Building a shared culture & engaged community

Introduction

1. Madam Chair, I thank members for their many comments and questions. This is the Ministry’s first COS, and I’m glad that there is so much interest in the work that we do.

2. Beyond the discussion in this House, we’ve also heard many Singaporeans highlighting similar issues in our dialogue and feedback sessions, including at the Singapore Conversation.

3. As a people, we are searching for deeper meaning and fulfilment beyond material success. We want Singapore to be more than just a vibrant city; we want Singapore to be a home. As one of the participants in the Singapore Conversation put it, “I have a dream… [that] we will be a nation, as opposed to an economic outpost… where our children feel they belong to this country and have faith and hope in their future”.

4. This search for meaning is not unique to Singapore and Singaporeans. Around the world, people are asking similar questions. With globalisation and the fast pace of modern living, questions of identity and belonging have become more complex for people everywhere.

5. This is why MCCY was formed. Our aim is to build a shared culture and an engaged community. Unlike the 5 “C”s that we are familiar with, these 2 “C”s are not so easy to measure, a point which Mr Baey Yam Keng mentioned yesterday. But culture and community are essential elements of what makes Singapore home for all us. We will develop appropriate indicators for our work, and do whatever we can to strengthen our cultural core and our community bonds.
   

Culture as a pillar of development

6. Let me start with culture. Over the years, our cultural scene has become more vibrant – there are more local movies (like Jack Neo’s recent Ah Boys to Men), local music bands, and a year-round selection of festivals, sports events, fairs and lifestyle activities to choose from.

7. More importantly, we have created a Singaporean culture and identity. It may be difficult to express in words what Singaporean culture is about. But it’s in our shared attitudes, memories and experiences; it’s in our food and our lifestyle; it’s in the way we work, the way we talk, the way we celebrate and cheer for Team Singapore together. So whenever we are overseas, it’s always easy to pick out a fellow Singaporean, even from afar.

8. But we are a young nation. As several members have highlighted, the fast pace of development and the rapid changes in our society make it difficult to develop strong cultural anchors for our national identity. So it is easy to feel disoriented, especially with the increase in population and new immigrants in recent years.

9. All this means that we must do more now to step up our cultural development. Many members highlighted this in their speeches; Ms Janice Koh, in particular, spoke about this passionately, both just now and earlier at the Budget Debate, and I agree fully with her.

10. Cultural vitality is very much a part of sustainable development. In the concept of sustainable development, experts often refer to the three pillars of development – economic, social and environment. But there’s also a need for a fourth pillar, and that’s in the area of culture.

11. When I talk about culture, I am referring to it in the broadest sense of the word. Singapore culture is shaped not just by the established canon of art-forms like drama, painting, or literature, important as they are. Culture is about how we express and understand ourselves, from singing and dancing, to participating in sports and spending time with family and friends.
    

12. Ultimately, culture is about the expression of the human spirit, it is about bringing people together across divides, and it is about strengthening Singapore’s appeal to us as a home.

13. Our first Culture Minister, Mr Rajaratnam, laid the foundations for this important work. When he started out in the Ministry, he envisioned a shared culture for our people, one which is rich and diverse, “rooted in many civilisations”, and yet distinctive and uniquely Singaporean.

14. That’s what we are trying to achieve in MCCY, through the arts, heritage, sports and youth engagement. But we cannot do it alone. It requires a whole-of-government effort, because culture cuts across many other policies, for example, education, manpower and national development.

15. At the same time, cultural development cannot be led by the government alone. It’s really a whole-of-society partnership. Because the culture of our nation is defined by how we relate to one another.

16. So in the past few months since MCCY was formed, I’ve initiated many dialogues on culture, including through the Singapore Conversation. This is very much a work-in-progress, and we will continue to have more sessions and involve Singaporeans in shaping our cultural plans.
    

Developing our arts and heritage

17. Even as we continue this public engagement, there are some areas which we have studied and based on the feedback received, and which we are ready to move forward. So I will share some of these plans today. I will touch on developing the arts and heritage in this speech, and about sports and youth later.

18. First, we will engage Singaporeans in preserving and remembering our past. To nourish the Singapore soul, we must embrace the past, and celebrate our heritage.

19. One way to do so is through major national events – to remember the good times as well as the hard times that we have been through as a people. This is why we are doing something to commemorate the 10th anniversary of fighting and containing the SARS outbreak, as Minister Gan mentioned in the MOH COS.

20. Besides these national stories, we must also make the Singapore story one that is personally meaningful to every Singaporean. For many of us, our memories of Singapore are more localised; they are linked to the familiar things that we grew up with – our HDB estates, our schools (Mr Baey Yam Keng spoke passionately about this at the MOE COS), our community parks and gardens, our favourite food stall in the hawker centre, or the old mama stalls in the HDB void decks. As Mr Sitoh Yih Pin said very eloquently just now, heritage is not something that is detached; it is part of our everyday lives.

21. Singapore may be a small country, but there are special characteristics in the different parts of our little island that reflect our unique history and identity. Several members, like Dr Chia Shi-Lu and Mr Alex Yam, spoke about this and I fully agree with them. Let me give you some examples.

22. I grew up in the East – in Marine Parade. I remember going to East Coast Park on weekends, it’s not as green as it is now because the trees were newly planted and you can’t see a lot of greenery at that time, but I remember going to East Coast Park and the beach every weekend, I remember the schools that we went to in the neighbourhood, not in Marine Parade because it was a new town and there weren’t schools there, but we went to schools further out in Haig Road and Tanjong Katong and the famous Katong laksa and chicken rice in East Coast Road, so that was my memory growing up.

23. In the central part of Singapore youhave Queenstown which Dr Chia spoke about – Singapore’s first “satellite estate”, named in commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. This was where we had the Tah Chung Emporium and the three cinemas at the town centre – they were the “hip” places to hang out in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

24. Today, you can still see some of the old buildings there, like Princess House which was where the HDB’s first office was located, and the old wet market. And Queenstown is well-loved by the community, so much so there’s a civic group, “My Community”, came up with 5 heritage trails of the area on its own.

25. In the West in Jurong, we have other historical markers. This was where we started the Jurong Industrial Estate more than four decades ago, we had a Vespa company producing Vespa in Singapore then; where we had the first built-up hawker centres in Singapore; and we also had our first drive-in cinema where many Singaporeans had their first date.

26. And you can see these pictures, there are many other exhibits about Jurong that we brought together at our Taman Jurong Community Musuem. This is our first community museum, which was opened earlier this year. It had very strong responses from citizens and residents in the community.

27. I’ve shared examples in the East, Central and Western regions. But in fact, every part of Singapore is unique with its own flavour. We want to foster a sense of pride in the community for the distinctive heritage that we have in these different parts of our nation.

28. To achieve this, we have to strike a balance between preservation and development. Our old buildings, structures and sites are part of our built heritage. They help to preserve memories and contribute to the unique character of our living environment. So NHB will work closely with HDB, URA and other agencies to consider heritage elements in our development planning process. We want to make Singapore a modern city with deep roots.

29. We will also expand our heritage-related activities and projects to strengthen our Singaporean identity and way of life. And I agree with Mr Alex Yam that we should celebrate the masters of our vanishing trades. This is why NHB has been working hard to document and highlight the things that we all cherish as part of our heritage – like our traditional bakeries, or this street barber at Aliwal Street. You can see several students in the photo gathering around the barber, because they are recording what he does to preserve the memories and keep them for future generations of Singaporeans.

30. To give Singaporeans a greater sense of ownership over our heritage, MCCY and NHB will develop more community-based museums, heritage galleries and trails in neighbourhoods across Singapore.

31. So far, we have 10 heritage trails: from trails marking historical sites of national importance in the Civic District and along the Singapore River, to sites that showcase community memories in neighbourhoods like Balestier, Queenstown and Yishun-Sembawang.

32. This year, NHB will launch 3 more heritage trails: in Toa Payoh, Tampines and Tiong Bahru, and there will be more to come after that.

33. Our longer-term plan is to develop an island-wide network of community museums, galleries and heritage trails.

34. In developing all of these plans, our approach is to partner the community to celebrate our heritage together. We want to encourage more ground-up heritage initiatives. We will engage students, volunteers, and heritage interest groups, and facilitate self-initiated heritage efforts.

35. NHB will also widen and deepen its engagement heritage enthusiasts, including bloggers and people in our educational institutions and non-profit organisations such as the Singapore Heritage Society and the Organisation for Senior Volunteers, RSVP. It will also nurture heritage champions, equip them with the necessary training to become lifelong advocates, and provide them with assistance to develop self-initiated projects.

36. Through all of these channels, we want Singaporeans to have the opportunity to move beyond being passive audiences of heritage content, to being active creators and participants. Together, we can celebrate the unique aspects of each community’s heritage, and make the Singapore story come alive, as seen and told by Singaporeans. So that’s our first strategy around heritage and the past.

37. Second, we will also enhance our National Museums, and make them more accessible. Even as we develop our heritage at the community level, I agree with Mr Sitoh Yih Pin and other members that we cannot neglect our National Museums, because they are key repositories of our nation’s memories and history.

38. Through our museums, we celebrate the story of Singapore and Singaporeans, and provide a link to history for us and our children. Through our museums, we also see Singapore’s development in relation to other civilisations and broader world events.

39. Take for example, this collection of shipwrecked treasures from the Tang dynasty, salvaged off the Java Sea. It shows how Singapore has long been at the crossroads of maritime trade between China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The exquisite gold cup was probably a diplomatic gift made in China on its way to the Persian courts. The octagonal shape of the cup is clearly not Chinese, and there are figurines on the cup which are Middle Eastern. So Singapore was at the centre of international trade – even back in the first millennium.

40. But the significance of our central location would be most keenly felt only a thousand years later – in the 19th century, when Malaya became a chessboard for the European powers vying for supremacy through their colonies.

41. The British were then searching for a new port further south of Penang, and despatched their ships, Discovery and Investigator, to look for a suitable harbour. This old monochrome painting was done by a midshipman on one of the ships, Discovery back in 1819, the year of Singapore’s founding. It says Rocky Point in the painting – that’s around the current Fullerton Hotel area; so the painter was there looking across the Singapore River, and the high point or high features in the background is probably Fort Canning where he was looking out to.

42. This painting is one of the earliest surviving depictions of Singapore, and provides an eye-witness account of a pivotal moment in our history. There are many more wonderful items like this in our National Collection, in our museums, that tell the story of how Singapore has evolved as a nation.

43. We want to enhance this content in our national museums, so that they can better tell the Singapore Story, in a way that resonates with Singaporeans.

44. So over the next 5 years, we will invest $62 million to help our museums build up their collections, and conserve these collections with new techniques. We will increase access to our collection through our museums and also online, so that our artefacts and artworks can be enjoyed by both the present generation and kept safe for future generations.

45. But our museums are not just about objects and exhibitions; they are really about our people. And we want our museums to be central to the cultural and community life of all Singaporeans, enjoyed by young and old alike.

46. Here, I acknowledge that there is scope to improve. Our surveys show that although 3 in 4 Singaporeans agree that participating in heritage activities and visiting museums are important in developing a greater sense of belonging to Singapore, only 1 in 5 Singaporeans actually visited our museums and heritage institutions. So there’s a bit of a disjoint, 75% says that it is important but only 20% actually visit.

47. Some have suggested having year-round free entry to our museums. Mr Baey Yam Keng had raised this idea in this House in 2011, and Ms Janice Koh also asked this in a PQ last year.

48. I have discussed this with our museum team. Over the years, we have progressively expanded the scope of free admission, for example we now have free entry in the month of August, but we stopped short of doing it all year round. The key consideration was to ensure sustainability over the long term.

49. This remains a concern, and so from time to time, when we bring in special exhibitions with external partners, there will be entry charges to help cover costs, in fact this is done in museums all over the world.

50. But aside from these periodic special shows, I am convinced that there are significant merits to opening up our museums for all Singaporeans to enjoy.

51. Take the example of Ms Tay Bee Luan – she has two children, and she wrote to NHB last year to tell us how much she appreciated the free museum entry month in August. She doesn’t have a high household income, so cost is a concern. So she made full use of the free entry in August and brought her two children to the national museums every weekend.

52. She could not complete all the museums last August, and I know they are looking forward to the next time they are able to go to the museum. I think there are many others like them who will benefit from greater access to our museums.

53. So after careful consideration, I have decided to make entry to our national museums and heritage institutions free for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents all year round.

54. We will start from 18 May, with the launch of this year’s Children’s Season in the museum. It would also be a fitting day to start free museum entry, because 18 May also happens to be International Museum Day.

55. I hope this move will encourage more Singaporeans to visit our museums and heritage institutions. There’s a lot you can see, learn and enjoy, especially for people with families and children. At the same time, we will make sure that our museums step up their outreach and programmes to the community, so that more Singaporeans can come to our museums to appreciate and enjoy our diverse culture and heritage.

56. The third strategy we have is to continue with efforts to engage our communities through the arts.

57. Mr Arthur Fong and several members asked about this earlier, and Ms Janice Koh also made a point that arts programmes should be kept affordable, especially for low-income families. In fact, there are many activities that we’ve started which are accessible to all. For example, we have provided learning opportunities to appreciate the arts, through the Arts & Culture 101 programmes held at our libraries. We have also brought the arts closer to the people, through our community clubs, libraries, and parks.

58. An important part of what we are trying to do is to promote ground-up initiatives, whether in singing, dancing, acting or playing a musical instrument. Since we rolled out the Community Engagement Masterplan last year, almost 250 new community interest groups across various art forms like pottery, theatre, singing and the ukulele have been formed.

59. Recently, we had the PAssionArts Singing Festival, and more than 35,000 people took part. Around the island, we have 140 PAssionArts Hotspots, like the one shown here, where residents have a chance to showcase their artistic talents every month.

60. The spirit of ground-up arts initiatives is captured by this group of young Singaporeans. They wanted to show the importance of valuing the contributions of our foreign workers. So they made friends with a group of Bangladeshi workers, and even went to visit their families in Bangladesh. With support from the NAC and the Singapore International Foundation, these young people presented the personal stories of these workers through a photography exhibition and a short film screening at the Arts House.

61. Later, they even formed a band with some of these workers, learnt about their music, and put up a performance that combined their music with rock, pop and indie sounds. I think it’s a wonderful example of what we can do to build bridges across communities through the arts. Some members (Ms Irene Ng, Ms Janice Koh) have suggested that the best way to engage the community is to draw on the expertise of artists and art organisations. I fully agree with them.

62. Community art is something that we want not just for the numbers, but for deep engagement and to help transform lives. I think our artists are in a very good position to do this. Today, many of the NAC’s grant recipients like The Necessary Stage and DramaBox actively engage the community through quality programmes. Going forward, NAC will do more to work with arts practitioners who are keen to engage the community, and co-create arts projects with them.

63. Ms Tay Bee Aye is one such example. With support from NAC, Bee Aye worked with the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (AWWA) to organise a craft project for seniors, where she taught them to incorporate creative elements into patchwork.

64. When she first started the workshop, the seniors were worried about making mistakes. The most common excuse was: “I can’t draw!” Or they would say: “Tell me exactly what to do and I will do it”.

65. But Bee Aye insisted that they come up with their own creative expressions. So she asked them to start with something simple – to cut out simple pictures showing stories of their past and stitch them into their craftwork. The result was colourful, everyday scenes – the places they used to work at, the houses they used to live in, birds, flowers, even an image of the trams that used to run along Singapore. As you can see from this picture, the seniors were proud to showcase their handicraft, as they had achieved something which they never thought they could do in the past.

66. These are all examples of how the arts can develop self-confidence, promote creative expression and transform lives. There’s still much more we can do. The key to do this well is good implementation on the ground, and I recognise that we can do better. But we are committed to doing this well, and we will take in feedback and any suggestion from members on how we can improve our engagement on the ground. With their suggestions on things we can do better, we will study them, and we will step up our community engagement efforts in the coming years.

67. Fourthly, we will also reach out to our young people, to our children, and strengthen arts education in schools. Last year, we had the Arts and Culture Education Masterplan, where teachers were given more access to training in teaching the arts, and students were given more support to put up performances and pursue artistic projects.

68. Through these efforts, we want to make sure that every child in school can regularly take part in different cultural activities and learn to express themselves through story-telling, arts and crafts, singing, music-making and dance. We also want them to have the opportunity to appreciate artistic excellence and be inspired through visits to the museum, theatre, concert hall, museum, or heritage sites.

69. One of the initiatives under the Masterplan is a new Arts and Culture Presentation Grant (ACPG), which MCCY and MOE launched late last year. The grant hopes to create more opportunities for youths to have a deeper engagement with arts and culture, and to share their artworks beyond the school community, especially in public places. We have has been awarded to 37 schools and we have made a special effort to support schools that may not have the resources to showcase their students’ performances and artworks to the public.

70. The proposals that were submitted are promising and meaningful. For example, Serangoon Junior College is putting on a series of monologues, skits and a play, with the scripts mostly written by its students themselves. Or ITE College Central, the students are using the grant to do something interesting – its students will use infra-red photography to create images. This is an example of what the photographs could look like. There are many other examples of young people participating in the arts, through these efforts we are doing. And we will continue to do so, and give maximum exposure in the arts to our students.

71. Fifth, the Government will continue to support our local artists and help them in their pursuit of artistic excellence. There were many members who spoke about this, including Ms Irene Ng, Ms Janice Koh and Mr Arthur Fong have spoken about this, and I share their views that we must continue to support our local artists in their pursuit of excellence.

72. We must recognise our local artists who have dedicated their lives to excelling in their craft. And there are many of them whom we can be proud of. Like Mr Kuik Swee Boon, the founder of his own dance company The Human Expression Dance Company. He did this together with his wife and his whole team of dancers. It was very difficult at first, but in three years, The Human Expression Dance Company is now touring cities like Paris, Dubai, and they have built up a reputation for themselves as a contemporary dance company combining Western and Eastern forms of dance. Without our artists, we would not have the quality of artwork and performances that ignite our imagination, stir our spirits, and inspire our creativity.

73. There is some perception that state funding for artistic excellence has been compromised somewhat, because of funding for community engagement in the arts. And I would like to clarify that in fact, the government’s support for artists and arts groups has actually increased significantly over the years. NAC’s direct assistance to our artists and arts groups, such as through grants, arts housing rental subsidies, scholarships and training, has almost doubled over the past five years.

74. In this year’s Budget, state funding for the arts will increase by a further significant amount. I should say that we are fortunate to be in a position to do so. As Culture Minister, I will be the first to stand up and beat the drum for more funding for culture. When I talk to my counterparts in other countries, they are quite envious of our position. Because around the world, governments are tightening their belts, and often funding for the arts is the first to be cut. In Singapore, I’m glad that the Exchequer has agreed to increase our arts funding (and the same can be said for sports funding as well).

75. Over the past year, NAC has done extensive consultations with artists and arts groups on how the Government can provide better support for them. Based on their feedback, NAC has recently improved its grants schemes in several ways.
    
    First, we will offer more integrated support throughout the entire art-making process, from creation to production to market and audience development. We are not just looking at specific parts, but the entire spectrum of art-making.
    
    Second, we will have more funding provisions to help our artists achieve excellence, encourage new creative and innovative content, and build capabilities. This is something that Ms Irene Ng highlighted, and the new grants framework is indeed aligned in this direction. For example, we have enhanced the grants to support original and innovative content; and also introducing new grants to support productions in both local and international markets, as well as to build audiences at home and abroad.
    
    Third, we will have a longer funding tenure to give grant recipients greater financial stability and the ability to plan for long-term projects. For example, under the revised organisation-based Major Grants Scheme, the funding tenure will be extended to 3 years. Ms Koh voiced concerns about the possibility of some arts groups “graduating” from the Major Grant Scheme after 3 years. I would like to assure her that NAC will continue to support companies that play a key role in our arts scene, be it through the Major Grant or other grant schemes, which now include higher and more comprehensive levels of support.
    
    Finally, we will be more inclusive, and support a more diverse range of art forms as well as applicants. In particular, commercial arts companies and intermediaries such as galleries, presenters, producers and publishers will be eligible for almost all project grants, in recognition of the role they play in a vibrant arts and culture ecosystem.

76. These revisions in NAC’s grant schemes will raise funding to our artists and art groups to around $94m between FY12 - FY16. It is a significant increase of almost 140%, compared to the previous 5-year period from FY07 – FY11. With this additional investment, artists will have greater support to pursue their passion and hone their craft.

77. I should say a few words about funding guidelines which Ms Janice Koh talked about earlier as well. Our guidelines are there really because of the need in accountability in the use of public funds. And NAC will apply these with a light touch and provide space, as much as possible, for our artists and art groups to express themselves creatively. I think the key does not lie in funding guidelines per say, but the key lies in building a discerning audience that is supportive of artistic expression, even if it may be sometimes provocative or controversial. That requires deep dialogue and engagement within our artists and the broader community, different diverse groups, and MCCY and NAC will facilitate, so that we can open up the space for more artistic expressions. Complementing our support through the grants framework are our national platforms such as the Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore Biennale and Singapore Writers’ Festival. These platforms also support our artists and arts groups by commissioning local works. Through these platforms, our artists will have the chance to profile their works both locally and abroad.

78. Besides the NAC grants, we also have the arts housing subsidies. The number of artists and arts groups who benefitted from subsidised studios has increased to more than 170 in 2013 over the past 5 years - an increase of almost 90%. In addition, artists and arts groups benefit from the project studios and “pay-per-use” rehearsal and performance spaces in these arts housing facilities.

79. While it is not possible to house all our artists and arts groups in subsidised spaces, NAC will continue to develop alternative options by working with partners such as commercial developers and community centres to co-locate artists and arts groups in their facilities.

80. While it is not possible to house all our artists and arts groups in subsidised spaces, NAC will continue to develop alternative options by working with partners such as commercial developers and community centres to co-locate artists and arts groups in their facilities.

81. Let me now briefly highlight our plans to promote artistic excellence in three different sectors. The first is the performing arts sector and that is something Ms Janice Koh has mentioned. Our pinnacle performing arts festival is the Singapore Arts Festival. As members are aware, a Review Committee was set up last year, and it submitted its recommendations for the Festival to have a sharper focus on artistic quality to inspire audiences. The Review Committee also called for the Festival to be run by an independent Festival Company.

82. My Ministry has reviewed the recommendations, and we agree with the broad directions set out by the Committee. So NAC will set up a new company to take over the running of the Arts Festival which will return in 2014. And this is one example where we are happy to step back and give the arts community greater latitude in creative expressions. The company will be given the autonomy to determine the Festival’s artistic direction. This will allow the arts community to expand its programming capabilities, and over time, enable the Festival to develop a stronger identity of its own.

83. On theatre spaces which is something Ms Janice Koh talked about and I think it’s an issue on both cost and space. On cost and charges is something I am prepared to review and we do so from time-to-time. But I would say that we already charge local art groups subsidised rates despite running these theatre spaces at a loss. On space provision, I think we will do more so that we can have more options for our arts groups. When Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall complete their refurbishment and re-open in mid-2014, they will provide much-needed, professionally fitted-out and managed mid-sized venues in the city, in addition to the current Drama Centre. MCCY and NAC will continue to review the availability of arts infrastructure, including the demand for mid-sized theatres, as part of our broader review of the performing arts sector.

84. We are also looking at ways to promote excellence in the visual arts sector.

85. We already have a growing calendar of exciting visual arts events, like the Singapore Art Week held earlier this year. There is also growing interest in Singapore art, whether it is works by our pioneering artists like Liu Kang, Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng and Georgette Chen, or by our current leading art practitioners like Iskandar Jalil, Ming Wong, Thomas Yeo, and Tan Swie Hian.

86. And to build up our visual arts sector further, we will do more to strengthen our art professionals’ capabilities, in areas such as critical research, writing and curatorship. The visual arts sector will also receive a further boost when the National Art Gallery (NAGA) opens in 2015.

87. Together with the Singapore Art Museum and the Singapore Tyler Print Institute, we will have three visual arts institutions under MCCY. I think there will be benefits to strengthening this visual arts cluster comprising these 3 institutions – to achieve better coordination across the three institutions, deepen capabilities, boost scholarship and to maximise synergies. So we are looking at ways to form and develop these arts clusters.

88. We are also looking at international platforms for the visual arts, and one of the most important contemporary visual arts shows in the world is the Venice Biennale.

89. NAC had earlier announced a hiatus from the Biennale this year. We have reviewed this, and decided that our participation in international platforms such as the Venice Biennale is important in profiling our artists internationally. I am happy to announce that plans are currently underway, in consultation with the relevant agencies and stakeholders, to pave our return to the next Venice Biennale in 2015.

90. The third area is the traditional arts sector. The traditional arts, such as Chinese ink painting, bangsawan (malay opera) and Indian dance, are an important part of our culture and heritage.

91. They provide a link to our past, and to our ancestral roots; at the same time, because the traditional arts in Singapore have evolved with a certain local flavour and character, they also contribute to our distinctive Singapore culture. So we will continue to support and promote the traditional arts.

92. Mdm Chair, allow me to say a few words on this in Mandarin.
    
    政府向来鼓励各个族群保留和发扬自身传统文化，使新加坡能够充分发挥多元文化的特色，并且让各族文化互相交流，进而创造新加坡自己的文化资源，使我们成为一个名副其实、东西文化交融的社会。
    
    多年来，在我国许多艺术工作者苦心经营下，并且在政府的支持下，我国传统文化艺术的发展取得可观的成绩，成为我国文化和艺术事业的一大支柱。政府决心给予传统艺术工作者更多的帮助，把传统文化艺术提升到更高的层次。
    
    新加坡社会正进入一个转型期，人们的社会价值观正在改变。在这个大环境下，该如何强化我们的本土文化和价值观，就显得更加重要了。
    
    在2010年，我们已拨出两千三百万元，推出“全国传统艺术计划”，以支持我国各族群推展传统文化艺术的活动。高级政务次长，陈振泉，待会儿将向大家汇报这项计划的最新进展，以及我们准备如何进一步保留和推广传统艺术.

93. Finally, while the Government will do its part, we should not rely solely on state financing for the arts and heritage.

94. In Europe, funding for the arts tends to be state-controlled. But the experience has not always been positive. Besides being subject to budget cuts whenever there is a fiscal tightening, too much bureaucracy can also stifle artistic development. Because the officials will then have to decide what can or cannot be funded, and there will be tremendous frustration on the ground. Indeed, many in the arts community have shared with me that when it comes to the arts, they would prefer for the Government to do less, not more, and open up the space for creative and artistic expressions.

95. On the other hand, in the US, funding in the arts is overwhelmingly reliant on private patronage. But this too has its downsides – because art is not just a private enterprise, it is an essential component of our culture and collective identity.

96. What we need is a kind of partnership between the Government, corporations and individuals. We must find the right balance between state support, private giving and commercial activity.

97. We have good examples of private giving to arts and heritage, such as the donation by Mr William Lim highlighted by Mr Arthur Fong. But I agree with Mr Fong that there’s certainly more we can do to promote private giving to the arts.

98. Over the last five years, while the number of arts organisations has increased, total private giving to the arts has remained more or less unchanged, at only about 3% of all charitable donations. Compared to other countries, we still have some way to go – on a per capita basis, giving to the cultural sector in Singapore stands at about $7 per person, compared to $13 in Australia, $14 in the UK and $35 in the US.

99. So we must do more to encourage cultural philanthropy, and that’s why DPM Tharman had announced in his Budget Speech that the Government will match private sector donations to arts and heritage groups, museums and institutions. We will set aside $200 million in a Cultural Donation Matching Fund to finance these matching grants. We can only have a thriving arts and heritage sector if our people have a personal stake in Singapore’s culture, and feel the desire to contribute to its growth and development.

100. Several members have spoken about the implementation details of the Matching Fund. Ms Janice Koh asked for more flexible administration. Mr Ang Hin Kee suggested extending it to clan associations and arts schools such as the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and LASALLE College of the Arts (LASALLE), and for it to cover building projects.

101. We will look into all of these suggestions. For now, we have some preliminary views on the principles by which the Matching Fund should work.

     1. We think it is better for the potential beneficiaries to be doing the fundraising rather than the Government, to enable these agencies to nurture donor relations.

     2. We want the scheme to benefit a broad range of arts and heritage groups and institutions, and so there is a need to ensure that the matching grants are disbursed in a generally equitable manner, and not monopolised by a few large beneficiaries.

     3. We also want to ensure that the matching grants are used in a way that is impactful and sustainable, and can help support capability-building in the cultural sector over the long term.

102. Based on these broad principles, we will consult donors and potential beneficiaries to see how best to design the matching scheme. We will firm up the details when our consultation is completed later this year.

Building engaged communities

103. Madam Chair, I’ve outlined some of the plans to build a strong cultural core through the arts and heritage. Let me now turn to the other C – community, and the need to build more connections between our people (Mr Baey Yam Keng, David Ong, Laurence Lien).
     

104. We’ve all seen surveys of how Singapore has done well economically, but lags behind in terms of happiness. There are of course different ways to raise our happiness index, but many studies show that one of the most important contributors to happiness is the level of social connectedness in the community. When we are socially connected, good deeds are reciprocated, and we help, trust, and rely on each other. These relationships help us feel emotionally supported, and enrich our lives.

105. Social ties across different communities are all the more important in Singapore because of our multi-racial and multi-religious society. Over many years of patient effort, Singaporeans of all races and religions have learnt to trust one another, to give and take, and to accommodate each other’s different customs and ways of life. As Mr David Ong puts it, embracing our diversity is our hallmark as Singaporeans. But as Mr Ong and Mr Desmond Lee remind us, we must also never take this for granted.

106. I agree with Mr Ong that more needs to be done to strengthen our communities, especially with new citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) in the mix. We are looking at ways to better integrate these new citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs). I chair the National Integration Council (NIC), and through the Council and its partners, we are helping our new citizens and PRs embrace our cultural core and adapt to our local norms and values. This will help them to interact meaningfully with Singaporeans, forge stronger bonds with our community, and contribute to nation-building.
     

107. At the same time, we should do more to foster interaction between Singaporeans of different races and religions. We cannot force this, but we must do our best to encourage it. We have some ideas on how to go about this, which Senior Parliamentary Secretary Sam Tan will share in his speech later. Singa¬poreans need to know one another, socialise together, and make friends who belong to different races and religions. This is the way to widen the common ground which we all share together, and so promote unity in diversity.

108. More importantly, community-building, like culture, cannot be done be a single agency and has to be embedded within the work of the government. It is about connecting people, nurturing relationships, and providing spaces and shared activities where people get to know one another. As we build communities across different areas, they will overlap with one another, intertwining with our networks of families, friends, schoolmates, colleagues and neighbours. Collectively, they will join up into a larger community – a nationwide community – with a sense of belonging to Singapore.

109. The good news is that we do see more Singaporeans actively involved in doing community projects. During the Singapore Conversation, many participants said that they would like to see a more compassionate and inclusive society, where the spirit of giving, volunteerism, and helping one another is a natural part of everyday life.

110. To some extent, this is already happening. Every day, all over the island, acts of kindness are being carried out by Singaporeans. They may not always be visible to the public eye, but they reflect the generous spirit of Singaporeans and our desire to make a difference to the lives of others.
     

111. A survey by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) shows that over the past year, 1 in 3 Singaporeans engaged in volunteer acts. This is the highest rate of volunteerism since we started our survey, and it shows that we are moving on the right track.

112. 70-year old Mdm Tay Chay Hiang is one of these volunteers. Despite recently undergoing several medical operations, Mdm Tay is still a faithful volunteer with the Lions Befrienders. Twice a week, she visits senior citizens who live alone to see if they need help, even going the extra mile by cooking meals for them.

113. Some volunteer in groups – there’s a group of over 70 mothers living in the Henderson area, who call themselves the “Super Mummies”. These mothers help to look after one another’s children, and support one another to overcome issues mothers face. Although coordinating the schedules of so many people can be difficult, they have found a way to make it work.

114. We also see positive trends in our younger generation – they are more active and engaged, and prepared to do their part for the community. At a recent Singapore conversation meeting, I was struck when a poly student said, “Why must there always be a policy answer to all our problems?” She added “Let’s unpolicy some policies” and asked “Why can’t we solve the problems by ourselves?” Earlier this year, I had a conversation with university students, and the theme was “More than ourselves: A generation that cares”.
     

115. I think there is hope for us to move into this direction. We will encourage more of such civic activism – to empower and support Singaporeans to take the initiative, make a difference to the lives of others, and be the kind of society we want to be. We are happy to experiment with different models, like those Mr Laurence Lien had suggested, whether in the RCs or community groups, in providing seed funding to the community. But, Mr Laurence Lien has also made a very important point, that the Government should step back and create space for genuine empowerment. Mr Lien said that some public agencies are not so good at doing this, but it is not just about public agencies and public officers. Our public officers are committed and will do their duties and responsibilities well. At the end of the day, it is about our social compact. It is about what the government does, and public expectations of the government. If we want to open space for more ground-up initiatives, all of us, as leaders, must be prepared to explain to our constituents, our people, that sometimes, it is better for the Government to do less and for more organic solutions to emerge from the ground. It is not always easy to do this. Nevertheless, we should identify areas where we can have less government and more bottom-up initiatives. This is how we can nurture the kampong spirit in our urban city, and strengthen the sense that this is our home.

116. While it is heartening that more Singaporeans are volunteering their time for good causes, there are new patterns emerging. For example, we’ve noticed that those who volunteer are contributing less time compared to previous years. More people are also volunteering on an occasional, rather than regular, basis.

117. From time to time, we hear feedback from volunteers who are disappointed with their volunteering experience, and decide not to continue serving. There are several reasons why this happens. Sometimes the charities are overwhelmed by serving the needs of their beneficiaries. Sometimes they do not have the capabilities to engage their volunteers well.

118. When non-profit organisations (NPOs) put in place best practices for volunteer management, it really pays off. For Dover Park Hospice, its investment in volunteers is a critical part of helping its patients live life to the fullest in their final days. As work in a hospice can be emotionally draining, its volunteers are given thorough training in end-of-life care and provided with counselling support. As a result, more than half of Dover Park Hospice’s 260 active volunteers have stayed with the organisation for 5 years or more.

119. We hope to see more volunteers build long-term relationships with other charities they are involved in, and be engaged in ways that they find fulfilling and meaningful. Volunteers are more likely to stay on when they find joy and fulfilment in the experience.

120. To help our charities sustain volunteer involvement, MCCY will work with the NVPC to develop a Volunteer Management Consultants initiative. NPOs will be able to tap on the services of a team of Volunteer Management Consultants hired by NVPC to build their volunteer management capabilities, such as designing programmes for volunteers, and helping volunteers contribute more effectively.

Conclusion

121. Madam Chair, building a distinctive shared culture and an engaged community takes time. It is not something the government can mandate. It must be driven by the conviction of Singaporeans, who care enough to do something to shape the character and tone of our society. I am optimistic that with the heartfelt calls for a stronger cultural core, and a more engaged community, we can work together to build a home we are proud of.