Last year, we saw a bunch of Singaporean athletes clinching gold medals at Olympics, a few local films and directors getting recognized at international film festivals, a Singaporean making an appearance at The White House… and that’s just the tip of what we achieved on an international scale last year. The cycle is beginning again, this time with three Singaporeans who have made us proud on the world stage just this week.

Ding Eu Wen

Harvard graduate and Singaporean Ding Eu Wen founded Lumos Helmet with fellow engineer Jeff Chen and designed a “next generation bicycle helmet”, which has already won a couple of awards. They recently won the transport category of Beazley Designs of the Year (an annual competition organized by The Design Museum in London); a category usually bagged by long-term schemes for planes, trains and automobile. Their smart helmet is weather resistant and will activate red brake lights or orange turn signals when braking or turning is detected.

Kirsten Tan

We’re really happy that Singaporean female filmmaker Kirsten Tan has become the first Singaporean to take home the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Screenwriting after debuting her feature film POP AYE at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. New York film company Kino Lorber has plans to bring the film to North American cinemas and release a video-on-demand version and physical media. Read our interview with her here.

Siow Lee Chin

Siow Lee Chin, who became the first Singaporean to admit to the famous Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at just 15 years of age, is returning to New York’s reputation Carnegie Hall after 26 years. For this two-hour concert, she'll be placing an emphasis on Singaporean music, performing pieces by Singaporean Cultural Medallion recipient Kam Kee Yong and Chinese composer Yao Chen.