Debated in Parliament on 16 May 2014.
Through the arts, sports, community and youth development, MCCY seeks to create an environment where all Singaporeans can pursue our aspirations for fulfilling lives, contribute to the community and foster a strong sense of belonging to Singapore, our home.
We will press on with efforts to develop Singapore as a distinctive cultural capital. We will continue to support our artists and arts groups, who play an important role in this journey. We will enhance and make performing arts spaces more accessible, provide arts housing and develop incubators for the arts. We will also open doors for our artists to showcase their works on the international stage.
We will develop and enhance our national cultural infrastructure. We will have the new National Gallery of Singapore by late 2015 to tell the story of Singapore and the region through visual arts. We are enhancing the National Museum of Singapore and the Asian Civilisations Museum, to better engage Singaporeans about our shared history. A new Indian Heritage Centre in Little India is slated in early 2015 to join our existing Malay Heritage Centre and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall as Heritage Institutions for Singaporeans to learn more about our rich multicultural heritage and identity.
In the performing arts, we are finalising the refurbishment of the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, and refitting the Esplanade to enhance its spaces. We are also adding new venues like the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. Singaporeans can also look forward to the inaugural Singapore International Festival of Arts this year.
We will step up our community engagement efforts to bring culture to everyone, everywhere, every day. We will establish a Public Art Trust to fill our public spaces with works of art. We will also form an island-wide network of community arts nodes, community museums and galleries, as well as heritage trails.
MCCY will continue to expand opportunities for everyone to participate and excel in sport. Through ActiveSG, our new national movement for sport, we will offer more sporting programmes in the community and galvanise the nation to live better through sport.
We will ensure that Singaporeans of all abilities have access to sports and recreation facilities. We will build a new network of modern sports facilities island-wide at the national, regional, town and precinct levels under the Sports Facilities Master Plan, starting with the new Sports Hub and National Stadium which opens its doors in June. When the Master Plan
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is completed, sports facilities will be available within a 10-minute walk of most homes.
As we prepare to host the 28th SEA Games and the 8th ASEAN Para Games in 2015, we will continue to support Singaporeans with the ability and potential to excel in sports and do Singapore proud. We will work with partners, like the National Sports Associations, to develop more pathways, capabilities and programmes to help talented athletes pursue sports excellence.
Through the Singapore Sports School, we will improve the quality of training support accorded to student-athletes, while continuing to provide them a sound academic foundation. We will continue to enhance our High Performance Sports system to help Team Singapore athletes become leaders and champions in their respective sports.
MCCY will continue our efforts to support the charity, co-operative and voluntary sectors. We will work with partners in the community, like the Community Development Councils, the Charity Council and the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, to promote a nationwide spirit of giving. We will also reach out to the disadvantaged segments of society through the arts and sports, using these as platforms for engagement, motivation and rehabilitation.
We will encourage more businesses to become partners in meeting the needs of the community. We want giving to be part of the DNA of corporate Singapore. For our seniors, we will explore more ways for them to make meaningful contributions to the community, even in their silver years. For our youths, we will expand opportunities for them to contribute to the community in sustained and impactful ways, including in the newly-established Youth Corps Singapore.
Beyond the Youth Corps, MCCY will strengthen our efforts to reach out to youths. We want to make culture more accessible for our young, so that all are exposed to arts and sports at an early age, and given opportunities for deeper engagement. We want to create an environment where young people are inspired to dream and committed to action for the common good. MCCY and the National Youth Council will work together to coordinate and lead youth engagement efforts throughout Singapore.
We will strengthen the Kampong Spirit by promoting community values of harmony, graciousness and contribution, and step up our efforts to bridge differences within our multicultural society. We will continue our efforts to promote good neighbourliness and harmonious community relationships with various partners, such as the Singapore Kindness Movement and the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles.
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In 2015, we celebrate our Golden Jubilee. SG50 is an opportune moment for us to reflect on what we have been through together – to honour our Pioneer Generation, to celebrate the values that make us Singaporean and to envision our future as a nation. We invite all Singaporeans to embark on this journey together – to imagine and strive for what our home can be.
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PAPERCUTS