SOAP Award Recipients

Mar 7

Mar 7 SOAP Awards: Winners of September, October, November, December and Jan 2021

Edwin Lau

Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan 2021

See the list of winners

Jan 31

Jan 31 🏆 How the Covid-19 Pandemic Changed My Life

Edwin Lau

Winner 🏆 (Story), Jan 2021

How did the worst global health crisis of our time affect you? One year into the pandemic, CNA speaks to people in Singapore to hear their stories.

Jan 25

Jan 25 'You cannot resign': SGUnited Traineeship firm threatens fresh grad who found full-time job elsewhere

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Story), Jan 2021

Michael ‘closed one eye’ when he was made to do a full-time job without proper training. But when the company tried to discourage him from resigning using threats and half-truths, he sought help from government authorities, only to have his complaints ignored.

Jan 10

Jan 10 🏆 This 71-year-old wants you to get a COVID-19 vaccine once you can. Here’s why

Edwin Lau

Winner 🏆 (Commentary), Jan 2021

A battle with polio, an annual fight with the flu and losing a friend to COVID-19 has made this plea incredibly personal, Irene Hoe says.

Jan 10

Jan 10 An apology for TraceTogether data access would be nice, but improving govt coordination is better

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Commentary), Jan 2021

Better coordination with Singapore's legal, security and technology arms of the government could have led to a more thorough explanation of the limits of TraceTogether's privacy policy.

Jan 9

Jan 9 S'poreans are feeling betrayed because of TraceTogether. The govt needs to restore trust.

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Commentary), Jan 2021

Soft truths to keep Singapore from stalling.

Jan 7

Jan 7 🏆 Some TraceTogether users upset with Govt’s revelation on police access to data, say they’ll use it less

Edwin Lau

Winner 🏆 (Story), Jan 2021

Singapore writer Ng Yi-Sheng had been using the TraceTogether mobile application for months during the Covid-19 pandemic. He even carried the token out with him when it is not necessary to use both together, because just holding the token made him feel safe.

Jan 6

Jan 6 Forget The TraceTogether Data. Can We Trust The Government To Keep Their Word?

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Commentary), Jan 2021

What a start to the year. On Monday, the inaugural Parliament livestream triggered a real-time outcry over the collection and use of TraceTogether data.

Jan 4

Jan 4 🏆 Just Can't Get Enough

Edwin Lau

Winner 🏆 (Visual), Jan 2021

"All the things you do to me
And everything you said
I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough"

Dec 31

Dec 31 The Winter of 2020

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Visual), Dec

A few months before the pandemic hit, we wrote about how winter is coming, and how recessions are inevitable. Little did we imagine that it would come so fast in the form of a global pandemic.

Dec 28

Dec 28 🏆 The Science Behind Covid-19

Edwin Lau

Winner 🏆 (Visual), Dec

Cartoonist Sonny Liew and NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health infectious diseases expert Hsu Li Yang have worked together to explain the science behind Covid-19, and how it impacts health, since the start of the pandemic.

Dec 22

Dec 22 Covid Taught This Teacher To Take Risks. So He Quit To Turn His Hobby Into A Business

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Story), Dec

“When I was doing the sums on how much sales I’m making,” Justin Lin, 31, says, “I was like, ‘Wait, I only made $50 bucks today and I worked so hard last night? I gotta change my menu items or I gotta increase the prices.’”

Dec 19

Dec 19 🏆 The Big Read in short: Ordinary S’poreans spread cheer in the time of Covid-19

Edwin Lau

Winner 🏆 (Story), Dec

Each week, TODAY’s long-running Big Read series delves into the trends and issues that matter. This week, we highlight the efforts of unsung heroes in the community who are on a mission to spread cheer amid the Covid-19 gloom. This is a shortened version of the full feature, which can be found here.

Dec 8

Dec 8 I Was A Human Guinea Pig For A Covid-19 Medical Trial

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Commentary), Dec

Azizul K is a participant in a study that researches the side effects of injecting Covid-19 antibodies into humans as a possible remedy for the coronavirus. He shares with us what motivated him to sign up for the medical trial, what his experience was like, and whether the knowledge that he has received Covid-19 antibodies has changed the way he lives amidst a raging pandemic.

Dec 8

Dec 8 How to help seniors be more digitally connected

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Commentary), Dec

Much has been said about how seniors who are not digital savvy have felt particularly displaced in the current Covid-19 crisis.

Safe distancing measures and restrictions on gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus have inadvertently heightened the risks of loneliness and social isolation for seniors, particularly those who do not have access to the internet or smartphones.

Dec 8

Dec 8 I became a supporter of the Singapore Repertory Theatre during COVID-19. Here’s why you should, too.

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Commentary), Dec

I became a supporter of the Singapore Repertory Theatre during COVID-19. Here’s why you should, too.

The energy in the theatre was palpable. Last week, separated safely and flanked by candle-lit side tables, we took our seats in the stalls with great anticipation. This was our first night out at the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) – or indeed, any live performance – since February.

Dec 4

Dec 4 🏆 I had acute anxiety: DBS' Piyush Gupta on past mental health struggles

Edwin Lau

Winner 🏆 (Commentary), Dec

Will Covid-19 be the catalyst that normalises acceptance of mental health issues in the workplace? Perhaps when more bosses admit their own struggles.

Dec 1

Dec 1 A COVID-19 Story: Tim the Extra•Ordinary & Resilient mouse

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Visual), Dec

To flatten the COVID-19 curve, Singapore embarks on home-based learning for all students for a month from 8 April 2020. Through the story of Tim the Extra•Ordinary & Resilient Mouse, we share with you how you too can find joy in this period.

Nov 30

Nov 30 🏆 Covid Alphabet

Edwin Lau

Winner 🏆 (Visual), Nov

Covid has redefined a generation, and what we once knew has now changed. 'Covid Alphabet' aims to reinvent word associations with letters that we once learned as children. Because to relearn is the only way to move forward.

Nov 29

Nov 29 Moving to Singapore in the middle of a pandemic has changed the meaning of home

Edwin Lau

Merit Award (Commentary), Nov

A few months ago, my husband and I decided to make 2020 even more memorable and moved from Jakarta to Singapore.

Moving home, and its accompanying physical and emotional disruption, is often cited as a leading cause of stress.

Stories of A Pandemic

View by Month

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Mar 7 SOAP Awards: Winners of September, October, November, December and Jan 2021

Jan 31 🏆 How the Covid-19 Pandemic Changed My Life

Jan 25 'You cannot resign': SGUnited Traineeship firm threatens fresh grad who found full-time job elsewhere

Jan 10 🏆 This 71-year-old wants you to get a COVID-19 vaccine once you can. Here’s why

Jan 10 An apology for TraceTogether data access would be nice, but improving govt coordination is better

Jan 9 S'poreans are feeling betrayed because of TraceTogether. The govt needs to restore trust.

Jan 7 🏆 Some TraceTogether users upset with Govt’s revelation on police access to data, say they’ll use it less

Jan 6 Forget The TraceTogether Data. Can We Trust The Government To Keep Their Word?

Jan 4 🏆 Just Can't Get Enough

Dec 31 The Winter of 2020

Dec 28 🏆 The Science Behind Covid-19

Dec 22 Covid Taught This Teacher To Take Risks. So He Quit To Turn His Hobby Into A Business

Dec 19 🏆 The Big Read in short: Ordinary S’poreans spread cheer in the time of Covid-19

Dec 8 I Was A Human Guinea Pig For A Covid-19 Medical Trial

Dec 8 How to help seniors be more digitally connected

Dec 8 I became a supporter of the Singapore Repertory Theatre during COVID-19. Here’s why you should, too.

Dec 4 🏆 I had acute anxiety: DBS' Piyush Gupta on past mental health struggles

Dec 1 A COVID-19 Story: Tim the Extra•Ordinary & Resilient mouse

Nov 30 🏆 Covid Alphabet

Nov 29 Moving to Singapore in the middle of a pandemic has changed the meaning of home

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