Annex A

OVERVIEW OF THE NATIONAL INTEGRATION COUNCIL (NIC)

Members of the National Integration Council and its National Integration Working Groups (NIWG)

National Integration Council Members 1 Dr Vivian Balakrishnan Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports / Chairman 2 Dr Yaacob Ibrahim Minister for Environment and Water Resources, and Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs 3 Mr Lim Swee Say Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, and Secretary-General, National Trades Union Congress 4 Mr K Shanmugam Minister for Law, and Second Minister for Home Affairs 5 Mr Gan Kim Yong Minister for Manpower 6 RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts 7 Ms Grace Fu Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of National Development 8 Mr Edward D’Silva President, Eurasian Association 9 Mr Tony Du President, Tian Fu Club 10 Mr Muhd Faiz Edwin Ignatious President, Darul Arqam 11 Mr Ed Ng Ee Peng, PBM Chairman, Keat Hong Citizens Consultative Committee 12 Mr Lucas Chow Group Chief Executive Officer, Mediacorp 13 Mr Goh Sin Teck Deputy Editor of , and Consulting Editor of my.paper 14 Mr Pradeep Paul Editor, Tabla! 15 Ambassador Ong Keng Yong Director, Institute of Policy Studies 16 Professor Stella R. Quah Adjunct Professor, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore 17 Dr Su Guaning President, Nanyang Technological University 18 Ms Anisa Hassan Managing Director, It’s Just Lunch 19 Mr Vis Shankar Group Head of Origination and Client Coverage, and Chairman of Principal Finance and Private Banking, Standard Chartered Bank Singapore

1 20 Mr Thomas Tay Vice-President, National Trades Union Congress Central Committee, and General Secretary, Singapore Maritime Officers Union National Integration Working Group for Workplaces 1 Mr Leo Yip Permanent Secretary, Manpower and Chairman, National Integration Working Group for Workplaces 2 Mr D. M. Arulraj Head, Human Resources, Standard Chartered Bank Singapore 3 Ms Stephanie Gault Executive Director and ASEAN Lead, Management Consulting - Talent & Organization Performance Accenture Singapore 4 Ms Goh Sor Imm Asst Executive Secretary, Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Employees Union 5 Mr Loh Oun Hean Head of Human Resources, Singapore and SEA, Deloitte & Touche Management Services Pte Ltd 6 Mr Michael Ngu President & CEO, Architects 61 Pte Ltd 7 Ms Kristin Paulson Chair, Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce 8 Ms Julia Smith Director, Ernst and Young 9 Ms K Thanaletchimi Vice President, Health Services Employees Union 10 Ms Rhodora Palomar-Fresnedi Global Vice President – Diversity, Unilever plc National Integration Working Group for Schools 1 Ms Yeoh Chee Yan Second Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Chairperson, National Integration Working Group for Schools 2 Mr Tan Kee Yong Deputy Secretary (Services), Ministry of Education 3 Mr Mohd Abdul Akbar B M A Kader Managing Director, Nan Guan Construction Pte Ltd 4 Professor Tan Eng Chye Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, National University of Singapore 5 Mr Yeo Li Pheow Principal/CEO, Republic Polytechnic 6 Ms Su Yeang Senior Advisor, Lloydnorthover Yeang Pte Ltd 7 Mr Lee Kwok Cheong CEO, SIM Pte Ltd 8 Mr Atul Temurnikar Chairman and CEO, Global Indian International School and Global Indian Foundation 9 Dr Sheila Wang Board of Governors, Singapore American School 10 Mr Andrew Bennett

2 Head of School, Saint Joseph’s Institution International School 11 Ms Anna Chan Assistant Managing Director (Planning & Policy), Economic Development Board 12 Mr Edmund Chua Assistant Chief Executive (Destination Experience Group), 13 Mr Tay Teck Keng Group Director (Projects), People’s Association National Integration Working Group for Community 1 Mr Niam Chiang Meng Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, and Chairman, National Integration Working Group for Community 2 Mr Tan Tee How Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Development 3 Mr Tan Boon Huat Chief Executive Director, People’s Association 4 Mr S Rajendran Chairman, Hindu Endowments Board 5 Mr Hj Mohd Alami Musa President, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) 6 Mr Lee Peng Shu Chairman, Sam Kiang Huay Kuan 7 Mr Viswa Roopan S/O Sadasivan Vice-President, Singapore Indian Development Association 8 Ms Shalini Sinha President, Indian Women’s Association 9 Mr Kazuo Sugino Secretary General, Japanese Association 10 Mr Laurence Lien Chief Executive Officer, National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre 11 Ms Tan Poh Hong Chief Executive Officer, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority 12 Mr Ng Kwan Meng Managing Director, Head of Global Markets, GMIM, United Overseas Bank Ltd 13 Ms Quah Ley Hoon Director, National Population Secretariat 14 Mr Sng Seow Wah Executive Vice President, Fullerton Financial Holdings (International) Pte Ltd 15 Ms Khartini Abdul Khalid Lecturer, School on Interdisciplinary Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic 16 Mr William Yang Jian Wei Vice President, Asia-Link Technology (Pte) Ltd 17 Ms Sybil Rocha Chairman, Eurasian Association Mentoring Young Leaders Network National Integration Working Group for Media 1 Mr Chan Yeng Kit Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts, and Chairman, National Integration Working Group for the Media 2 RADM (NS) Sim Gim Guan

3 Deputy Secretary (Info and Corporate Management), Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts 3 Dr K U Menon Director, National Resilience Division, Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts 4 Dr Winston Ong Director, Corporate Planning and International Relations Division and Co-Director, National Resilience Division, Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts 5 Ms Julia Hang Director, Corporate Communications Division, and Press Secretary to Minister, Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts 6 Ms Low Mei Mei News Director, SAFRA Radio 7 Ms Suzanne Jung Presenter, ChannelNewsAsia 8 Mr Woo Keng Choong Deputy Chief Editor, Chinese Current Affairs, MediaCorp News 9 Ms Ong Lay Hong Managing Director, Suria & Vasantham 10 Mr Dominic Nathan News Editor, Straits Times 11 Ms Lee Huay Leng Snr Exec Editor, Lian He Zao Bao 12 Mr Ong Peng Huat Snr Exec Editor, 13 Mr Saat A Rahman News Editor, Berita Harian 14 Mr J Rajendran Deputy Editor, 15 Mr Santokh Singh News Editor, 16 Mr Zhou Zhao Cheng Editor, Crossroads; Associate Chief Sub-Editor, Lian He Zao Bao 17 Mr Felix Soh Deputy Editor, Digital Media & Consulting Editor, My Paper 18 Mr Tay Kay Chin Blogger/MySingapore.sg & photographer 19 Mr Zheng Wei Online editor, zaobao.com 20 Mr Chew V Ming Editor, STOMP! 21 Ms Lim Suat Jien Executive Vice President, Channel 5 and Okto, MediaCorp

4 General Information on the National Integration Council

The National Integration Council (NIC) was set up in April 2009 to foster social integration across society. Chaired by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community, Youth and Sport, the Council comprises of leaders from the people and private sectors, and the government.

2 Four National Integration Working Groups have been set up to look more closely at the areas of Community, Schools, Workplaces and the Media. They are chaired by the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry most relevant to these areas. The Working Groups also include prominent non-government leaders. They will propose and implement integration programmes under the NIC’s strategic direction.

3 The NIC and its Working Groups have each met twice in the last four months to take stock of the current state of integration, discuss integration strategies, and propose new initiatives for the year ahead.

Desired Outcomes

4 The NIC aims to achieve the following desired outcomes:

a. A landscape of vibrant 3P social integration initiatives that comprehensively meet integration needs;

b. A sustainable, active network for effective social integration efforts across Singapore; and

c. Internalisation of core Singaporean values among Singaporeans and others living, working and playing in Singapore.

Principles of Social Integration

5 The following principles guide the NIC’s efforts in promoting integration:

a. Singapore is for Singaporeans : Singaporeans must feel secure in the knowledge that the government will look after their long term interests. Newcomers should feel encouraged to take up Singaporean citizenship.

b. Singapore is a global nexus of talent and ideas : Singapore has limited natural resources and must remain a country open to global talent, ideas, and capital.

c. Integration is a two-way effort : Social integration does not come about naturally. Singaporeans must recognise the contribution of all members of society, including non-citizens, and actively reach out to each other.

d. A united Singapore people committed to meritocracy and multi-racialism: Singaporeans must be one united people, committed to a shared belief in the core tenets of meritocracy and multiracialism, and sharing a common stake in the future of Singapore.

5 Annex B

GENERAL INFORMATION ON COMMUNITY INTEGRATION FUND

Objectives

The CIF aims to provide funding to encourage ground-up social integration efforts from the people, private and public sectors. In general, projects which satisfy any of the three objectives will be considered:

a. Provide information and resources to new immigrants and foreigners on integrating into Singapore;

b. Encourage greater interaction between new immigrants, foreigners and locals; and

c. Reinforce positive mindsets and attitudes among new immigrants, foreigners and locals.

Who may apply

2. Any Singapore-registered non-profit organisations (e.g. schools/Institutes of higher learning (IHL), school/IHL alumni, non-government organisations, grassroots organisations, professional bodies, societies registered with the Registry of Societies) and companies registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA).

Assessment Criteria

3. Eligible applications will be assessed on the following criteria:

a. Community Participation - Strength and clarity of objectives - Extent of outreach, i.e. the project should reach out to a larger segment of the community than the organisations’ interest - Inclusion of a mix of races/ethnicities, new immigrants and locals - Sustainability of the project

b. Integration elements - Alignment of project deliverables to promote social integration in the school population, workplace or community at large - Credibility of organisation and its ability to create an impact on the community - Quality of project in terms of concept and execution. - Developmental nature, i.e. projects should extend beyond the scope of existing activities already undertaken by the organisation - Collaborative nature, i.e. Projects should involve collaborations among organisations across the 3P sectors and/or active partnerships between immigrant-centric organisations and local organisations

6 c. Project Management - Sound budget planning - Effective publicity and marketing strategies - Organisations’ experience in managing projects of similar nature - Other available sources of funding

Non-supportable projects

4. The following projects will not be supported:

a. Projects that may cause disharmony along the foreign-local divide, e.g. perceived unequal treatment of local Singaporeans;

b. Projects that are religious in nature or proselytise a particular faith in its implementation;

c. Projects that are already funded more than 80% by the government;

d. Fund-raising events;

e. Projects that are for direct profit or commercial gain;

f. Capital development projects, e.g. construction of new buildings, acquisition of equipments etc;

g. Projects that involve overseas trips, e.g. immersion programmes; and

h. Small-scale social activities that cater to only an organisation’s members.

Grant Quantum

5. The nature and scope of the project, the availability of CIF funds, and the projected income from the activity, if any, will determine the grant quantum. The grant amount, based on a reasonable estimate of the budget, will usually not exceed 80% of qualifying costs. There is no limit to the number of CIF applications an organisation may submit. However, the total sum of CIF grant awarded to any one particular organisation will be a considering factor in the application assessment.

Qualifying Costs

6. The qualifying costs for the grants include:

a. Events Management/Production costs - Venue rental - Development of educational/training materials - Collaterals - Technical requirements, e.g. stage setup, sound systems etc. - Transportation/delivery - Reception and catering

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b. Professional Fees - Engagement of professionals, e.g. performers, trainers, facilitators, consultant. - Engagement of vendors, e.g. events company, web designer, publisher.

c. Publicity and Marketing - Publicity and advertising collaterals - Other advertising and marketing costs

d. Miscellaneous - Others (to specify)

Sources of expected income

7. Possible sources of expected income include:

- Ticket sales - Sales of merchandise/programmes/publications - Registration fees - Donations from members or well-wishers - Private/corporate/public sponsorship - Income from advertisements - Other receipts (to specify)

Grant Disbursement

8. The grants will only cover net costs of the project (qualifying costs minus actual income), i.e. projects that generate a net profit will not be covered. Generally grants will be reimbursed as follows:

1st Disbursement 2nd Disbursement Total

80% upon successful 20% upon submission of 100% of approved grant completion of project and final report or net costs, whichever submission of accounts is lower and invoices

Examples of supportable projects

9. Some examples of projects which can be considered for funding support under the CIF Scheme may include:

a. Provide information and resources to new immigrants and foreigners on integrating into Singapore - Training courses, publications and development of resources for new immigrants on Singapore’s culture, history and getting around etc - Orientation initiatives for new immigrants, e.g. induction programmes, and buddy system

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b. Encourage greater interaction between new immigrants, foreigners and locals - Activities that bring together new immigrants and locals based on common interest, e.g. festival celebrations, sporting events, dialogue sessions etc. - Collaborations between immigrant associations and local organisations - Programmes which pair locals with new immigrants, e.g. host families and mentoring scheme

c. Reinforce positive mindsets and attitudes among new immigrants, foreigners and locals - Activities that promote volunteering and philanthropic opportunities for new immigrants - Programmes that focus on deepening locals’ understanding and appreciation of foreigners including new immigrants, e.g. diversity workshops, cultural exchange between international and national schools - Programmes that contribute to positive encounters between foreigners and locals in common spaces, e.g. social norms workshops for work permit holders, integration programmes for employment pass holders and international students

Application Process

10. All applications are to be submitted one month before date of commencement.

11. The estimated processing time from the date of submission to the notification of the outcome is about two weeks to a month.

12. The applicant will be notified of the outcome by mail and is required to sign and return a Letter of Undertaking.

13. NIC’s decision is final and NIC reserves the right not to disclose reasons for approving or rejecting an application.

14. The grant shall be given on a reimbursement basis. Organisations shall maintain proper financial records for the project and shall submit a request for reimbursement using an income and expenditure statement, together with all supporting receipts within one month of the completion of the project, and shall refund to the Government any excess funds (if any) disbursed

9 Annex C

NIC INITIATIVES BY NATIONAL INTEGRATION WORKING GROUP

Initiative Description Key Strat Working Group for Community Initiatives Community To create more opportunities for newcomers and locals to meet Opening Integration Fund and understand each other better, organisations that wish to Doors kick-start projects to promote social integration can now apply to a $10 million fund . Called the Community Integration Fund (CIF), it will provide co-funding of up to 80 percent for integration projects over the next three years. This will help to ease the constraints currently faced by organisations interested in organising integration projects but lack the required resources to do so.

The Fund is open for application to all Singapore-registered non- profit organisations, societies registered with the Registry of Societies and private companies under the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA). Details of the CIF can be found in Annex B , and at http://app.mcys.gov.sg/web/comm_promote_socialintegration.as p.

Community events Community event and festival celebrations are platforms for Opening and festival cross-cultural exchange between and across races and Doors celebrations nationalities, and allow newcomers to have a better understanding of local culture. The NIC will encourage efforts to leverage on the platforms, and will invite organisers to apply to the CIF and reinvent their events to focus on integration elements.

Naturalisation and A Naturalisation and Integration (N&I) Journey will be introduced Opening Integration to consolidate existing orientation programmes for new citizens, Hearts Journey such as the People Association’s National Education Experience Programme (NEEP). Leveraging on interactive online and on- location experiences, the N&I Journey will enable new citizens to learn more about key historical landmarks and institutions in Singapore, and introduce them to their grassroots communities.

The NIC is also considering which parts of the N&I Journey are most relevant to helping new citizens integrate, and which should be mandatory for permanent residents before they are given their Singapore citizenship. A pilot for the N&I Journey will be launched in early 2010, after which a review will be conducted.

Citizenship The Working Group for Community will review the setting, Opening Ceremonies programming and participation of the ceremonies, so as to Hearts enhance their significance and emphasise the new rights and responsibilities of becoming a new Singaporean citizen. The review will focus on making the ceremonies more engaging, while preserving the dignity and solemnity of the event.

Working Group for Schools Community The Working Group for Schools will also look at encouraging Opening Involvement students from national schools and Foreign System Schools to Doors Projects participate in joint community involvement projects, where students who are all part of the Singapore community come

10 together to help the less fortunate in Singapore.

Meals@Home The Working Group for Schools will encourage local students, Opening Programme new immigrants and international students to really get to know Doors one another and build friendships that last beyond the classroom. One possible new initiative is the “Meals@Home” programme where locals, new immigrants and international students are encouraged to bring each other out for meals, invite one another to their homes during cultural events and festive celebrations, and share a different aspect of their lives. This can be built on the existing buddy schemes already run by some of our national schools and educational institutions.

Symposium on The Working Group for Schools will organise a regular Opening Integration in Symposium on Integration in Schools , where schools and Minds Schools institutes can share their experiences and what they have found effective in promoting better integration. A “Best Practices Package” for schools will be distributed to serve as a resource on effective integration activities, which schools and educational institutions can adapt to their own context.

Curriculum 2015 As part of Curriculum 2015, MOE will look at how it can help Opening students develop cross-cultural skills to prepare them for an Hearts increasingly globalised world. National Education in schools will also explore how the dynamism of modern Singapore draws from its being an open and well-integrated society.

Working Group for Workplaces Bridging the The NIC will review the various English language courses Opening Language Barrier available for newcomers who may be unfamiliar with English, Minds and work towards increasing their enrolment in these courses. The Working Group for Workplaces will also study how to encourage employers to send their employees who are newcomers to English courses. Working Group for Media Media Outreach The Working Group for Media will focus on broad outreach Opening through various media, to foster a conducive integration climate Hearts for all who live, work and play in Singapore.

Integration content can be incorporated in print specials in the main vernacular languages. The Working Group for Media will support Crossroads , a segment in Lianhe Zaobao that aims to help integrate Chinese immigrants into Singapore society with news and issues of concern. New media such as blogs and Web TV could carry features, video clips and online competitions on social integration.

Local broadcast media (TV & Radio) could weave in integration messages and local current affairs programmes could profile new citizen-heartlanders in their journey of integration into local culture, as well as to highlight their many contributions to Singapore society.

The Working Group for Media will also work with the mainstream television channels to showcase customs and cultures of our multi-racial society, to promote learning and appreciation of other races, and foster greater social interaction.

Local theatre and The Working Group for Media is also exploring collaboration Opening arts groups with local theatre and arts groups, to find innovative and niche Hearts

11 ways of promoting messages that encourage integration. Themed seminars for targeted groups may be organised, such as Lianhe Zaobao’s Crossroads seminars. Other avenues will include formats such as game shows that may be customised for different audiences. Singapore Story The Working Group for Media will work with the National Opening update Heritage Board to update ‘The Singapore Story’ video with a Hearts more contemporary and compelling storyline. Elements from the video could be extracted and repackaged for a range of communication and outreach efforts. The Working Group for Media will work with the media to package ‘The Singapore Story’ into TV serials/programmed/documentaries and short (2-5 minutes) clips that could be broadcast on local television as advertorials and the internet as viral media clips. Information Kit As part of the N&I Journey, the Working Group for Media will Opening for new citizens also help to develop an information kit for new citizens, which Hearts will contain information on housing, healthcare, schooling, use of our National Symbols, etc. There will also be lifestyle content, packaged for easy reading and with stories of new citizens who had previously settled into Singapore.

Joint initiatives Greater The Working Groups for Schools and Workplaces will Opening collaboration encourage students and employees to participate more actively Doors between schools, in the wider community. Newcomers and locals will be workplaces and encouraged to participate actively in events organised by the community grassroots organisations, societies, and sports clubs, such as the People’s Association’s district tours, cricket tournaments by the Singapore Indian Association, etc.

Collating The Working Groups of the NIC will be collating integration Opening integration ideas ideas and knowledge, e.g. integration challenges and Minds and knowledge programmes to overcome them in the schools, community or the workplace, as well as how people and organisations have effectively implemented these programmes. The Working Groups will gather stories of individuals who were new to Singapore, but have found their place here and made this country their home. They may also be contributing back to the community.

The Community, Schools and Workplaces Working Groups will consolidate integration ideas and knowledge and create platforms for public sharing and discussion. We will have more regular community dialogues . Examples include Lianhe Zaobao’s Crossroads seminars, the Singapore Indian Development Association’s Indian Integration Committee dialogues in mid-2009, and the upcoming Mid-autumn Dialogue between the Tian Fu Club and the Amoy Association.

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