framework for such offenders.

Other entertainment was delivered by hosts Pam Oei and Becca D’Bus; actresses Janice Koh and Petrina Koh, who regaled viewers with outrageous stories; as well as performers Nathan Hartono, Andrew Marko and Oliver Ow, who improvised comedic musical numbers based on suggestions from guests. As the night drew to a close, a dance set by DJ Aldrin Quek kept guests on their feet.

Sponsors for the AWAREHouse Party included Bar @ Lorong 13, Grand Hyatt Singapore, Martell, Playground Studio, PPURPOSE, Shooting Gallery Asia, World Scientific, Kah Motor, KOP Limited, MUFG Investor Services and Tan Ean Kiam Foundation.

*At the time this press release was issued, the figure was $480,000. Since then, one more donor has made a contribution. This post has been updated accordingly on 2 December 2020.