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Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth
Speeches

Singapore names new orchid in honour of UNESCO

Sectors

Arts & Heritage

21 June 2014

Remarks by Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth at UNESCO Orchid naming and presentation ceremony, 38th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Doha, Qatar

Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani
Her Excellency Ms Irina Bokova 
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen

  1. It is a pleasure to be here in Doha to observe the World Heritage Committee in session. I thank our gracious host, the government of Qatar, for their warm hospitality.

  2. Singapore ratified the World Heritage Convention about two years ago, in June 2012. So we are here to observe the Committee in session, learn from other State Party Members' best practices in heritage protection and preservation, and above all, show our strong support for UNESCO's important mission. 

  3. Back in Singapore, we are continuing to raise awareness and build up our capability to preserve and safeguard world heritage, in tandem with economic and other social needs. 

  4. Today, it gives me great pleasure to commemorate Singapore's ratification of the World Heritage Convention. We are doing so by naming an orchid in honour of UNESCO, to signal our support for UNESCO's important mission. 

  5. The orchid is a significant cultural symbol for Singapore. We have a long tradition of orchid research and hybridisation. We research, protect and reintroduce native Singapore species to nature areas, parks and the streets of Singapore. This includes critically-endangered species.  We see this as Singapore's contribution to the preservation of our natural heritage. 

  6. We have named orchids after many distinguished personalities and international organisations in the past, including the World Trade Organisation and the International Olympic Committee. These orchids are specially chosen to honour the person or organisation, and are not commercialised in any way.  

  7. We will shortly be naming this orchid – which you can see here – in honour of UNESCO, as the Dendrobium UNESCO. It is a unique and beautiful hybrid with a rare, purplish-blue colour and a truly international lineage. Its heritage can be traced to places all over the world – from the Philippines, to Papua New Guinea, to Australia and the United Kingdom. In many ways, it embodies the coming together of many nations in the spirit of mutual appreciation, exchange, cooperation and growth for a common purpose.  

  8. I hope this orchid will resonate with UNESCO as a symbol of heritage preservation, and as a reminder that all of us – all nations – have a part to play in preserving and safeguarding our world heritage. Thank you. 

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