Culture
Heritage and Creativity are two of the key areas under the Culture Sector, which UNESCO believes to be crucial in developing cohesion, inclusivity and innovation. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth heads the Culture Sub-Commission for Singapore.
- UNESCO World Heritage List: Singapore Botanic Gardens
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was inscribed at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee, in 2015. The Gardens is recognised for its historical and environmental significance, notably as a hub for science, research and plant conservation. To date, it is the first and only tropical botanic garden inscribed on the list, and is currently managed by the National Parks Board.
- UNESCO Creative Cities Network: Creative City of Design
Singapore is recognised in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a Creative City of Design. Singapore is one of two cities in Southeast Asia with such a designation. Singapore was designated in 2015, in recognition of Singapore’s efforts in incorporating design and innovation in sustainable development policies and initiatives. The bid was submitted by DesignSingapore Council.
- Hawker Culture in Singapore
Hawker Culture in Singapore was successfully inscribed as Singapore’s first element on the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 16 December 2020. The inscription recognises the role of hawker centres as community dining spaces for all Singaporeans as well as the mastery of skills by hawkers as bearers of hawker culinary practices. Hawker Culture in Singapore also reflects Singapore’s multicultural society and is a living culture practiced in a highly urbanised environment.
The inscription of Hawker Culture in Singapore was supported unanimously by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is the international committee that decides on the nominations submitted by different countries.
Education
UNESCO aims to engage with educational tools to achieve its goals, mainly “to build peace, eradicate poverty and drive sustainable development”. It is leading the Global Education 2030 Agenda under Sustainable Development Goal 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The Ministry of Education, Singapore, heads the Education Sub-Commission for Singapore.
- UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre: Temasek Polytechnic
In May 2019, Temasek Polytechnic was accepted as a member of the UNEVOC network. The UNEVOC Network lives off the pro-active engagement of its members and provides an environment for exchange, cooperation and mutual assistance. The establishment of a UNEVOC centre at Temasek Polytechnic allows Singapore to play an active role in strengthening international and regional cooperation in Skills Development and Life Long Learning.
- UNESCO Chair of Social Policy Design in Asia
The UNESCO Chair for Social Policy Design (SDP) in Asia was established at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), National University of Singapore (NUS) in March 2017 for four years. The UNESCO Chair for SDP focuses on building capabilities of governmental, non-governmental and international actors in social policy design. This is done through research, teaching, training and networking programmes. Professor M Ramesh at LKYSPP is the Chairholder and joins a select group of international scholars in the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme which aims to build research capacities of universities to address pressing social problems and promote sustainable development.
- UNESCO Chair on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Management in Asia
In May 2020, UNESCO and the National University of Singapore (NUS) established the UNESCO Chair on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Management (AHCM) in Asia. The UNESCO Chair will be hosted in NUS for four years under the guidance of Professor Ho Puay Peng, Head of Department of Architecture at the NUS School of Design and Environment. Prof Ho joins the ranks of over 800 international scholars in the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme.
Information
The Information Sector supports the UNESCO Constitution in promoting “free flow of ideas by word and image”. The Ministry of Communication and Information heads the Information Sub-Commission for Singapore.
Science
The goal of the Science Sector is to promote inclusivity between and within societies, through knowledge creation and sharing. The National University of Singapore heads the National Science Sub-Commission for Singapore.
- UNESCO Bioethics Programme
The UNESCO Bioethics Programme under UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector is primarily responsible for Secretariat of two advisory bodies – the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) and the Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC). Established in 1993, and made up of 36 independent international experts, the IBC, being the only global forum on bioethics, keeps track of progress in life sciences and its applications to ensure respect for humanity dignity and freedom. It meets at least once a year to make recommendations on bioethics issues for adoption by consensus. The IGBC was created in 1998 and comprise 36 Member States whose representatives meet at least once every two years to examine the advice and recommendations of the IBC for follow-up by Member States.
The Bioethics Advisory Committee (BAC), supported by the BAC Secretariat in the Ministry of Health, leads Singapore’s participation in the activities of the UNESCO Bioethics Programme. Professor Lee Eng Hin, Emeritus Consultant at the National University Hospital, is a member of the IBC for a four-year term from 2020 to 2023. Singapore is also member of the IGBC for a four-year term from 2018 to 2021.
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