OnePeople.sg - Explorations in Ethnicity

EiE Facilitator Course February 2012

Four intensive days of exploring one’s ethnicity and learning facilitation techniques were the objectives of the Explorations in Ethnicity (EiE) Facilitator Course conducted on 4-5th & 11-12th February 2012 at City Beach Resort.

Over the course of programme, 15 passionate volunteers who come from very diverse occupational backgrounds ranging from teachers to counsellors and even retirees gained a deeper understanding of inter-ethnic relationships. They were able to share their views through honest and open facilitated discussions and reflections. The highlight of the programme was a special field trip to the “Singapore Scenes” to test a hypothesis on ethnicity.

These volunteers who have since graduated from the programme will now be trained as a facilitator with hands-on training during the EiE Basic Course coming up in March 2012.

“I am a changed person” Ganapathi Saravanakannan, Guidance Counsellors

“I used to feel uncomfortable when race card is brought up. Now I am more comfortable opening up to views from participants from other ethnic groups” Rohaida Bte Ismali, Teacher

“I am more aware of the difficulties and obstacles people from the minority race go through” Siah Su Fern, Undergraduate

Find out more about the EiE Facilitators' Course and view our Photo Gallery. For enquiries, please contact Programme Manager, Arjuna Raj at 6253 3290 or email: arjuna@onepeople.sg.

Explorations in Ethnicity (EiE) Refresher Course

Our passionate Explorations in Ethnicity (EiE) facilitators attended a refresher course on the 4th December 2011 where our volunteers were re-acquainted with the key content & principles used in the EiE Programme. Furthermore, they were introduced to new tools and techniques that could potentially be used in the EiE Programme. One of such concepts was the use of body sculpting to express various thoughts participants might have when a series of questions were posed to them. The fresher course ended on a high note with our facilitators excited about various volunteer opportunities in OnePeople.sg and the upcoming EiE Basic Course that they will be facilitating.

Find out more about the EIE Facilitators' Course and view our Photo Gallery. For enquiries, please contact Programme Manager, Arjuna Raj at 6253 3290 or email: arjuna@onepeople.sg.

More About The EiE Basic Course And EIE Facilitators' Course

Background

The Explorations in Ethnicity (EiE) programme was jointly developed by the National Institute of Education and the People's Association to provide a platform to stimulate and facilitate honest, open and unreserved sharing and discourse on ethnicity in a multi-racial setting.Participants undergo a journey of self-discovery and exploration that opens their minds to the nuances and challenges of living in multi-racial and multi-cultural Singapore.

EiE is a movement that enables participants to gain deeper understanding of the nature and manifestation of inter-ethnic relationships, as well as enhanced awareness of the presumptions, perceptions and attitudes with regard to ethnicity, through honest and open facilitated discussions and reflections.

The 2 components of the EiE programme are:

Basic Course (2 days residential) – Targeted at participants such as youth leaders, teachers, and selected grassroots leaders, between the ages of 17-25.
Facilitators' Course (4 days 2 nights residential) – Designed for adult volunteers (aged 21 and above) to impart the essential knowledge, skills and tools to facilitate the EiE Basic Course.

Since the commencement of the Explorations in Ethnicity programme, the Facilitator Courses and Basic Courses conducted have trained 70 facilitators and reached out to more than 200 youths. Look out for the next EiE Basic Course!