SINGAPORE: For Bangladeshi worker Bikas Nath, weekends are precious off-days usually spent simply hanging out with his friends. But last Sunday (Dec 11) was slightly different – he was going to make his public debut in Singapore as a poet.

The 22-year-old, who hails from Chittagong and came to Singapore last year to work as a shipyard supervisor, spent the morning practicing in front of his test-audience, fellow shipyard workers Hassan and Raselhossain, in a lead-up to the finals of this year’s Migrant Workers Poetry Competition (MWPC).

His Bengali poem, Keno Probashi?, or Why Migrant?, was a heartfelt piece about how he misses his homeland and his lost childhood, peppered with descriptions of playing games with friends, and picking mangoes and jackfruits in a lush garden.

Migrant Workers Poetry Competition 2016 winner Bikas Nath reciting his poem Why Migrant? (Photo: Mayo Martin)

Bikas’ preparations paid off. That afternoon, he read his poem with confidence in front of around 200 people – including Hassan and Raselhossain who cheered him on – at the National Gallery Singapore Auditorium. He would eventually bag first prize at the competition.

“I work in the shipyard and when I feel lonely, the pen and paper are my friends. So when I have the time, I try to write down my feelings,” he said.

It was Bikas’ first time participating in the contest, after his friends had encouraged him to submit his writings. And with this success – which comes with a small trophy and a cash prize of S$500 – he said: “It will help me write some more in the future. It will be an inspiration for me.”

‘I HAVE A TALENT TO SHOW’

Three editions on, the annual MWPC has now become a crucial outlet to hear (and read) the voices emerging from Singapore’s fringes – migrant workers from different countries who flex their poetic muscles in various languages.

Bikas was one of the 17 finalists, who were chosen from a crop of 70 entries in Bengali, Tamil, Mandarin, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, Cebuano and English.

The submissions, too, cut across themes, styles and emotions – there were poems with a hint of defiance, romantic lyrical pieces, and bittersweet depictions of their lives as migrant workers. This year’s second-place winner Palanivelu, who hails from Tamil Nadu in India, read an untitled, almost stream-of-consciousness piece about love that wouldn’t be out of place in a hipster poetry slam competition. The poem by third-place co-winner, Filipino Rolinda Espanola, was an autobiographical depiction of her struggles as a domestic worker.

Indeed, for many of them, poetry was a means of catharsis – one finalist remarked how she started writing poems because she could not leave the house for the first two years; another wept as she read her first-ever poem, which was dedicated to the son she had left in Indonesia.

“People belittle and judge us because of our job, but an event like this is a way of saying, here I am and I have a talent to show,” said finalist Edna Pilapil Manatad, a Filipino domestic worker who continues to write poems and stories on her phone, and whose poem was among the 40 entries from female poets.

KEY VOICES IN THE LOCAL SCENE

“The event has been a podium for these talent to surface,” said contest organizer Shivaji Das, a travel writer and consulting partner at management consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan.

“Since the event first happened in 2014, migrant workers have become a key component in the literary scene in Singapore, and the entire cultural scene as well.”

He pointed out how many of the poets have been featured in the past two editions of the Singapore Writers Festival and have also taken part in several poetry reading events. Migrant workers have also participated in events at the Esplanade and at visual arts competitions.

(Filipino domestic worker Glory Ann Balista, one of the poets featured in the documentary Poets On Permits. Photo: Poets On Permits)

“They have really shown the multitude of talent they bring into Singapore,” he said, adding that this year has also seen more involvement among the migrant workers in helping to organize the competition. Sunday’s host, for instance, was Bangladeshi worker Zakir Hossain Khokan, who had won first prize at the first two editions. Others had also enthusiastically helped distribute event flyers at Lucky Plaza and Peninsula Plaza to encourage others to join.

But it doesn’t stop there. Das pointed out how some of the Bangladeshi workers would sometimes hold impromptu poetry readings among themselves at East Coast Park or outside the National Library. Occasionally, they would also invite Indonesian and Filipino domestic workers to join in these readings, he said. Conversely, the latter would also invite some of their male peers to their events.

“There’s a lot of camaraderie that is evident, and that is the spirit of multiculturalism that they have shown throughout the year,” he said.

FROM BOOKS TO FILMS

Interest in the poetry of migrant workers has grown recently, too. During Sunday’s event, a bilingual anthology of Bengali poetry titled Migrant Tales was launched.

Earlier this year, Ethos Books released the book Me Migrant, featuring the poems of Md Mukul Hossine that were “transcreated” by Singaporean poet Cyril Wong.

A featured writer at the recent Singapore Writers Festival and also co-third place winner at Sunday’s event, Md Mukul has been regularly going to speak at schools – when he’s not working in the construction sector. “It was a big opportunity and I’m very happy (to have a book out),” he said, adding that there was initial skepticism about releasing the book in Singapore. But it has been a surprise bestseller – its first print run of 1,500 sold out in a few months and its second print run is doing very well. 

The interest also extends beyond the printed page, with a couple of documentaries springing up from the contest’s efforts.

One of these is Poets On Permits by filmmaker Upneet Kaur-Nagpal, which premieres on Sunday (Dec 18) at Artistry Cafe. The 25-minute documentary features the five finalists from the 2015 edition, who hail from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Bangladesh.

Kaur-Nagpal said she had been planning to do a film on migrant workers in Singapore but had been unable to find the right hook – until she came across an event featuring migrant worker poets at the Singapore Writers Festival that year. Intrigued, she attended the MWPC edition that same year.

“I didn’t want to go through the whole ‘look at them, this is how they live’, but to show their talents. This creative energy (that they have) is very important and it cuts across all boundaries, for me,” she said.

Another documentary in the works is Between Pudukkottai & Singapore, which centres on N Rengarajan, an Indian migrant worker in the construction sector, who was one of the winners at the first MWPC.

It’s by filmmaker Vishal Daryanomel, a volunteer for the contest who decided to take it a step further by collaborating with the poet on the film. Slated for release in February 2017, the 18-minute film will feature Rengarajan talking about his life story as well as three of his poems in Tamil, which will be juxtaposed with scenes from dormitories in Woodlands and Kranji, as well as Little India. The self-funded project will also include music by former The Observatory member Dharma.

GOING BEYOND SINGAPORE

Even as the literary spotlight shines on Singapore’s migrant workers, Das envisions a growing scene beyond the country’s borders.

This year, the second edition of a Malaysian version of the contest took place. Despite describing it as a “much tougher place” to run such an event, Das said he has been heartened by the support of NGOs as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In its initial year, there were only seven participants, but this year it has grown to 45, of which 30 of them were refugees.

Next year, there are also plans to hold a similar event in Abu Dhabi, and there are also discussions taking place for contests in Hong Kong and Indonesia. “We are working closely with the communities to make this a global movement of sorts,” he said.

Migrant Workers Poetry Competition 2016 first place winner Bikas Nath (centre) and third-place co-winner Md Mukul Hossine (second from right), with one of the judges, playwright Haresh Sharma (right) and the poets’ friends Hassan and Raselhossain. (Photo: Mayo Martin)

In the meantime, this year’s winner Bikas Nath will be relishing his literary success – and sometimes, words aren’t enough to describe the feeling of being a winner, even if you’re a poet.

When asked how it felt to be able to stand up and recite his poem in front of people, both strangers and friends, migrant workers or otherwise, he paused for a long time before eventually laughing.

“It’s hard to share my feelings, I just feel very excited – that’s why I lost my words!”

HELSINKI: One of the premier startup capitals in the world, Finland is the birthplace of tech titans Linux and Nokia as well as popular games such as Angry Birds and Clash of Clans. 

Like Singapore, the Nordic country has a population of about 5.5 million and ranks highly in education internationally. For instance, Singapore topped the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015, while Finland claimed the fifth spot. 

As GovTech chief Executive Jacqueline Poh pointed out, both countries have also begun to find new ways to use digital technology in education. 

“That’s something we have a lot to learn and share and collaborate with our friends in Finland,” she said. 

A CONVERGENCE OF EDUCATION AND BUSINESS

Finland is well-known for its progressive curriculum and small class sizes, which allows students space and freedom to express themselves.

And ultimately, preparing students for the working world sits at the core of Finland’s education mission.

Counsellor of Education on the Finnish National Board of Education Kristiina Volmari said the Government reforms the education curriculum every 10 years to anticipate skills and knowledge needs in the workforce.

“We also involve all the actors, all the teachers, the parents, the policy makers, the labour market (in the reforms),” she added. 

The education ministry only gives broad guidelines, however, and schools have the autonomy to tailor their lessons to a large extent. Ms Volmari explained that this was to give schools space to fit in changes to the national core curriculum. 

“If you want to have good and committed teachers, they have to create (a sense of) ownership to their course. And this can be achieved by allowing teachers to participate in formulating their school curriculum, which will, in turn, motivate the teachers,” she elaborated. 

For example, a secondary school in the city of Espoo opted to emphasise technology in its curriculum. The school, Saarnilaakson Koulu, set up a special class of just 20 students exploring the application of information and communication technology across different subjects.

This technology-oriented curriculum was suggested by the school’s teachers and implemented early in the school’s history, Saarnilaakson Koulu Principal Jukka Kuittinen said. 

SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE FROM YOUNG
Aside from the school curriculum, non-profit bodies such as the Economic Information Office (EIO) also seek to supplement learning outside of the school curriculum. 

For example, EIO supports Slush Youth – an event offering a circuit of activities ranging from coding to sustainability to foster innovative thinking and entrepreneurship in youth. 

Now in its second year, Slush Youth attracted a total of 300 student participants this year, double that of last year. 

Young people attending a Slush coding workshop in Helsinki, Finland. (Photo: Patrick John Lim)

This is important in reaching out to Finnish youth and getting them interested in the business world at a young age, EIO President Kari Vaisanen said. 

“Society is getting more and more complex so we are seeing even in primary school, it is important that they can talk the same language as at home,” he said.

“We try to give impulse to these youngsters so they are interested about the business life and it is a good choice for them as well, as we want to grow our private sector.”

The chief executive officer of HundrED, a programme that looks into best practices in education and education technology around the world and package it for schools, agreed. 

“We have to be reaching to them at an early age because education has always been about knowing the right answers,” Mr Saku Tuominen said. 

“I think now we have to embrace education that is enhancing the skill to ask the right questions and not to know the right answers. So it’s a totally different kind of mindset.”

LIBERAL FUNDING AT AN EARLY STAGE

Like any successful startup ecosystem, Finland has a range of funding and infrastructure support for the sector.

Startups are supported and eventually curated by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes), which plays a similar role to Singapore’s SPRING and National Research Foundation by providing grants and public funding to aspiring technology companies.

Last year, Tekes funded about 700 startups. Its funding for all startups under six years has reached €140 million in total. 

The agency’s executive director, Jukka Hayrynen, said the grants are disbursed fairly liberally at the early stage, allowing companies to find their target market or test a minimum viable product. However, he added, only a few will rise to the top and receive further funding.

“We see that there are a number of teams that believe they are start-ups, probably a thousand teams a year think they are a future big growth startup,” he said.

“But three, four hundred of those can actually show the real signs of being a start-up – they have a scalable business model, they have a product that can find customers, and they have the skills and also the will to grow.”

The office of the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes). (Photo: Patrick John Lim)

PRIVATE INVESTORS ARE KEY

While startups in both Singapore receive strong support from the public sector, it is in the private space where Finland has a head-start, where many of its investors are successful entrepreneurs themselves.

Statistics from the Finnish Venture Capital Association show that venture capitalists and private equity players alone invested about €1 billion (S$1.5 billion) in early and late stage Finnish companies in 2015. In comparison, Singapore saw total funding of US$1.16 billion (S$1.66 billion), including public funding, the same year.

With Tekes providing public funds, the Finnish Business Angel Network (FIBAN) helps organise private funding that can get startups to the next level.

FIBAN Deal Flow Manager Helleke Heikkinen says the association not only runs networking sessions between companies and potential investors, but also works with new investors to get them up to speed with the startup landscape.

“We have many angel investors who are entrepreneurs who have made their own exit and we are trying to ease them into the investor role and evaluate startups,” he said, adding that the network also tries to educate startups about how to attract angel investors.

The network is currently working to expand its presence throughout the Nordics, such as in Sweden and Norway, Mr Heikkinen said.

Meanwhile in Singapore, private investors are more conservative and careful in committing money, according to a chairman and partner at Frontier, a Finnish venture investment firm with a presence in Singapore.

“In Finland, it’s been easy for some companies to get funding even with just a PDF presentation of the startup without any traction,” Mr Mikko Silventola said, while adding that this is starting to change as more investors in Finland are now asking to see financial numbers and looking into the startups’ company direction. 

Slush, a ground-up intiative for startups and entrepreneurs, is another platform fast becoming the poster-child for Finland’s burgeoning startup scene. 

In its eighth year, Slush’s 2016 event from Nov 30 to Dec 1 was attended by more than 17,000 people, including 2,000 startups from around the world and 1,000 global investors. 

Google and Microsoft maintained a presence at Slush, an event for startups in Helsinki. (Photo: Patrick John Lim)

Finland’s Foreign Trade and Development Minister Kai Mykkanen said such events play a crucial role in connecting startups and potential funding.
“It’s not only about money but also the knowledge we’ve seen the investor brings, he said.

“The fact that we have managed to bring more than 1,000 global investors here to Helsinki means tens of new deals and probably several high growth stories such as Rovio and Supercell for example.”

Finnish startup Supercell is behind the popular mobile game Clash of Titans. (Photo: Patrick John Lim)

“SIMILAR GOALS”

Singapore is already taking a page from Finland’s playbook, with Slush coming to Singapore’s shores for the first time earlier this year. 

Another similarity between the two countries is their focus on building up its funding infrastructure. In Singapore, Block 71 in Ayer Rajah Crescent is quickly becoming a startup hub, while co-working spaces are also becoming a trend.

Meanwhile, Finland provides working spaces for start-ups such as in Maria 01, a community house for tech start-ups now occupying an old, refurbished hospital in central Helsinki.

Maria 01, a community house for tech startups. (Photo: Maria 01/Facebook)

Run by a non-profit organisation and supported by the city, Maria 01 functions as a massive co-working space, allowing for tech teams to work side by side with venture capitalists and established companies. It currently houses more than 80 start-ups and renovations are underway to expand the campus into another of the old hospital wings. 

Mr Steve Leonard, the chief executive officer of the Singapore Government’s startup unit SGInnovate, said he saw similarities between Nordic and Singaporean culture that were “crucial” for encouraging entrepreneurship.  

“What we really like working with the Swedes, the Finns and the Danes is that there is a level of creativity, a level of must-solve that we appreciate and we think it’s very similar to what we’ve experienced in Singapore,” he explained.

“We have constraints, but we also have great resources, so we look for bridges that can be built with Sweden and Finland and with others, where we have similar goals.”