MCCY's Addendum to the President's Address

Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth's addendum to President's Address 2023 by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law

1. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth’s (MCCY) mission is to build a caring, cohesive, and confident nation, where everyone feels they belong and is inspired to work towards a common future. Through the Forward Singapore exercise, Singaporeans came up with ideas to strengthen our solidarity and mutual responsibility as one united people. MCCY will partner Singaporeans to act on these ideas to build a better and stronger Singapore for all and generations to come.
   
   

   Belong: Ensuring a Fair and Inclusive Singapore that We All Share and Call Home

   Expanding Common Spaces and Shared Memories

2. MCCY will continue to develop our arts, heritage, and sports facilities and programmes as common spaces for people to come together to build shared memories. The Peranakan Museum and Children’s Museum recently opened with refreshed and interactive exhibits that tell the Singapore story. Our festivals such as the Singapore International Festival of Arts, Singapore Art Week, and Singapore Heritage Festival bring Singaporeans together to celebrate our arts achievements and heritage. Singaporeans will enjoy greater access to world-class sports facilities and marquee sports, lifestyle, and entertainment events with the Government taking over ownership of the Sports Hub and rejuvenating the Kallang Alive precinct. 
   
   

   Building an Inclusive Society through the Arts, Heritage, and Sports 

3. MCCY is committed to growing a vibrant arts, heritage, and sports sector, that reinforces our shared identity as Singaporeans, instils national pride and confidence in our achievements and people, and fosters an inclusive society where individuals’ skills and talent, especially in the arts and sports domains, are valued. We are unlocking new opportunities with the next iteration of Our SG Arts Plan and Our SG Heritage Plan. We are also updating the Disability Sports Master Plan to set out pathways for aspiring para-athletes, and to enable persons of different abilities to participate in sport. MCCY will continue to support artists and athletes, including through new and enhanced facilities, greater support for self-employed practitioners to grow and innovate, and uplifting sector capabilities. 
   
   

   Bond: Forging Trust and Appreciation between our Diverse Communities 

   Deepening our Social Solidarity through Sports, Arts, and Community Participation

4. We must continue to build a deep reserve of social capital and trust and nurture the “gotong royong” spirit. MCCY will continue to facilitate opportunities for Singaporeans to donate or volunteer for causes they are passionate about, through platforms such as Youth Corps Singapore, Team Nila, and our network of SG Cares Volunteer Centres across 24 towns. Through partners like the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), Community Foundation of Singapore, and Singapore Kindness Movement, we will promote care for each other as an integral part of Singapore culture and everyday life. The People’s Association will increase opportunities for citizens to be involved in community service and improvement projects in their local neighbourhoods.
5. Schools remain an important common space to develop cross-cultural understanding and friendships from an early age. Programmes such as Strategic Partnership Co-Curricular Activities allow students from different schools to participate in activities such as athletics, water polo, and ethnic dance. We are also topping up the accounts of ActiveSG members aged 4 to 12 years with an additional $100 of ActiveSG credits, so children can interact and bond outside of school. Across ages, our arts and sports programmes such as the Children’s Season, Children’s Biennale, and Active Parents encourage family bonding, while our Active Silver Hubs promote inter-generational bonding and help seniors stay active.
   
   

   Expanding Platforms to Build Trust among Different Communities

6. Demographic and societal shifts require us to continually reforge the bonds of trust among our diverse communities. Together with community partners, such as our Self-Help Groups, MCCY will facilitate mutual support across ethnic communities to ensure that the fruits of growth and progress are shared by all. We have refreshed existing platforms such as our Racial and Religious Harmony Circles so that they remain relevant in fostering social harmony and enhanced the Community Dispute Management Framework to promote pro-social behaviour and good neighbourliness.
   
   

   Build: Building a Better, More Caring Society for All Generations and the Future

   Promoting Collective Purpose

7. MCCY will continue to build a resilient society where the Government and other stakeholders – including businesses, communities, and individual Singaporeans – tackle challenges together.
8. Businesses have a role to play in strengthening our social fabric. MCCY is supporting the NVPC and the Singapore Business Federation to grow the number of businesses that generate value for society at large. MCCY is also extending and enhancing the Corporate Volunteer Scheme (previously known as the Business and IPC Partnership Scheme) so businesses can continue to enjoy tax deductions when their employees volunteer at an Institution of a Public Character. Businesses can also contribute through mentoring. The Mentoring SG office has been set up to grow awareness of mentoring, match individuals and organisations to suitable mentoring opportunities, and build capabilities to grow the mentoring movement at the national level. Corporate bodies can step up to provide volunteer mentors or opportunities for their employees to be mentored.
   
   

   Promoting Active Citizenry through Civic Participation

9. Every individual contributes to society in their roles as family member, citizen, and worker. We encourage all Singaporeans to partner the Government in refreshing our social compact through the Forward Singapore exercise. In our engagements, many Singaporeans were enthusiastic about playing a bigger role in shaping our future, including by contributing ideas, shaping policy, and participating in new forms of engagement and partnership. They also agreed that closer collaboration and partnership between the Government and other stakeholders in society was essential in the next phase of nation-building. MCCY, together with the rest of Government, will offer opportunities for Singaporeans to co-develop policies and solutions on salient national-level issues through platforms such as Citizens’ Panels and Alliances for Action (AfAs). At least 35 AfAs have been formed since 2019. 
10. We see healthy, sustained youth interest in policy making. MCCY will encourage more youths to engage in constructive civic discourse, take action to make change, and contribute to policy co-creation through platforms such as the Youth Circles and programmes such as the Youth Action Challenge. Somerset Belt will be a refreshed and vibrant precinct for youths, with youths, and by youths. Young people can lend their voices to shape Somerset Belt into a space to experiment in and call their own. We will continue to create new platforms to give our youth opportunities to shape Singapore.
    
    

    One United People 

11. Through the Forward Singapore engagements, Singaporeans have shared that they care about deepening inclusiveness, promoting fairness, and growing a culture of giving back. MCCY will rally and support Singaporeans in achieving these ideals and aspirations, to build a stronger and better society.