A S$5m scheme for Singaporeans to celebrate heritage

SINGAPORE — Singaporeans have recently shown increased interest in the country’s heritage and history, and yesterday Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made the call for citizens to “move beyond being just passive audiences of heritage content to being active creators and participants”.

And Singaporeans with ideas on how to capture and celebrate the country’s shared heritage can bring them to life with the help of a new scheme, which was unveiled by Mr Lee yesterday at the launch of the 10th Singapore HeritageFest.

The Heritage Grant Scheme, which will be rolled out by the National Heritage Board (NHB) next month, aims to raise public involvement in the preservation and promotion of Singapore’s heritage.

A total of S$5 million will be disbursed over the next four years to support community-initiated projects such as exhibitions, publications and documentaries. It will provide funding to individuals, non-profit interest groups, societies and organisations with little or no financial support to develop heritage-related projects.

In recent years, there have been calls from Singaporeans to preserve areas of historical significance here, such as Bukit Brown, Pulau Ubin and Queenstown.

Mr Lee pointed out that the Government does not own or define Singapore’s heritage, even though the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth has launched many initiatives to promote it — such as by providing free admission to museums.

“Our heritage is a collection of individual memories, woven together into a national story. It’s something that belongs to every Singaporean, where each one of us can contribute to, and help preserve individually and collectively,” he said.

“We want Singapore to be our home with heart and hope, and home is not just where we live but where we feel a sense of identity and belonging.”

While the older folk play an important role in providing links to Singapore’s past, Mr Lee said the HeritageFest is an opportunity to engage the community and celebrate its shared culture.

“When it (Singapore HeritageFest) began in 2004, the idea was to bring our museums to the communities, but over time the HeritageFest has evolved into a partnership, encouraging Singaporeans to celebrate what they value about our own heritage in our own ways,” he added.

This year’s HeritageFest features 10 festival hubs and 20 community-led events across the island.

Citing the Heritage Hawker — a commemorative book on local hawkers produced by three Singaporeans — as an example, Mr Lee said that while citizens celebrate their heritage and appreciate how far the nation has come, they must look forward and write new chapters in the Singapore story together.

The Heritage Grant Scheme is made up of two grants.

The Heritage Participation Grant supports a wide range of small-scale projects. It has a funding cap of S$50,000 for each successful applicant per financial year.

The Heritage Project Grant, which caps funding at S$150,000 for each successful applicant per financial year, provides support for projects with the potential to make a significant and lasting impact, and that address gaps in Singapore’s heritage scene. It will be open for application twice a year.

Speaking to reporters, NHB Chief Executive Officer Rosa Daniel said the scheme could not have come at a better time.

She said: “We have noticed that, in the last few years, there (has) been really increased interest from Singaporeans to want to contribute and it was really in response to that, that we say that this is now quite timely. Let’s give support to the ideas that are coming up, bubbling up from the ground.”

The Singapore Heritage Society said: “There are many areas on Singapore’s communities and history that are not well-known or have not been researched. When more Singaporeans take an interest in their history and heritage, it will foster rootedness and identity, but above all, that sense of national loyalty and patriotism.”