27/08/2026
From “Internal Inertia” to a Purposeful Later Life
The 4th Geronpreneurship Innovation Festival (GIF 2026) has just concluded, with this year’s theme: “Purpose in retirement, purpose in old age.”
In his speech, Singapore Minister for Health Ong Ye Kunghighlighted that one of the biggest barriers to staying active and healthy in our later years is actually “internal inertia” — along with the excuses we make.
Overcoming inertia can start with small, healthy habits today. Think of them as an investment in our future, so that 10 or 20 years from now, we can still live with purpose and meaning.
🌟 Bringing Innovation Closer to the Community
Minister Ong also highlighted the collaboration between Marymount Labs and Tzu-Chi Foundation (Singapore).
Active Ageing Centres (AACs) across Singapore face a common ground challenge: How do we encourage seniors living nearby to step out of their homes and take part in centre activities?
Together, Marymount Labs and Tzu Chi developed a simple, human-centred digital solution using a platform seniors are already familiar with — WhatsApp.
💬 Personalised wellness check-ins
📣 Activity recommendations
🤝 Gentle nudges
These simple interactions aim to help seniors overcome inertia and reconnect with community activities.
Minister Ong praised the team for working closely with social partners to “understand the ground” and design the application around real needs.
He also hopes the system can not only create the intended social impact, but eventually be scaled and replicated across other AACs islandwide.
***Marymount Labs was the winner of the Tzu Chi Humanistic Award at 2025, held during the Geronpreneurship Innovation Festival 2025 . 🥳
Source: Ministry of Health (MOH), Singapore — Speech by Mr Ong Ye Kung at the Geronpreneurship Innovation Festival, 26 August 2026. Read the full speech on MOH’s website
从“内部惰性”到有意义的晚年
刚落幕的第四届乐龄创业创新节（Geronpreneurship Innovation Festival, GIF 2026），以“退休的目标、晚年的目标”为主题。
活动主宾新加坡卫生部部长王乙康在致辞中指出，阻碍我们在晚年保持活跃与健康的最大挑战之一，其实来自“内部的惰性”（Internal Inertia）与各种借口。要克服惰性，可以从小小的健康习惯开始——把今天的行动，当作对未来的“投资”，让我们在10年、20年后，依然拥有有目标、有意义的生活。
🌟 科技创新，走进社区一线
王部长也特别点赞了由Marymount Labs 与慈济基金会（新加坡）的暖心合作。面对活跃乐龄中心（AAC）共同面对的挑战——如何鼓励附近长者走出家门、主动参与中心活动？
Marymount Labs 与慈济携手，以长者熟悉的 WhatsApp 为平台，通过：
💬 个性化健康检查
📣 活动推荐
🤝 温和提醒（Gentle Nudges）
用简单、亲切的方式，帮助长者打破惰性，重新参与社区生活。
王部长特别赞赏团队能够与社会合作伙伴（例如慈济）共同协作，理解一线实际情况（Understand the ground），再根据真实需求设计应用。
他也期待，这套系统未来不仅能带来预期的社会影响，更能推广、复制到全岛其他活跃乐龄中心（AACs）。
*** Marymount Labs 是 2025 年“乐龄创业创新节” Pitch For Good, Tzu Chi Humanistic Award的得奖者。
资料来源：新加坡卫生部（MOH）官网，卫生部长王乙康于 2026 年 8 月 26 日在 Geronpreneurship Innovation Festival 2026 上的致辞。 查看卫生部官网全文
