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Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth
Press Statements

Singapore's champions for racial and religious harmony receive honours at inaugural awards night

Sectors

Community

31 July 2015

The inaugural Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles (IRCCs) Awards Night 2015 today recognises outstanding IRCC members, initiatives and stakeholders who have made significant contributions.

  1. The inaugural Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles (IRCCs) Awards Night 2015 today recognises outstanding IRCC members, initiatives and stakeholders who have made significant contributions to promote racial and religious harmony in Singapore. These national-level awards were presented today by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong to nine winners across three categories.

  2. Mr Wong said, “The IRCCs have done outstanding work and helped build many networks of trust that unite our people, regardless of race or religion. The next 50 years of the Singapore Story will depend on whether we can continue to uphold a harmonious and cohesive society. The work of the IRCCs is important towards ensuring this sense of unity and harmony, in our community, for all of us to continue standing together as Singaporeans.”

  3. The Inter-Racial Confidence Circles were formed in 2002 by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong against the backdrop of the Sep 11 attacks. They were renamed Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles (IRCCs) in 2007 to better reflect their role as important bridges among religious groups in local constituencies. There is one IRCC in each of the 87 constituencies in Singapore.

  4. Through the IRCCs, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) has rolled out many events, activities and programmes to promote inter-ethnic/faith relationships, and to establish better understanding and trust among the various racial and religious communities. Over the past nine years, IRCC members have been very supportive towards the initiatives, and have actively promoted inter-ethnic/faith understanding and relationships between their communities and others.

IRCC awards

  1. A total of nine awards were given out during the event. The award categories are as follows:

    a) IRCC Colours Award (3 winners) - To recognise IRCC Chairmen and members who have made extraordinary contributions to inter-racial and religious harmony.

    b) IRCC Harmony Award (3 winners) - To recognise successful events or projects undertaken by the IRCCs.

    c) IRCC Ambassador Award (3 winners) - To recognise religious organisations and other stakeholders that have worked closely or contributed immensely to IRCCs.

  2. Winners of the IRCC Colours Award and IRCC Ambassador Award were determined by a judging panel, while winners of the Harmony Awards were decided by a combination of panel assessment and voting by participants at the event. Award recipients received a specially designed award trophy, vouchers and an appreciation letter signed by Minister Lawrence Wong.

  3. The inaugural IRCC Awards Night 2015 was attended by 300 Chairmen and members from the 87 IRCCs, religious leaders and representatives from religious organisations.


Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth
31 July 2015