Building community support for vibrant and sustainable cultural growth

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

1. A very good morning to all of you.

2. It is my privilege to be here at the Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum to share Singapore's experience with you. 

3. Singapore is often described as a melting pot of different cultures, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of our forefathers, who came together from different parts of the world to forge a new life and to take advantage of opportunities created by international trade and commerce. 

4. In such a melting pot, you sometimes see scenes like this - a pair of Chinese lions celebrating the Lunar New Year at a Hindu temple. In fact, this was an event I attended, and it was organised by the Sri Mariamman temple, a famous Hindu temple right in the heart of Singapore's Chinatown.

5. Every year for more than a decade, the Sri Mariamman temple has been organising this celebration for the less fortunate, regardless of their race or religion. The temple also invited representatives from Chinatown businesses, and the mosque next door. 

6. As our first Culture Minister, the late Mr S Rajaratnam puts it, in Singapore, you will be “enthralled by the richness and variety of our culture – a culture rooted in many civilisations”. 

7. You can see evidence of this variety in Singapore's streetscape. On Waterloo Street, not too far from Sri Mariamman temple I have just mentioned, you will spot a Kuan Yin temple, a Hindu temple, and a Jewish synagogue.  All within walking distance of each other.

8. How do we make a nation from such diverse origins? There are no short or easy answers to this question. If I had to summarise, I would say it boils down to balance, commitment and faith.

9. Balance, because we have to find a way to preserve and strengthen our many cultures and rich heritage, while maintaining common space and shaping one national identity.

10. Commitment, because it requires all groups and communities in Singapore to work together, to reach beyond ethnic, religious or linguistic lines to enhance mutual understanding and appreciation – much like what the leaders at Sri Mariamman temple have demonstrated.

11. And faith, because it is worthwhile doing this only if we believe that we are better off as a united people than as mere cohabitants on an island.

12. This serves as an important context to explain the choices that Singapore has made in areas as diverse as language use, our system of education, and maintaining an ethnic mix amongst residents in any public housing estate.

13. It also guides our approach in promoting culture and the arts.

14. In fact, today's forum theme is particularly apt for Singapore. For the reasons I have described, we place great importance on drawing on, and building community support for vibrant and sustainable cultural growth.

15. We do so in at least three ways.

16. First, we honour the different cultural traditions from which our various communities hail. We believe that a deep understanding of our own roots, however diverse they may be, will anchor our shared identity as Singaporeans. This is why the Government has worked closely with the respective communities to establish Heritage Institutions and Cultural Centres. These cultural institutions help visitors understand the community's contributions to nation building, while showcasing each community's cultural traditions and heritage.

17. Second, by encouraging broad-based participation in and appreciation of arts and cultural activities. Take for instance our annual PAssionArts Festival, spearheaded by the People's Association.

18. This is an island-wide arts festival, meant to reach all ages and all segments of society. Its latest run attracted and involved some 250,000 residents. By tapping on the extensive grassroots network of the People's Association, we seek to bring arts and culture to as many neighbourhoods and households as possible.

19. Let me show you a video of PAssionArts to give you a better idea.

20. The third way in which we draw on community support for cultural development is to focus on innovation. Only with new ideas and new approaches can we continue to engage and enthuse a society that is constantly evolving. Take for instance the Singapore Night Festival. 

21. The Festival is a hugely popular night-time celebration of arts and culture for all right in the heart of our city, and it is steadily gaining international attention. This year, the Festival drew an unprecedented 600,000 visitors. Many of the visitors were families with young children who came to soak in the numerous free events and activities.

22. The Festival organiser – the National Museum of Singapore – did not do this on its own. It pulled together over 60 festival partners for this year's spectacular edition. This ranged from the Singapore Management University that housed the Festival village, the Rendezvous Hotel that screen movies, to the School of the Arts students who displayed their art works.  Even the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, a national monument that dates back to 1835, hosted art installations.

23. Another example of innovation involves supporting and funding the arts and culture. About two years ago, we launched the Cultural Matching Fund. The Fund provides dollar-for-dollar government matching grants for private monies raised by arts and heritage organisations. At about SGD200 million or more than HKD1 billion, it is one of the world's largest Fund of its kind.

24. One of the Fund's beneficiaries is our new National Gallery Singapore, the largest museum in the world dedicated to Singaporean and Southeast Asian art. As a cultural institution that caters to Singaporeans from all walks of life, the Gallery features an art education centre made possible by a generous gift from the Gallery's founding partner Keppel Corporation. This is the first dedicated art facility of its kind in Singapore and the region.

25. Ladies and gentlemen, as the theme of this year's Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum puts it, a vibrant and sustainable cultural scene rests on a strong foundation of community-wide support.

26. This is indeed the goal that we are striving towards in Singapore. We look forward to learning from the sharing by participating countries at this forum.

27. Thank you.