DBS Foundation commits S$9 million in new SUSS partnership to expand reminiscence programmes

[SINGAPORE] DBS Foundation has partnered the Singapore University of Social Science (SUSS) to enhance and expand reminiscence programmes aimed at preventing or slowing cognitive decline among seniors in Asia.

The foundation has committed S$9 million to fund the four-year partnership, which includes scaling the rollout of such schemes to 11,500 seniors across the region, as well as developing a hub to support training and research. 

This is DBS Foundation’s first regional community programme. 

In a press release on Sunday (Nov 30), DBS Foundation said the scheme will be introduced in phases across key markets including Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and India. 

In each market, DBS Foundation and SUSS will work with community partners – such as non-profit organisations, active ageing centres and the wider eldercare sector – to make “reminiscence facilitation” available to the seniors they serve. They will also collaborate with institutes of higher learning to drive research. 

So far, the scheme has been introduced in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.