Higher Country Building Learning Colours Bridges A revival of Red and white, and Forging ties with Nalanda University a part of S’pore’s the Carribean in Bihar everyday life Community JUL – SEP 2013 / ISSUE 47 A NEWSLETTER OF THE SINGAPORE COOPERATION PROGRAMME In High Spirits Singapore’s National Day Parade 2013 is a sight and sound spectacular Cover V7.indd 3 19/12/13 5:14 PM Ed’s Note CONTENTS 3 FOCUS Celebrations, Dear readers, big and small Besides a spectacular show on 9 August 2013 staged ingapore celebrated its 48th National Day on 9 August on a fl oating platform, 2013 with a spectacular parade that was themed ‘Many Singapore also celebrated Stories…One Singapore’. Celebrations, Big and Small the 48th anniversary of gives an idea of how 6,000 participants and 26,000 its independence in spectators, mostly dressed in red and white (the colours other ways of Singapore’s ƃ ag), came together to celebrate the stories that each Singaporean has to share. 6 IN SINGAPORE SBut Singaporeans ‘celebrate’ their nation each and every day too! Country colours Find out how in Country Colours which feature familiar sights around The Singapore fl ag is Singapore that are in red and white, from historical buildings, food red and white, and some to dwellings. familiar icons of Singapore Beyond home, Singapore celebrates too. The country’s ties are decked out in these with India goes back a long way, and Minister for Foreign Affairs colours too! K Shanmugam’s July visit to the Indian state of Bihar reafƂ rmed these ties. 8 REFLECTIONS Singapore is also playing a part in Bihar A higher state state’s revived Nalanda University, now of learning under construction. Find out more in How Singapore plays A Higher State of Learning. a part in the revival of On the other side of the world, Nalanda University in Singapore is continuing to forge strong the Indian state of Bihar alliances too, and Building Bridges gives details of how relations between 10 JOINING HANDS the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Building bridges and Singapore have been strengthened A recent visit by CARICOM by a high level Ministerial Exchange Visit offi cials paved the way comprising CARICOM representatives. for greater exchange of An enhanced Technical Assistance ideas and knowledge Package was also announced during this visit which would see more CARICOM senior ofƂ cials visit Singapore for cus- tomised training courses and study visits. Country Colours, pg6 These new initiatives will encourage a greater exchange of ideas and knowledge and foster a better understanding of cultures and heritage. All reasons for celebrating, indeed! We hope you enjoy this issue of Experience Singapore. Copyright © is held by the publishers. Keep All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. in touch! Printed in Singapore by Times Printers. Share with us your memories, Director www.timesprinters.com. ISSN: 0219-2896 Public Affairs Directorate photos and experiences in Singapore under the Experience Singapore is a publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore Singapore Cooperation Public Affairs and Technical Cooperation Programme. Email us at Directorates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, [email protected]. Singapore. The Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) is administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, and is aimed at sharing Singapore’s developmental experience with other developing countries. Cover photo by Xxxxxx Publishing Consultant Like on Facebook Follow us on Twitter www.scp.gov.sg SCP Alumni @MFAsg MediaCorp Pte Ltd 2 JUL - SEP 2013 ISSUE 47 ExperienceSg V9.indd 2 20/12/13 10:58 AM Focus IN HIGH SPIRITS Celebrations, and bigsmall Besides a spectacular show on 9 August 2013 staged on a fl oating platform, Singapore celebrated the 48 th anniversary of The main event 26,000 spectators and 6,000 partici- its independence in pants were involved as Singapore marked its 48th National Day with other ways too! the theme “Many Stories… One Photos: Corbis, Shutterstock WORDS BY GENE KHOR Singapore” with a celebration that involved displays from students from various schools, voluntary and grassroots organisations, govern- ment bodies as well as teams from the Singapore Army, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Republic of Singapore Navy and the Singapore Police Force, among others. Ending the three-hour parade was a daz- zling Ƃ reworks display which lit up the night sky. EXPERIENCE SINGAPORE 3 ExperienceSg V9.indd 3 20/12/13 10:58 AM Multi-cultural diversity Focus The Islamic holiday of Hari Raya Puasa was WATER CONSERVATION just a day before National Day, so Dunearn Secondary School celebrated both occasions on 7 August 2013 as a tribute to Singapore’s multi- cultural diversity. The festivities concluded with students and teachers of the school singing Singapore’s national anthem ‘Majulah Singapura’ and reciting the national pledge. In a special way Singapore strives to be an inclusive society, and students with special needs from Eden School contributed something special for the nation’s birthday. They made decorative ƃ ags for their classrooms, while some of them also took part in a fashion show at the school’s National Day concert on 6 August 2013 and paraded in National Day-themed outƂ ts. Animal antics The Singapore Zoo is one of the best in the world and home to over 2,800 animals repre- senting over 300 species – and Floral tribute a couple of them were feeling rather patriotic! On 9 August At Gardens by the Bay, a park that 2013, special performances houses over 250,000 rare plants were held, including one where from all over the world, visitors Gambir the Asian elephant per- got to see a special ƃ oral display formed a ƃ ag-raising ceremony, between 5 August to 1 September and Andi the California sea lion 2013. As a tribute to the colours waved the Singapore ƃ ag and and symbols of the national ƃ ag, unveiled a banner to wish the red-and-white ƃ ora like orchids, audience a happy National Day. roses and begonias were presented in Ƃ ve star-shaped containers. 4 JUL - SEP 2013 ISSUE 47 ExperienceSg V9.indd 4 19/12/13 5:13 PM Focus IN HIGH SPIRITS Youthful energy Since 2007, *SCAPE has been a venue for youths in Singapore Bonding over food to pursue a broad spectrum of interests like music, dance, fashion, In two neighbourhoods in eastern and sports. On 9 August 2013, Singapore, street parties were held the youth hub was transformed on 9 August 2013 with curry as the into a showcase for home-grown main course. Four versions were performers. *SCAPE A Nation, an served in the culinary traditions event organised by young vol- of Singapore’s four main races – unteers to celebrate Singapore’s Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eura- birthday, featured lively sets by sian. This communal meal was part rock bands, dance showcases and of the Big Makan – ‘makan’ mean- an after-party with club music. ing ‘eat’ in Malay – an inaugural event organised by the Singapore Kindness Movement, a non-proƂ t organisation that executes pub- lic education programs aimed at cultivating kindness and gracious- ness in Singaporean society. Primary colours In Eunos, located in eastern Singapore, resi- dents showed that age wasn’t a barrier to their community bond as 135 participants, young and old, came together on 18 August 2013 for the inaugural residents’ parade procession. Waving the Singapore ƃ ag and wearing red shirts, they turned the common areas in the housing estate into a sea of red and white. EXPERIENCEEXPERIENC SINGAPORE 5 ExperienceSg V9.indd 5 19/12/13 5:13 PM In Singapore SEEING RED AND WHITE CHILLI CRAB One of Singapore’s most famous dishes, chilli crab is found at many seafood restaurants around the island and eaten with mantou, a deep-fried or steamed bun. TORCH GINGER Native to Southeast Asia, the ƃ ower buds and tender inner parts of the torch ginger plant are used as an aromatic in dishes like sour-and-spicy assam laksa noodles. The Ginger Garden at Singapore Botanic Gardens is home to hundreds of types of ginger. COUNTRY COLOURS THE SINGAPORE FLAG IS RED AND WHITE — RED TO SYMBOLISE UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD AND EQUALITY OF MAN, WHITE FOR PERVADING AND EVERLASTING PURITY AND VIRTUE. SOME FAMILIAR ICONS OF SINGAPORE ARE DECKED OUT IN THESE COLOURS TOO! WORDS BY GENE KHOR CHILLI PADI This tiny chilli pepper is much spicier than its larger counterparts. Chilli padi, or bird’s eye chilli, features in many dishes served in Singapore — such as the spicy chicken curry dish, ayam lemak chilli padi — and is also used as a condiment. Tourism Photo: Singapore and Shutterstock Board 6 JUL - SEP 2013 ISSUE 47 ExperienceSg V9.indd 6 23/12/13 11:25 AM RED LIONS SELEGIE HOUSE The spectacular freefall dis- Selegie House was one of the plays of the award-winning tallest Housing & Development Singapore Armed Forces Par- Board ƃ ats in Singapore upon its achute Team — the Red Lions completion in 1963. Now paint- — are a perennial crowd fa- ed red-and-white, the building vourite at each year’s National stands out among public hous- Day Parade. ing projects in Singapore. CENTRALC FIRE STATION BuiltBui in 1909, the Central Fire StationStat on Hill Street is the oldestolde operational Ƃ re station in Singapore. This historic buildingbuild was gazetted as a nationalnatio monument in 1998. ANG KU KUEH Ang ku kueh — or ‘red tortoise’ cake — is a traditional Chinese pastry made of a glutinous rice ƃ our skin stuffed with a sweet Ƃ lling of green bean paste or minced peanuts.