Programmes

Launch of OnePeople Portal in Conjunction with Community Leaders' Conference 2009

The OnePeople Portal aims to be the first stop for students, researches, community organisations and people seeking expert resources on racial harmony.

The OnePeople Portal was launched by Guest of Honour, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports. Click view speech by Dr Vivian.

The launch of the OnePeople Portal was in conjunction with the inaugural Community Leaders' Conference organised by OnePeople.sg. This biannual conference was held to engage Community Leaders on issues and current trends and developments pertaining to race and religious relations. The theme of this year's inaugural Conference was on the New Media: Challenges and Opportunities. The Conference aimed to raise awareness among community leaders on the various new media platforms and discusses the impact of the new media on community relations. 200 community leaders from the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles (IRCCs), Schools, Grassroots and Religious Organisation attended the conference.

The Conference comprised of plenary sessions, interactive hands-on booths and a dialogue session.

Dr Milagros Rivera, Head Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore presented on the Overview of the New Media outlining definitions and attributes of the New Media and had demonstrations of popular New Media platforms such as Facebook, Blogs, Wikipedia and YouTube. Dr Rivera also gave suggestions to the participants on how they can create online communities and shared concrete examples, such as forums created by residents of Sengakang (www.senkang.com) and a facebook account created by Boon Lay CC. She also highlighted that the new media is double edged and we must be aware of the dangers whilst not losing sight of it's potential as a community bonding tool. Click to view Dr Rivera's presentation slides.

Mr Yeo Chun Cheng, Chief Information Officer, Media Development Authority ( MDA ) spoke on Impact of the New Media on Community Relations. This session focused on the New Media Landscape in Singapore and highlighted ways in which New Media can be used for community engagement. Mr Yeo also outlined MDA's public education drive to create awareness of New Media in his presentation. He also focused on the risks of some online games, the negative effects it has on the young and the addiction to such software. He concluded by saying that the New Media can have both a positive and negative impact on society. The way to harness its potential as a community bonding tool is by raising awareness and competency of the community on these New Media platforms and engaging the community via these platforms.

The dialogue session was chaired by Mr Felix Soh, Head, Digital Media, Singapore Press Holdings and he was joined by Dr Rivera and Mr Yeo. The lively dialogue session discussed questions posed on extremism on the internet, connecting to the older generation and handling unfavorable posts on forums and blogs. Click here to view questions raised during the dialogue session.