Jack Sim

Jack Sim (simplified Chinese: 沈锐华; traditional Chinese: 沈銳華; pinyin: Shěn Ruìhuá, born 1957[1][2]) is the founder of the Restroom Association of Singapore, the World Toilet Organization, the World Toilet Day initiative and Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) Hub. Formerly from the construction industry, he decided to devote the rest of his life to social work after attaining financial independence at the age of 40.

Jack Sim pictured as if thinking on a toilet - to raise attention for the importance of toilets.

In 2001, for "creating good will and bringing the subject into the open" and "mobilizing national support in providing on-the-ground expertise" he received the Schwab Foundation award for Social Entrepreneur of the Year.[3] In 2007, Jack was elected a Fellow of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, and also became one of the key members to convene the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance which is composed of key players in the sanitation space.

Jack was named one of the Heroes of the Environment for 2008 by Time magazine.[4]

He also founded the BOP HUB and a series of social businesses and startups. He is now constructing a 65,000 sq ft World Trade Center for the Poor in Singapore to coordinate an effort to transform the 4 billion poor into a massively efficient marketplace to end global poverty.

Achievements in sanitation

Restroom Association

He established the Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS) in 1998, which addresses the state of dirty public toilets in designs, building codes and poorly trained cleaners.

World Toilet Organization
Main article: World Toilet Organization

Realising the need for a global body on the subject, Jack created the World Toilet Organization (WTO) in 2001 as a global network and service platform for toilet associations, academia, government, UN agencies and toilet stakeholders to learn from one another and leverage media and corporate support that in turn influenced governments to promote sound sanitation and public health policies.

Since its inception, WTO organized 17 World Toilet Summits and two World Toilet Expo and Forum straddling Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, Belfast, Moscow, New Delhi, Macau, Shanghai, Bangkok, Philadelphia, Durban (South Africa), Hainan China, Solo Indonesia, Kuching Malaysia, Melbourne, and Mumbai.

It supports Prime Minister Modi's Swachh Bharat Mission in implementing 110 million toilets in India and President Xi China Toilet Revolution in Tourism Toilets and Rural Toilets. WTO has also built 13 blocks of Rainbow Schools Toilets in rural China.

World Toilet Day
Main article: World Toilet Day

World Toilet Organization declared its founding day 19 November in 2001, as World Toilet Day and this is now celebrated worldwide each year towards improving the state of toilets and sanitation globally. In 2013, all 193 countries of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted 19 November as the official UN World Toilet Day.

Professional career
  • 2018: Founded Nation Builders
  • 2018: Founded School of Gumption
  • 2017: Founded 45Rice
  • 2017: Founded Clinicai
  • 2011: Founder, Base of the Pyramid Hub
  • 2005: Founder, World Toilet College
  • 2001: Founder, World Toilet Organization
  • 1996 – 2006: Founder & President, Restroom Association
  • 1993 – 2003: Investor & Founding Partner, Australian International School, Singapore
  • 1992-2000: Founder & Director, TBF Sdn. Bhd
  • 1986 – 1997: Founded group of real estate development companies: Nest Development Pte Ltd; Nest Land Pte Ltd; Nest Realty Pte Ltd; Very Useful Ideas Pte Ltd; Terrazorium Pte Ltd
  • 1986: Founder, Maybricks Sdn. Bhd
  • 1984 – 2004: Founder & CEO, BESCO Building Supplies (SEA) Pte Ltd. Singapore
  • 1983 – 1984: Director, Dalton-Sitraplast Building Supplies Pte Ltd
  • 1979 – 1982: Site-Supervisor & Sales Engineer, Diethelm Singapore

Education
  • Professional Diploma in Real Estate Marketing, Singapore Institute of Surveyor & Valuers, Singapore
  • Post-Graduate Diploma in International Marketing, Strathclyde University, Scotland
  • Diploma in Business Administration, National Productivity Board, Singapore
  • Master in Public Administration, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore
  • The Global Solution Program, Singularity University, Nasa, San Francisco

In the media

A documentary about Sim's toilet activist work which was filmed over five years, Mr. Toilet, made its world premiere at North America's largest documentary festival, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival on 27 April 2019.[5]

Awards and appointments
  • 2018: Awarded Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Points of Light Award
  • 2018: Awarded Luxembourg Peace Prize for Activist[2]
  • 2017: Given Honorary Professorship by Shobhit University, Uttar Pradesh India
  • 2016: Awarded President's Award for Volunteerism and/or Philanthropy (Adult), Singapore [6]
  • 2015: Appointed as Co-convenor of India’s Swachh Andhra Pradesh Initiative [7]
  • 2014: TedxSalford: Jack Sim spoke at the TEDxSalford conference in October [8]
  • 2014: Appointed Samoa Village Chief with the Matai Title of Tuifalevao
  • 2012: First Synergos Senior Fellow from Singapore, New York [9]
  • 2011: Made commitment at the Clinton Global Initiatives to found BOP HUB
  • 2011: Reader’s Digest Magazine named him Asian of the Year
  • 2009: Channel News Asia named him Asian of the Year
  • 2008: Appointed to the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council for Water Security and the GAC for Social Entrepreneurship
  • 2008: Named Hero of the Environment by Time Magazine.[4]
  • 2008: Asian Development Bank named him an ADB Water Champion
  • 2007: First Singaporean elected to be an Ashoka Global Fellow [10]
  • 2006: Recipient of Schwab Foundation's (Switzerland) of Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award [3]
  • 2004: Recipient of Ministry of Environment's Green Plan 2012 Award

References
  1. "Jack Sim". Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  2. "Jack Sim – 2018 Outstanding Peace Activist — Luxembourg Peace Prize". Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. "Jack Sim | Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship". www.schwabfound.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  4. Beech, Hannah (24 September 2008). "Jack Sim". Time. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  5. Lui, John (4 April 2019). "Singapore toilet activist's documentary to premiere at festival". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  6. "Stories of past winners". www.nvpc.org.sg. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  7. "Andhra Pradesh Collaborates With World Toilet Organisation for Sanitation Project". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  8. "TEDxSalford | TED.com". www.ted.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  9. "Senior Fellow: Jack Sim". www.synergos.org. Archived from the original on 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  10. "Jack Sim | Ashoka.org". www.ashoka.org. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
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