SINGAPORE: In preparation for the 2018 Asian Games and Asian Para Games, S$2 million will be set aside to support Team Singapore athletes, Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth Parliamentary Secretary Baey Yam Keng said on Thursday (Mar 8).

The additional funding will be “over and above the existing funding for National Sports Associations (NSAs), carded athletes and spexScholars”, he said in Parliament during the ministry’s Committee of Supply debate.

“Following a review of past competitions, we will be introducing customised support for selected Team Singapore athletes in the lead up to major games over a rolling two-year period,” he said. 

“This will give games-bound athletes greater assurance and encourage more to train full time, as they strive for success at these competitions.”

Mr Baey also reiterated the Government’s support for national athletes. “The Government is committed to supporting our athletes’ aspirations and will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that with our High Performance Sports system, our athletes can achieve their best,” he said.

“We are working with various NSAs to be more professional in organisational governance and technical expertise,” added Mr Baey.

“We will also continue to enhance areas such as talent identification and development, coach development through CoachSG, sports science and medicine capability and athlete support systems,” he said, while mentioning athlete support for scholarships, career and education opportunities.

SINGAPORE:  The elderly and working adults will be the target of a new campaign by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), aimed at creating a safer environment for giving.

The campaign will be launched in phases from June this year, following the findings of an informed giving survey conducted last year, Senior Minister of State Sim Ann announced on during the ministry’s Committee of Supply debate on Thursday (Mar 8).

Materials customised for these two groups could, for example, be hard-copy brochures for the elderly, and posts and references on social media for working adults.

This is on top of ongoing efforts to promote safer giving to the public, like providing an advisory on information to look out for, and questions to ask in relation to online appeals, Ms Sim said.

In a move towards encouraging safer giving and increasing transparency and accountability in the sector, the Commissioner of Charities will develop a “visibility guide” in the middle of this year, she said.

“This will help charities put out key information such as (the) use of donations and activities of a charity in a simple manner,” she added.

From the middle of this year, MCCY will also strengthen smaller charities’ regulatory compliance through “co-regulation and more targeted guidance”, Ms Sim said. 

“We will work with the umbrella bodies to set up shared services, and develop legislative guidance to help charities comply with the regulatory requirements,” she said. 

A Code of Practice for Crowdfunding Platforms, which MCCY co-developed with key crowdfunding platforms, will be implemented over the course of the year.

SINGAPORE: Singapore has ratified the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) Grace Fu announced on Thursday (Mar 8).

The convention aims to safeguard aspects of such intangible heritage as the performing arts, cultural rituals and traditional crafts.

Singapore ratified the convention on Feb 22, Ms Fu revealed during her ministry’s Committee of Supply debate.

“In the coming months, we will continue our conversations with the community to uncover the intangibles that resonate with Singaporeans,” she said. 
 
Singapore will have to adhere to requirements of the convention to preserve its own cultural heritage. In turn, the Republic will receive support from the United Nations and other countries in its efforts.

This will pave the way for Singapore to list an element of Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage on the UNESCO list.
 
On another heritage front, Ms Fu announced that her ministry has set aside S$66 million for the implementation of the first five-year instalment of Our SG Heritage Plan, Singapore’s first long-term comprehensive national masterplan to safeguard and promote its shared heritage for future generations. 
 
Over the past two years, MCCY had reached out to 34,000 Singaporeans for their views on Singapore’s heritage plans, Ms Fu said. The national plan will surround four themes: Our Places, Our Cultures, Our Treasures and Our Communities.
 
In addition, Ms Fu said the Government will be making changes to the relevant legislation within the next two years to better support the preservation of both tangible and intangible heritage, and to safeguard Singapore’s archaeological history more effectively. MCCY will share more details at the Singapore Heritage Festival next month, she added.  

CONVERSATIONS TO INVOLVE YOUTH IN POLICY ISSUES

Ms Fu also spoke about the importance of engaging youth on key policy issues. In order to do this, MCCY will kickstart “Youth Conversations” in April to bring youths together, she said.
 
“Through conversation and dialogue, we hope to that our youths will be informed on important issues, listen to one another’s views, negotiate differences and find new solutions together and with the Government,” she said. 
 
She drew a distinction between Youth Conversations and previous consultations. “We will be sharing more policy thoughts and considerations with our youths. We will listen more to understand our youth’s views, concerns and aspirations. We will provide more support for our youths in generating and implementing their ideas,” she said.

 
 
For a start, MCCY will work with other government agencies to identify areas which youths are interested in, she added.
 
“Whether it is about protecting our environment, or creating job opportunities in the future economy, we want to address important issues that are on the minds of our youth. We will also invite youths to propose topics that they would like to discuss and be engaged on,” she said. 

Participants can expect the conversations to be more candid and interactive, as well as broaden their horizons, she added.

Ms Fu described youths as Singapore’s present and future, and said they will be the ones bringing Singapore forward. 
 
“Our surveys show that our youths are proud to be Singaporean and are committed to the country. Many are willing and able to step up, take action and work with each other or with government on ideas and projects that will bring us forward,” she added. 
 
She said that her ministry is experimenting with different and novel modes of engagement, and that it will use technology to stay relevant and connected with youths. 
 
“We will be developing a digital platform that can facilitate real-time conversations across larger online communities, and enable participants to build and sustain connections with one another,” she said.
 
Participants in Youth Conversations can expect the conversations to be “more candid and interactive”, she added. 

SINGAPORE: About S$2.5 million worth of elephant ivory was seized at the Pasir Panjang Scanning Station on Monday (Mar 5), Singapore authorities said on Thursday.

The shipment from Apapa, Nigeria, was declared to have contained groundnuts, but an inspection by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) uncovered 61 bags with a total of 1,787 pieces of ivory, weighing about 3,500kg. 

The ivory, which was to be re-exported to Vietnam, was seized and the importer is assisting with investigations, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and AVA said in a news release. 

It is against the law in Singapore to import or export any illegal wildlife species, including their parts and derivatives under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Elephants are protected under CITES and international trade in elephant ivory is prohibited.

The same penalties apply to transits and transhipments, ICA and AVA said.

Offenders face a fine of up to S$500,000 and two years’ imprisonment, and the forfeiture of the items or animals.