SINGAPORE, Aug. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 30-second Film Awards (30SFA) is a non-profit competition organised by GYC Financial Advisory and UOB Asset Management. It is open to all Singapore-based creators irrespective of nationality and runs from 1 Jun to 14 Sep 2025. Participants stand to win cash prizes amounting to $14,000.
The open call is inspired by the navigation of meaningful relationships from one generation to the next as part of the wealth management and legacy planning process that both firms excel in. As the nation approaches its own citizen's statutory retirement age of 63 (this year being SG60), the theme of competition is particularly apt.
The creative brief is to produce a short video showcasing a real-life heartwarming relationship between two people from different generations (an older and a younger person) and the positive impact it had on their lives.
Singapore June 2025 —
This project is spearheaded by a practising artist and an ex-architect – Jogoh (Head of Comms & Client Experience, GYC) and James (Senior Associate, GYC) – who feel that the qualitative aspect of relationships is what brings meaning and fulfilment to the job. Aside from the performance numbers, ROIs, and illustrative projections that are part and parcel of wealth management, they wanted to highlight the intricacies of intergenerational relationships that families navigate when they consider the matter of passing on their wealth.
'There are some really precious and vulnerable conversations that take place when people are confronted with the fact that one day, they will no longer be around.' Jogoh notes, 'Wealth that was built through a lifetime, and the weight of that — we want to honour what these individuals went through, their stories, precious lessons learnt, and communicate some of the essence of their life and values to their children and family.'
30SFA is particularly challenging as participants must convey that very essence of their own meaningful intergenerational relationships within half a minute. 'We felt that we've seen narratives fleshed out in a minute before,' James said, 'take 60-second Docs for example. Given the decreasing attention span of society, we are excited to see what creatives can produce and the feelings they can evoke in just 30-seconds.'
The competition is officially supported by Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA, University of the Arts Singapore), with its president, Mrs Tan-Soh Wai Lan, sitting on the judging panel. While there is a registration fee — to encourage commitment from applicants — it is heavily discounted for students, and one team just pays a single registration fee. As a non-profit competition, all fees paid after administrative costs goes back into the competition itself, e.g. hosting the award ceremony for winning participants. Any balance left over will be disbursed to charities or schools to support the arts and culture in Singapore.
'Back when I was solely focussed on building my art practice, I came across quite a few competitions with many different types of prizes,' Jogoh recounts, 'but I felt what would have truly helped me was simply cash, to help defray living expenses and to help me further my craft. We're so excited that we're able to offer that to creators today and hopefully encourage them in their journey to produce heartwarming stories.'
To find out more about the competition visit the GYC website at gyc.com.sg/30-second-film-awards or the UOBAM website under partnerships at uobam.com.sg/index.page#exploring-for-partnership
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
As SG 60 approaches, GYC and UOBAM host a 30-second film competition supported by NAFA, UAS where participants can win up to $14,000 cash for their heartwarming intergenerational story.
- Having secured the fully driverless commercial permit in mid-November 2025, the partners have launched fully autonomous ride-hailing service via the AutoGo app.
- Initial operations cover Yas Island, with phased expansion planned for Reem, Al Maryah, and Saadiyat Islands.
- The launch marks a critical step toward the partners' goal of deploying hundreds of vehicles by 2026 and building Abu Dhabi's largest fully driverless fleet.
ABU DHABI, UAE, Jan. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888) today announced that its autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, and AutoGo, a leading UAE-based autonomous mobility company, have officially launched the fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the emirate. The launch of the service, now available via the AutoGo app, marks a major milestone in the commercialization of autonomous driving in the Middle East. The service has launched initially on Yas Island, where users in Abu Dhabi can now download the app to hail fully driverless rides.
The collaboration between Baidu's Apollo Go and K2's AutoGo began in March 2025, when they announced the partnership to build Abu Dhabi's largest fully driverless fleet. Building on that momentum, the companies secured one of the inaugural permits for fully driverless commercial operation in Abu Dhabi in mid-November 2025 and signed a next-phase agreement to scale the fleet to hundreds of vehicles by 2026. With the service now available to the general public through the AutoGo app, the partners are actively advancing their goal of establishing the emirate's largest fully driverless fleet.
"Moving from an initial partnership agreement to launching live, fully driverless operations for the public in a span of just a few months is a remarkable milestone," said Liang Zhang, Managing Director of EMEA at Baidu Apollo. "This speed of execution highlights the technical readiness of Apollo Go, the strong operational capabilities of our partnership, and the steadfast support of local regulatory bodies."
"AutoGo's transition to live robotaxi operations marks an important milestone in Abu Dhabi's autonomous mobility journey," said Sean Teo, Managing Director of K2. "Launching the service at the start of the year reflects our focus on execution and long-term value creation. By introducing robotaxi services in real urban environments and scaling across key districts, we are moving decisively from development to deployment—delivering autonomy that is practical, safe, and ready for everyday use."
The initial operation covers Yas Island, a premier leisure and entertainment hub in Abu Dhabi, now designated as a permitted zone for fully driverless operations. This service allows users to simply download the AutoGo app, request a ride, and experience a journey in a vehicle with no human driver behind the wheel.
Following the initial launch on Yas Island, the service will implement a phased geographic roll-out across Abu Dhabi. The expansion will begin with Reem Island, Al Maryah Island, and Saadiyat Island. Over time, the service will continue to expand across additional areas, with the long-term objective of operating across the wider Abu Dhabi emirate.
Apollo Go's rapid expansion into the UAE is backed by its industry-leading autonomous driving technology and proven real-world operational expertise. As a leading autonomous ride‑hailing service provider globally, Apollo Go has logged more than 240 million autonomous kilometers, of which over 140 million kilometers were completed in fully driverless mode. With a global footprint across 22 cities, Apollo Go's weekly ride count has recently surpassed 250,000, and the service has completed more than 17 million cumulative rides as of October 31, 2025. Looking ahead, Apollo Go and AutoGo will scale fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing services to reach more users and advance Abu Dhabi's smart city vision.
About Baidu
Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU" and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.
Media Contact
intlcomm@baidu.com
ABU DHABI, UAE, Jan. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888) today announced that its autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, and AutoGo, a leading UAE-based autonomous mobility company, have officially launched the fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the emirate. The launch of the service, now available via the AutoGo app, marks a major milestone in the commercialization of autonomous driving in the Middle East. The service has launched initially on Yas Island, where users in Abu Dhabi can now download the app to hail fully driverless rides.
The collaboration between Baidu's Apollo Go and K2's AutoGo began in March 2025, when they announced the partnership to build Abu Dhabi's largest fully driverless fleet. Building on that momentum, the companies secured one of the inaugural permits for fully driverless commercial operation in Abu Dhabi in mid-November 2025 and signed a next-phase agreement to scale the fleet to hundreds of vehicles by 2026. With the service now available to the general public through the AutoGo app, the partners are actively advancing their goal of establishing the emirate's largest fully driverless fleet.
"Moving from an initial partnership agreement to launching live, fully driverless operations for the public in a span of just a few months is a remarkable milestone," said Liang Zhang, Managing Director of EMEA at Baidu Apollo. "This speed of execution highlights the technical readiness of Apollo Go, the strong operational capabilities of our partnership, and the steadfast support of local regulatory bodies."
"AutoGo's transition to live robotaxi operations marks an important milestone in Abu Dhabi's autonomous mobility journey," said Sean Teo, Managing Director of K2. "Launching the service at the start of the year reflects our focus on execution and long-term value creation. By introducing robotaxi services in real urban environments and scaling across key districts, we are moving decisively from development to deployment—delivering autonomy that is practical, safe, and ready for everyday use."
The initial operation covers Yas Island, a premier leisure and entertainment hub in Abu Dhabi, now designated as a permitted zone for fully driverless operations. This service allows users to simply download the AutoGo app, request a ride, and experience a journey in a vehicle with no human driver behind the wheel.
Following the initial launch on Yas Island, the service will implement a phased geographic roll-out across Abu Dhabi. The expansion will begin with Reem Island, Al Maryah Island, and Saadiyat Island. Over time, the service will continue to expand across additional areas, with the long-term objective of operating across the wider Abu Dhabi emirate.
Apollo Go's rapid expansion into the UAE is backed by its industry-leading autonomous driving technology and proven real-world operational expertise. As a leading autonomous ride‑hailing service provider globally, Apollo Go has logged more than 240 million autonomous kilometers, of which over 140 million kilometers were completed in fully driverless mode. With a global footprint across 22 cities, Apollo Go's weekly ride count has recently surpassed 250,000, and the service has completed more than 17 million cumulative rides as of October 31, 2025. Looking ahead, Apollo Go and AutoGo will scale fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing services to reach more users and advance Abu Dhabi's smart city vision.
About Baidu
Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU" and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.
Media Contact
intlcomm@baidu.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Baidu's Apollo Go and K2's AutoGo Commence Fully Autonomous Ride-Hailing Service on Yas Island, Announce Phased Expansion Across Abu Dhabi
