Our Campaign
The Lien Foundation is breaking the deathly silence surrounding end-of-life issues. For many, death is an uncomfortable spectre confronted amidst cobwebs of doubt and misgivings.
Launched in 2006, the “Life Before Death” campaign was conceived out of an urgent need to raise awareness about hospice and palliative care in Singapore due to rapidly aging population and increasing health needs. The campaign seeks to remove the taboo surrounding death and end-of-life issues.
The inaugural campaign won international accolades and regional recognition from the Lions Cannes festival, the Society of Publishers in Asia, Effies in Singapore. It was also listed amongst the world’s best advertising campaigns in the past 50 years by a leading German advertising publication. Such reception indicates the extent of identification to universal issue and its global relevance.
Seeking to further tackle this issue, the Foundation is embarking on the second phase of the “Life before Death” campaign in 2008/9. This time, it will take a step further by spurring DIE-logues and conversations about death.
By breaking the deathly silence, we aim to:
Inspire people to view death differently
Plant the idea of “dying well”
Encourage advocates for a better death
Increase the acceptance and adoption of hospice and palliative care
This will in turn help improve end-of-life.
Through the media, the campaign will generate a greater consciousness about the end of life and evoke conversations to demystify death.
Partnering ad and creative giant, Ogilvy and Mather, the campaign will also draw from the talents of local production company, Oak3 Pte Ltd, Ngee Ann Polytechnic School of Film and Media Studies and other partners, Assisi Hospice, Singapore Cancer Society, Saint Joseph’s Home and the Centre for Seniors.
The campaign will seek to achieve open ‘die-logues’ through a pipeline of activities and variety of channels:
a. TV – inviting the public to share their thoughts and journey in two documentaries that deals with end-of-life issues.
b. Legacy Albums – inviting the public to celebrate the lives of loved ones who are seriously or terminally ill by creating special photo books that capture those precious moments.
c. Caregivers’ Booklet – a guide for caregivers of loved ones who are seriously or terminally ill, based on a true blog account of caregiver, Dawn Kor who lost her dad to pancreatic cancer.
d. Advertising - in newspapers, radio and outdoor mediums to draw the public’s attention to end of life issues.
e. Street polls - on end-of life-issues will be conducted around the CBD area and HDB heartlands.
f. Web – a campaign website that hosts real stories and dialogues about life before death.
Even before its launch, the campaign has already attracted the support of personalities in the business and political circles as well as the local community. An international documentary for a worldwide audience is also in the pipeline.
The Lien Foundation
Lien Ying Chow, an eminent Asian business leader, banker and hotelier founded the Lien Foundation. Today, the Foundation continues his legacy of good work in helping the needy and deprived in our society. The Foundation’s key areas of focus are Education, Eldercare and the Environment.
In the area of eldercare, the Foundation has championed the cause for the dying to raise greater awareness of the issues surrounding death and end-of-life care; as well as increased the capacity of medical professionals in this area.
In 2006, the Foundation created the started the inaugural Singapore Hospice Council - Lien Foundation Palliative Care Fellowships and Scholarships. In early 2008, the Foundation collaborated with the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, National Cancer Centre Singapore and Singapore Health Services to set up The Lien Centre for Palliative Care, Asia’s first centre for research and training in palliative care. The National Cancer Centre’s clinical fellowships and Asia Palliative Hospice Care Network teaching programmes now come under the Centre’s auspices.