Former Mrs Singapore World winner Vanessa Tan, 33, has participated in a number of beauty pageants and even authored a book, Be The Right You.
Now, she's in charge of organising a new pageant, Miss Singapore Global, to look for a finalist to represent Singapore at the Miss Global pageant in Jamaica in September.
Voting is under way for the nine finalists. Ms Tan explains the pageant with a cause.
How is this pageant different from traditional pageants?
This pageant focuses on inner beauty and on the transformation of each finalist, and is probably the only pageant in Singapore in which the winner is chosen by the public.
How were the finalists selected?
The finalists were selected not based on looks first, but on their current involvement in charity and volunteerism, and their desire to use the pageant platform to champion a cause close to their hearts.
They were then chosen based on their character and personality and, subsequently, their height (above 1.65m) and age (18 to 26 years) to meet the international requirements.
What kind of transformation did the finalists go through?
We believe that the finalists are a brand in themselves and they can leverage on social media to build their brand. Hence, each finalist has her own Facebook fanpage and Twitter account to communicate with her friends and fans.
We gave the finalists individual image overhauls and - as for their fitness and wellness transformation - instead of going through weightmanagement programmes, we partnered with Abvolution Bodies gym to help them lead an active and healthy lifestyle.
The women were also given a crash course on wine appreciation and etiquette, and attended personaldevelopment and fund-raising events.
How is voting done for this pageant?
Through social-media channels such as Facebook 'likes' (30 per cent), iPhone voting via the Miss Singapore Global iPhone app (30 per cent) and judges (40 per cent).
The voting system ensures that the public has 60 per cent of the power to decide on the winner. Because public voting consists of over half of the total score, the winner will be the people's choice.
What is the pageant's fund-raising method and who is the beneficiary?
Each finalist will wear wings designed and handmade by the finalists and mothers from the Mother and Child Project, a social enterprise which provides home-based work for disadvantaged mothers and their children.
The finalists will walk down the runway wearing the wings during the swimwear segment in the grand finals. They will auction off the wings at a minimum bid of $1,000 and the finalist with the highest bid will advance automatically to the top 5.
Fifteen per cent of proceeds from the competition will go to the Mother and Child Project.
The Miss Singapore Global grand finals will take place on Aug 31 at Grand Corpthorne Waterfront Grand Ballroom.
Visit www.facebook.com/ MissSingaporeGlobal