COMMUNITY INTEGRATION FUND

COMMUNITY INTEGRATION FUND

17.

Ms Audrey Wong Wai Yen asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports what has been the impact of the Community Integration Fund so far.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The Community Integration Fund (CIF) was launched in September 2009. Its objective is to promote the social interaction of local born Singaporeans and new immigrants in order to promote better understanding and cohesion. Ten million dollars over three years was set aside for the CIF and relevant projects may receive up to 80% co-funding.

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To date, the CIF has attracted a total of 96 proposals from over 60 organisations. Among these, 74 proposals with a committed funding of $1.65 million have been supported. The wide variety of projects brought together organisations from the people, public and private (3P) sectors with a common interest in integration, and provided platforms for over 170,000 locals and non-locals to interact, make new friends, and collectively appreciate Singapore's unique multi-racial, multi-religious and cosmopolitan nature.

For example, in April 2010, the Indian Women's Association (IWA), collaborated with the People's Association (PA) Women's Integration Network Council to organise a multi-racial and multi-cultural fun fair for families. Activities included cultural performances such as lion dance, Indian dances, folk music and Malay line dance and a saree parade involving participants of different ethnicities and nationalities. The collaboration between the two organisations – an immigrant association and a local grassroots organisation – helped to facilitate cross cultural interaction and deepen understanding amongst their members.

We hope that partnerships formed will have long-term impact. For example, the ties formed between Bukit Timah Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Alumni Association started off with an invitation from the IIT Alumni Association to other local and immigrant organisations, including the Bukit Timah CCC, to share in their Diwali celebrations. This had since blossomed into a long-term partnership cultivated based on common interests. They now come together regularly to co-organise events for their members.

Local umbrella organisations are also playing their role to rally the community to support integration. The Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, for example, had organised a networking dinner to bring together leaders of Chinese new immigrant associations and local Chinese clans to network, build familiarity and to encourage future collaborations. This inaugural effort has a chain effect and has since led to more instances of local clan associations working with new immigrant associations such as Tian Fu Club and Hua Yuan Association.

These are only some examples of projects supported by the CIF. There are many more. It has been a year since the launch of the CIF, and the National Integration Council will conduct a comprehensive review of the CIF to further fine-tune the fund. In this review, we will pay particular attention to helping community organisations build up the capabilities to organise scalable and sustainable projects that promote integration.

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