Celebrating My Home, My Future at Singapore Day 2012

About 4,900 Singaporeans living, working and studying in the USA gathered at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York to celebrate all things Singaporean at Singapore Day 2012. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister-in-charge of National Population and Talent Division Teo Chee Hean was present at the event, whose theme was “My Home, My Future”.

In his remarks, DPM Teo highlighted the need for an inclusive society and a stronger Singapore. DPM Teo said that amidst the changes evident in Singapore’s transformation into a modern and attractive global city, Singapore remained our home, and a place for Singaporeans to build their future. He hoped Singapore Day would bring Singaporeans closer and enjoy a slice of home together; and that it would foster close-knit Singaporean communities around the world.

Postgraduate student Crystal Neo, 26, who was at the event, enjoyed the sights and sounds of home. She said, "I really missed local food such as chicken rice and black pepper crab! Singapore Day reminds me of home, tucking into yummy hawker fare and hearing Singaporean accents all around.”

New Jersey-based Singaporean Lynette Teo, 35, and her husband were also happy to savour the local food and performances by local artistes. She said that she had looked forward to seeing Singaporean faces, and that the biggest draw for her was the much-missed local hawker fare.

Hawker Cheng Kong Sang of Toa Payoh Rojak said that he was honoured to be at Singapore Day once again after his first experience in 2009 in London. The 81 year-old maestro, who served up 1,500 plates of rojak at Singapore Day 2012 with his son-in-law Lim Swee Seng, said he was very happy to travel halfway across the world to serve Singaporeans his signature rojak. Mr Cheng hoped that Singaporeans who tasted his rojak in New York will visit his stall at Old Airport Road for another round when they next return home.

“By featuring ‘Arts and Culture for Everyone, Everyday, Everywhere’ at Singapore Day 2012, we hope to keep overseas Singaporeans abreast of developments in the arts scene in Singapore. We are showcasing the Singapore Memory Project, a new initiative that tells the story of our nation through collecting shared memories from Singaporeans, including those who are overseas, about what Singapore means to us,” said a spokesperson from the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.

“Singapore Day 2012 is a joint effort made possible by the support of our partners from the private, public and people sectors. We hope that Singaporeans have enjoyed the slice of home brought to them in the heart of New York, and will continue to remain connected to home and with each other,” said Mr Wong Kan Foo, Director, Overseas Singaporean Unit.

Organised by the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU) in the Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore Day is held in key cities with a significant number of Singaporeans. Singapore Day brings the familiar tastes, sights and sounds of home to Singaporeans abroad through a line-up of local hawker favourites, home-grown entertainment and experiential showcases on the latest developments back home.

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For media enquiries, please contact:

In the USA: Ng Xiuling
Executive, Corporate Communications
National Population and Talent Division
Email: ng_xiuling@nptd.gov.sg

In Singapore:
Chung Cui Yi
Executive, Corporate Communications
National Population and Talent Division
Email: chung_cui_yi@nptd.gov.sg

ANNEX A

FACT SHEET SINGAPORE DAY 2012

Singapore Day is a signature event organised by the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU), primarily to engage Singaporeans overseas. Singapore Days have been held in New York (2007), Melbourne (2008), London (2009) and Shanghai (2011), completing OSU’s first round of holding the event in OSU’s four key markets. OSU in 2012 begins our second round, bringing Singapore Day 2012 back to the USA to engage Singaporeans living there.

Held in New York City on 14 April, Singapore Day 2012 presented attendees with a slice of Singapore through an exciting line-up of local hawker favourites, homegrown entertainment and experiential showcases on the latest developments back home in Singapore. The theme for this year’s Singapore Day is “My Home, My Future”.

Attendees enjoyed authentic hawker fare, such as char kway teow, laksa, satay, black pepper crab, and, for the first time, mee pok tah, prepared by local hawkers. In addition to savouring local culinary delights, they were also treated to performances by local personalities such as The Noose’s Michelle Chong, Chua En Lai, “We Are Singaporeans” gameshow host Hossan Leong, Singapore Idol finalist Sylvia Ratonel, rapper Sheikh Haikel, local band The Great Spy Experiment, duo Jack & Rai, etc. For this year’s event, OSU introduced a new element to Singapore Day – Mambo Jambo. As Mambo Jambo is a unique dance phenomenon strongly rooted in Singapore, OSU is pleased to have the support of Zouk to bring this distinctive slice of Singapore as part of our Singapore Day 2012 programme.

The support of our partners from the private, public and people sectors gave attendees the opportunity to learn about developments such as changes in our arts and cultural scene, the urban transformation of downtown Singapore, and the modern public housing developments back home through the experiential showcases put up by public sector partners such as the Singapore Memory Project, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Singapore Sports Council. They also had the chance to find out about economic and career opportunities back in Singapore at the Careers@Home showcase by Contact Singapore, which saw 16 employers from the public and private sectors participating, such as the National Environment Agency, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Standard Chartered. Eight employers participated in Singapore Day for the first time.

More details on Singapore Day 2012 can be found on www.SingaporeDay.sg ↗ (opens in new tab) and www.fb.com/SingaporeDay ↗ (opens in new tab).

Singapore Day is part of the OSU’s suite of programmes and initiatives to engage Singaporeans overseas, who are part of the larger Singaporean family. In addition to Singapore Day, OSU’s engagement efforts span a range of platforms, both face-toface and online. These include Singapore Buzz, the Distinguished Business Leaders Series, the Overseas Singaporean Portal www.overseassingaporean.sg ↗ (opens in new tab) and our Facebook page www.facebook.com/OverseasSingaporean ↗ (opens in new tab). OSU also works closely with Singaporean organisations and clubs overseas as well as other Government agencies on ground-up initiatives to engage Singaporeans overseas. As more Singaporeans venture abroad to live, work or study, OSU remains committed to engaging Singaporeans overseas and keeping them connected to home and with each other.

ANNEX B

PHOTOS OF SINGAPORE DAY 2012

Singapore Day 2012 attracted Singaporeans to Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, for a slice of home and to celebrate all things Singaporean.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister-in-charge of the National Population and Talent Division Teo Chee Hean sharing a light-hearted moment with a Singaporean attendee at Singapore Day 2012

Singaporeans at Singapore Day 2012 enjoying a mouth-watering range of local hawker favourites such as black pepper crab, satay, chicken rice and roti prata.