MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

MR DAVID T. E. LIM Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts

1. MITA will develop Singapore as a vibrant global city for information, communications and the arts, whilst enhancing our Singaporean identity and multi-cultural heritage. This is our vision of a Creative and Connected Singapore.

Information and Communications Technology

2. MITA will continue our efforts to develop the ICT sector as a key growth sector in Singapore's economy and to make Singapore a key ICT centre that is globally competitive in IT and communications. We completely liberalised the telecommunications sector in 2000. Through the Info-comm Development Authority of Singapore, we will continue to regulate the industry to ensure open competition with low entry barriers, and the availability of a wide range of high quality services at competitive prices. We will strive to be well connected to the key communication nodes in the world to support the growth of electronic commerce.

3. We will also ensure that our policy and business environment will attract IT businesses to hub their Asian, if not global operations in Singapore. We will position Singapore as Asia's "working laboratory" for the incubation, research and development of new infocomm ideas and technologies. We will take into account the rapid convergence in digital technologies, so that innovative ideas and new services can be rapidly brought to market. As ICT is a knowledge industry that hinges on talent, we will work with the industry and educational institutions to provide the sector with sufficient trained personnel.

4. We must leverage on ICT to enhance the quality of life and standard of living of Singaporeans in the Information Society. We will introduce programmes to bridge the digital divide. We will aim to have affordable and ready access to e-services through broadband Internet and other emerging communication technologies, to make Singapore a Connected Island.

Arts and Culture

5. We will develop the Arts to enhance our economic competitiveness and promote our international image as a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, a Creative Singapore. Through the Arts we can nurture a more creative and adventurous spirit, and build an environment that encourages Singaporeans to explore, innovate and invent. This will deepen our cultural capital, and help Singaporeans to create value in an innovation-driven economy.

6. The opening of the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay this October will provide the facilities to attract and present world-class performing arts events as well as local and other arts performances to cater to all Singaporeans. We will continue to invest in new arts and cultural facilities. For the longer term, we are exploring the establishment of a new international museum of modern and contemporary art.

7. To bring arts closer to people and people closer to the arts, MITA will launch an "Arts Everywhere" initiative. We will work with agencies like HDB, schools and People's Association to make our arts, culture and heritage a relevant and palpable part of Singaporeans' daily lives. We will promote more public sculptures, arts performances, and arts and heritage education programmes to widen our cultural experience.

8. We will also support the development of artists by building up our Arts education institutions, and through programmes that give our artists greater international exposure. We will promote both traditional and contemporary arts so that we can maintain our heritage and identity, while keeping apace with Arts development elsewhere. We will encourage artists to fuse our rich multicultural heritage with contemporary forms to create distinctively Singaporean expressions.

9. We will enhance the contribution of Arts to business, by promoting design and other forms of applied arts with a Design Singapore initiative. We will also grow the Arts industry by strongly promoting Arts Tourism together with Singapore Tourism Board.

Media

10. Our long term objective is to foster a competitive print and broadcast industry. We liberalised the media industry in June 2000, issuing new licences to SPH and MediaCorp to undertake additional broadcast and newspaper operations. MITA will continue to encourage the local media industry to restructure and improve its operations. We will revise our newspaper and broadcast laws to keep abreast of the new media and economic environment.

11. We will draw up a strategic blueprint - "Media 21" - to develop both traditional and emerging media sectors including film and digital media, to establish Singapore as a media hub. We will continue to introduce digital broadcasting technology in line with market developments.

12. The advent of the Internet and the convergence between the various media, brought about by rapid technological advances, have opened the doors for Singaporeans to the world, providing them with easier access to information, and bringing them into closer contact with western culture and world-wide trends. This will impinge on every aspect of our lives. We will continue to monitor the implications of these trends for Singapore.

Library

13. MITA will continue to provide quality and affordable knowledge access for all Singaporeans. The new National Library, to be completed by 2004, will be six times larger than the existing one at Stamford Road. It will spearhead a Knowledge Singapore initiative to strengthen the nation's knowledge capacity with its extensive collections, research facilities and innovative programming. The National Library Board will also open the library@esplanade, a niche library focussing on the performing arts at the Esplanade, Bishan Community Library and Sengkang Community Library, and embark on library upgrading projects.

Heritage

14. We need to strengthen our emotional and social bonds by staying connected within our community and to the nation in this rapidly changing world, as a Connected Singapore. MITA will promote and provide wider access to shared experiences of our culture and heritage, in fun and interesting ways that reach into the communities. The Asian Civilizations Museum at Empress Place Building, which showcases the ancestral cultures of Singapore, will be ready in 2003. The Singapore History Museum will undergo redevelopment in 2003 and double its exhibition space.