HarmonyWorks! Conference 2011: Home: Joint HOpes, shared MEmories
In line with the Ministry of Education’s call to seek how youths view Singapore as their home and the memories they have, the HarmonyWorks! Conference 2011 followed the same theme “Home: Joint HOpes, shared MEmories”.
535 youths from various secondary schools, ITEs, Junior Colleges, Madrasahs, Polytechnics , international schools and Nanyang Technological University attended the conference on the 9th of July 2011 at The Republic Polytechnic Cultural Centre (TRCC). The conference sort to seek out views from the youth on the Singapore Spirit, apathy among youths and how Service-Learning can empower youths in the racial harmony movement.
The Conference was organised in collaboration with Republic Polytechnic Service-Learning Club and with strong support from Singapore Polytechnic School of Business. More than 150 student volunteers, performers and youth facilitators also contributed in making the Conference a success. Participants had the opportunity to voice their views on the topic and engage guests during the dialogue session. Led by Mdm Halimah Yacob, Minister of State for Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, the pinning of the orange ribbon at the HarmonyWorks! Conference 2011 signifies the launch of the month-long Orange Ribbon Celebrations spearheaded by OnePeople.sg (OPSG).
Furthermore, there was a release of the storybook “Virtues of Harmony” which comprise of stories from different faiths by the Inter-religious Harmony Circle
"We get to share about service-learning and contributed to racial harmony as we helped out in this event. We bonded with one another through this experience. We feel that this theme is about shared memories as each of us has the same views and we all share common goals. We hope that the racial harmony in Singapore will be strengthened after this event." Republic Polytechnic facilitators
"We enjoyed the session. The stories which were being told to us were funny and at the same time, gave us something to ponder about. We don't regret attending this conference as not only does it give me the chance to mingle with students from other schools, we are now more aware of the racial harmony in Singapore” Chong Boon Secondary Students
"We found it an interesting talk as we learnt that racism can be easily prevented just by accepting each other's differences. We feel that this theme is relevant to the conference and we also got to know about things we would not have thought about. In school, we have several N.E.-related events. We are having a bazaar this year that has a theme also related to Racial Harmony." Chestnut Drive Secondary students
Click here to catch a glimpse of the conference proceedings.
More About HarmonyWorks! Conference
The HarmonyWorks! Conference is OnePeople.sg's flagship youth programme targeted at students from the Secondary Schools, Junior Colleges (JC), Institutes of Technical Educations (ITE), Polytechnics, Madrasahs and even International Schools.
The objectives of the conference are:
- To heighten participants' awareness of cross-cultural understanding/ engagement and its implications on the local, regional and global community; and
- To provide the participants with multi-faceted views for the need to go beyond the comfort of one's ethnic group and immersing in Singapore's cultural and religious diversity.
HarmonyWorks! Conference aims to provide youths with the opportunity to experience and subsequently spearhead their own inter-ethnic and inter-religious efforts. The conference will continue to incorporate youth-led elements which not only encourage dialogue and interaction, but also to gather and share perspectives of youths from various faiths and ethnicity.
The essence of the discussion @ HarmonyWorks! Conference 2005 and 2006 are presented in the publication ‘Report on the Proceedings of Harmonyworks! Conference 2005/2006'
More About HarmonyWorks! Conference 2011: 'HOME – Joint HOpes, Shared MEmories'
What are the youths' Shared HOpes and their Shared MEmories? What makes up their 'HOME'? As Singapore progress towards a culturally-diverse cosmopolitan city, it is important to examine our past as a young nation and learn from the challenges we have overcome. HarmonyWorks! Conference 2011 will engage participants to reflect on their aspiration for shaping our future together and focus on meaningful experiences that are treasured and shared among diverse ethnic and religious communities.
Theme
HarmonyWorks! Conference 2011 will carry the theme “HOME: Joint HOpes, shared MEmories”. The conference aims to empower our youth to preserve and contribute towards a cohesive community in order to build a stronger nation we call Home, heighten participants’ awareness about the importance of racial harmony and how service learning initiatives can help achieve this; and enable participants to explore their hopes for the future of Singapore where the Singapore Spirit is embedded in each citizen. The Conference will enable youths to examine the importance of respecting our common spaces while embracing our cultural and religious differences.
Programme
The Conference will be held on 9 July 2011. Key features of the conference will include a Plenary Session, breakout discussions for participants, youth performances and a Dialogue session for participants invited panelists as well as participants to share their views.
Orange Ribbon Celebrations
The HarmonyWorks! Conference will mark the launch of the month-long Orange Ribbon Celebrations spearheaded by OnePeople.sg and supported by our key partners, the Community Development Councils, Self-Help Groups, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Education and People’s Association. This national event aims to rally Singaporeans together in celebration of racial and religious harmony. In conjunction with Orange Ribbon Celebrations 2011, OnePeople.sg will be organizing the “What’s Your Story?” photo blurb competition. The Orange Ribbon Celebrations event will be held on 23 July 2011.
Nomination
We invite schools and youth organisations to nominate up to 20 multi-racial, including international and local students (such as student leaders, NE representatives and youths with a keen interest in Racial Harmony issues) to participate in this Conference. The Conference is targeted at students in Secondary Schools, Junior Colleges (JC), Institutes of Technical Educations (ITE), Polytechnics, Madrasahs, International Schools and youth organisations
To register, schools can download the nomination form, collate the responses of students and email or fax the completed form to 6259 0014 by Thursday, 26 May 2011. Schools are encouraged to nominate racial, international and local students to participate in this Conference. Reservations will be made on a first-come-first-served basis. We will reply with a confirmation note upon receiving nominations.
For enquiries, kindly contact the Programme Manager, Mr Arjuna Raj at DID: 6253 3290 or E-mail him at arjuna@onepeople.sg.
HarmonyWorks! Conference 2010: Inte-GREAT-ion – How Will You Embrace Diversity?
In the face of globalisation, diverse blend of cultures and increasing emphasis on national integration, how will you embrace diversity? HarmonyWorks! Conference 2010 bearing the theme “Inte-GREAT-ion – How Will You Embrace Diversity?” engaged participants in discussions on current trends and issues relating to diversity and integration in Singapore. The Conference aims to heighten participants’ awareness on Singapore’s multicultural diversity, discuss the value of integration and what it means to our society and explore ways in which youths can contribute towards a cohesive community.
The Conference was organised in collabration with Nanyang Polytechnic and with strong support from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). The Conference was held at Nanyang Polytechnic, Theatre of the Arts on 10 July 2010. 252 student leaders, NE representatives and youths with a keen interest in Racial Harmony issuess attended this Conference. More than 60 student volunteers, performers and youth facilitators also contributed in making the Conefence a success.Participants had the opportunity to voice their views on the topic and engage guests during the dialogue session. Led by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Education, the pinning of the orange ribbon at the HarmonyWorks! Conference 2010 signifies the launch of the month-long Orange Ribbon Celebrations spearheaded by OnePeople.sg (OPSG). The launch of the storybook on different faiths by Inter-religious Harmony Circle
Click to catch a glimpse of the conference proceedings.
HarmonyWorks! Conference 2008: Beyond Tolerance; Embracing Diversity
HarmonyWorks! Conference 2008 themed “Beyond Tolerance: Embracing Diversity” provided insights and perspectives on the concerns of the changing climate and its impact on race relations in Singapore. The conference addressed the challenges in building an inclusive society where individuals and communities are globally connected but yet is increasingly diverse in culture, religion and language. Guest of Honour, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources graced the event.
Dr Norman Vasu, Assoc Professor, Dr Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) addressed participants on ‘Multiculturalism - Challenges and the Way Forward'. He shared the findings of the recent survey on the state of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations by RSIS, its implications, and core issues of multiculturalism.
This was followed by breakout discussions led by OnePeople.sg's youth volunteer facilitators on three key issues related to the theme of the Conference – “Today in Parliament”, “DiverCity-The Next Generation” and “Dif-FRIENDS”. The conference closed with a dialogue session with Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, Mr. Zainudin Nordin, Chairman, OnePeople.sg and Mayor, Central Singapore District, Mr. Matthias Yao, Mayor, South East District, chaired by younger generation MPs, Mr. Zaqy Mohamad and Mr Michael Palmer.
Participants were forthcoming in interacting with the guests during the dialogue sessions and Q & A. Read about some of the participants' feedback and view the video highlights of HarmonyWorks! Conference 2008.
