About Us
SINGAPORE'S FIRST EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING SPACE FOR EMPATHY
At Etch Empathy, we believe in a world without poverty where there is social inclusion for everyone, including the vulnerable communities.
To achieve what we believe, we bring about the awareness of the social challenges faced by the poor, the visually impaired, the deaf and the seniors. Using authentic stories, we design multi-sensory experiences that activate our participants' thoughts & emotions, allowing them to look at the world through the lens of others.
Our programs can prepare participants’ to engage their head and heart in connecting with their family, friends and community.
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Step into the shoes of others
Step into the shoes of others, See the world through their eyes
Poverty Escape Simulation
In our poverty simulation, participants will assume the role of someone living below the poverty line. Together with other members of their family, they’ll struggle to earn enough for their basic needs from week to week. Learn what it means to live below the poverty line.
Learning in the Dark, Blind Simulation
How do you cope without your sense of sight? Navigating from place to place would require the use of your other senses. What are the details you look for when being given directions to a place? Our Blind guides will show you how to navigate through a world without the sense of sight, and share their experiences with you at the end of the journey.
Listen, Deaf Simulation
The ability to hear, to LISTEN, is something that a lot of us take for granted. What happens when we take away your ability to LISTEN? How do you order food? What about emergencies? Be guided by our Deaf facilitators as you navigate through these scenarios, and LISTEN to them share their experiences and difficulties.
Aging, Elderly Simulation
Old is gold. Age is just a number. Are these a true reflection of aging? During the Aging Simulation, you put on an aging suit and experience physiological changes to your entire body. Widen your perspective of our aging society and learn more about the joys and challenges of aging.
Testimonials
Hear from our participants
Our Programs
We have various programs tailored for different groups. Find out more about our programs.
Empathy@School
Schools
- Social Emotional Learning
- Building Empathy - Simulation & Serve
- Teachers' Development
- Design Thinking
- Service - Learning
Empathy@Work
Corporates
- Building A Culture of Empathy
- CSR - Simulation & Volunteer
- Team Bonding or Staff Retreat
Empathy4Good
Charities
- Team Bonding or Staff Retreat
- Donors' Engagement
- Volunteers' Training
Our Team
Aaron Yeoh
Lee Pin Qi
Lawrence Wee
Corporate Relations
Joe Mitchell
Organisation Development
Sanjay Chaudhari
Marketing & Communication
Zoe Burkitt
Isabel de Laiglesia
Li Yihe
Joshua Tseng
Booking & Enquiry
Bookings and Enquiry form . Or you may drop us a message.
LATEST NEWS
Do people in Singapore really understand blindness?
Josh Tseng – Etch’s Content Creation and Communication Manager shares his story, and hopes for Etch’s new programmes with us “As a person with vision impairment, this is a question I find myself seriously asking every day. Since I lost my functional eyesight after my ‘O’ levels some 3 years ago, the social challenges, specifically[…]
On Empathy, Business and Brands
Empathy might not be the first word that springs to mind when you think of leading businesses. Even a study on business students saw them rate it as very low on a list of essential leadership traits[i]. But in a world where rapid change is the norm, the ability to understand the needs, motivations and[…]
Human Library – Changemakers, Travellers, Inspirations
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” In conjunction with our Youth Expedition Week in January, we organized a special Human Library event for readers to browse the stories of other explorers as they travel with a purpose. It was the biggest Human[…]
Human Library – Giving Week
In conjunction with SG Giving Week by NVPC, we held 2 sessions of Human Library on 29 Nov and 3 Dec. We are also featured in The Straits Times for our work. You can read more about it here. NVPC’s CEO, Melissa Aratani Kwee also came down to read some books. She wrote a reflection about her experience[…]
Human Library – Serve
Youth Corps Singapore and Etch Empathy collaborated for an afternoon of deep insights on the theme of ‘Serve’. Change makers from different backgrounds took the readers on a ride with their personal stories of serving others, the sacrifices they made, the energy that keeps them going, and the stigma they faced. Many thanks to our living[…]
Our First Human Library
On 28 February 2016, we organised our very first Human Library with the theme Defenders of Singapore. This session is done in collaboration with Nexus (Mindef) and Youth Corp Singapore.Veterans of SAF came and share their life journey during the days of rages with our participants. Stories are real and provided many insights and different[…]
Poverty Escape Simulation in the news
SINGAPORE In their shoes: More Singaporeans turn to ‘poverty simulation’ exercises 938LIVE reports: Demand for these poverty simulation exercises comes from the community sector, schools and corporate organisations. By Lianne Chia and Francis Law, TODAY Posted 04 Feb 2016 21:53 Updated 05 Feb 2016 10:28 Students taking part in a poverty simulation activity, run by[…]
Design Thinking for SINDA
We are privileged to be invited to conduct two sessions of Design Thinking for SINDA leaders in early January this year. Many people may not know that ETCH also conducts Design Thinking and Service Learning courses, besides running Simulation programs. The courses are designed to complement each other and reinforce empathy in our participants. Our[…]
Reflection from NUS Advocacy Group, Actvocado
Reflection: We went for a poverty simulation at Etch Empathy last week and it was incredibly thought-provoking! At the simulation, we were told make paper bags and sell them to make money to pay the “landlord” so that we don’t become homeless. Along the way, there were interventions by NGOs, loansharks and the game forced[…]