Steering committee comprising people, public and private sector members to guide and plan Singapore’s 50th anniversary

1. Singapore is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its independence in 2015. To commemorate and celebrate this major milestone in our nation’s history, Singaporeans will not only have a say in how the nation celebrates its Golden Jubilee, they will also be invited to plan and organise activities.

2. To guide and coordinate the plans for the 50th anniversary celebrations, a Steering Committee chaired by Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat has been formed. Named the Singapore50 (SG50) Steering Committee, it will comprise representatives from the public, private and people sectors. Following Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s announcement at the “Our stories: Conversation with PM Lee Hsien Loong” dialogue session with the youth on 22 August 2013, Mr Heng provided details on the SG50 Steering Committee at the Singapore Industry Scholarship (SgIS) Award Ceremony at the NUS University Cultural Centre on 26 August 2013.

3. “As Singapore turns 50, it will be timely to reflect on who we are and how far we have come as a people”, said Mr Heng. “We want every Singaporean to be able to connect through their personal stories with the broader Singapore story, and be a part of the anniversary celebrations. This will be an opportunity for everyone to celebrate their love for the nation, to show love and concern for each other in their own ways. To this end, we envisage the 2015 calendar to be filled with many ground-up efforts by Singaporeans to mark this important milestone in our history.”

4. The Steering Committee will be supported by five Committees. The Committees will engage partners in their respective sectors to establish meaningful programmes that support the SG50 celebrations. Key to their work is to encourage active community participation and involvement in the programmes and activities leading to 2015. The Committees are:

   1. Education and Youth

   2. Culture and Community

   3. Economic and International

   4. Environment and Infrastructure

   5. Partnership

5. Mr Lawrence Wong, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information, will lead the Programme Office that will coordinate the work of the Committees. He will also co-chair the Culture and Community Committee.

6. On what the public can expect from the SG50 celebrations, Mr Wong said that a priority was to encourage ground-up initiatives, cater to varied interests and to ensure that there will be a range of programmes appealing to different sectors and population segments. “We will make use of different channels and social media platforms to actively engage Singaporeans. We also encourage Singaporeans to come to us with your ideas for Singapore's 50th anniversary, so that together, we can shape this milestone celebration.”

7. The SG50 Committees will meet in the coming months. Engagement of partners in the respective sectors will commence subsequently. 

Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth 

23 August 2013