EiE Basic Course (26-27 May 2012)

80 student leaders from Nanyang Polytechnic attended the EiE Basic Course held from 26-27 May 2012. The aim of course is to provide a platform to stimulate honest, open and unreserved sharing on ethnicity issues in a multi-racial setting.

The students were separated into 6 smaller groups for easier sharing as well as to build a strong sense of camaraderie amongst each other. Each group was led by 2 dedicated facilitators who aided the students in their journey of self-discovery and exploration that opened their minds to the nuances and challenges of living in multi-racial and multi-cultural Singapore.

Highlights of the program include the 4-way rope activity (tug of war), community drumming as well as the sharing of their life journey, all of which truly enabled them to see from the different perspectives. The activities also created a bond among them so they were better able to understand, appreciate and trust one another.

“Facilitators are good and entertaining. Through this course, I learn more about other races and have a better perspective about racial problems in Singapore”. - Daniel Lim Yu Xuan

“This course is a chance for me to interact with more races and people from various religions and to have a deeper understanding about racial issues in Singapore. I like Life Journey part which opens my mind a lot.” - Nadhrah bte Norzaini

“This course helps me to be exposed to differences among different races and, make new friends and learn about trusting one another.” - Nursyafeezah Bte Rosnan

“Each race has its own unique attribute. By going through this programme; we learn what is special about each race. It is indeed good." - Sharmila

EiE Student Facilitator Course (21-25 May 2012)

OnePeople.sg, in its efforts to groom racial harmony champions, successfully conducted the pilot Explorations in Ethnicity (EiE) Student Facilitator Course from 21st-25th May at Nanyang Girls High School. 

31 students from various secondary schools such as Nanyang Girls High School, Regent Secondary, Greenridge Secondary, Fajar Secondary, Chestnut Drive Secondary and Jurong Secondary attended this exciting programme. Not only did they discover on the inter-ethnicity issues in Singapore, but they also had a chance to practice their newly acquired facilitation techniques on their fellow peers. During the open facilitated discussions and reflections, they were able to share their stories in a safe environment. A special field trip for the “Singapore Scenes” allowed these youths to test their hypothesis on the topic of ethnicity and race.

These students who have since graduated from the programme will now assist in conducting a special programme for their Secondary 1 peers in their school. 

“The course creates more awareness of races and racial harmony in Singapore.”  - Sea Chew Phinthong, Regent Secondary Student

“The workshop makes me realize that racial stuffs are part of daily life and I care more about it and want to make changes starting with my friends”  - Patricia Denise Abayata, Chestnut Drive Secondary School

“The course has exceeded my expectations for me. It is really fun and different from every other workshop I attended before. I learn a lot from our very good facilitator, Mr. Farid Hamid and my friends here. Thanks OnePeople.sg for organizing this course to allow me to be more open minded about racial issues in Singapore”. - Khair Andanan, Fajar Secondary School

Find out more about the EiE Facilitators' Course and view our Photo Gallery. For enquiries, please contact Programme Manager, Emma Ooi at 6253 3281 or email: fangyu@onepeople.sg.

MOE Community Engagement Champions Programme

42 passionate youth leaders from Innova Junior College attended the HarmonyWorks! Workshop and Explorations in Ethnicity (EiE) Basic Course on 30 March 2012 & 7-8 April 2012 respectively. These student leaders are part of a core group of students from the chaNgE.PACER Council. These youths will be going through a 4-month long programme with OnePeople.sg in order to create a project that they can implement in their school.

Using the local dish 'Rojak' as a metaphor, the HarmonyWorks! Workshop Series engages participants’ on the building blocks of harmony and shared values through small group discussions, videos and hands-on activities. This workshop is aimed to enable them to appreciate and embrace diversity as well as grasp the realities of living in a multi-racial and multi-religious society like Singapore.

"The workshop has been an informative one and it is an opportunity for me to increase my awareness on the different ethnic groups in Singapore. I am looking forward to the rest of the programme." - Nigel Tang Wan Bao Nabil, Innova Junior College

"I understand the harmony in Singapore is not achieved by chance, but a conscious effort from the government and people. I hope through this programme, I hope to be a good leader and interact better with my fellow Singaporeans." - Andrea Celline P.Tan, Innova Junior College


The Explorations in Ethnicity (EiE) Basic course, adopting an experiential learning approach, provides a platform for stimulating and facilitating honest, open and unreserved sharing and discourse on ethnicity in a multi-racial setting. Participants undergo a journey of self-discovery and exploration that open their minds to the nuances and challenges of living in multi-racial and multi-cultural Singapore. The participants we divided into smaller groups and were facilitated by our passionate volunteers.

"The EiE Basic course allowed me to better appreciate my peers from other ethnicities" - Heng Xiao Loong, Innova Junior College

"This awareness will make us accept others’ differences and reduce potential conflicts" - Nargis Hussain, Innova Junior College

EiE Basic Course (10-11 March 2012)

50 passionate youth leaders from Temasek Polytechnic attended the Explorations in Ethnicity (EiE) Basic programme on 10-11 March 2012. This residential programme is targeted at post-Secondary youths and adult volunteers and provides a platform for stimulating and facilitating honest, open and unreserved sharing and discourse on ethnicity in a multi-racial setting.

Participants undergo a journey of self-discovery and exploration that open their minds to the nuances and challenges of living in multi-racial and multi-cultural Singapore.

The participants we divided into smaller groups and were facilitated by our passionate volunteers. The highlight of the 2 day programme was the Life Journey Activity which was unanimously appreciated by all as it allowed a deep sense of understanding and bonding.

The friendship forms between the students as well as with the facilitators were evident during the emotional.

"I love everything about this course. The course has wonderful facilitators who were very personal, sensitive and committed. The interaction with my fellow schoolmates and with the facilitators is truly memorable" Aria Sim Shuyen, Temasek Polytechnic

"After going through the ethnic stereotyping activity I realized that these stereotypes are not true and we should not judge people base on their race"   Goh Shu Juan, Temasek Polytechnic

"Life Journey allowed all of us to open up and truly understand each other"  Gautami