Singapore celebrates 2015 births with The Jubilee Baby Gift
To commemorate Singapore’s Golden Jubilee in 2015, the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) will be leading a community initiative to develop a celebratory Jubilee Baby Gift to be given to all Singaporeans born next year.
Following the SG50 Steering Committee’s call for celebration ideas in January, NPTD consulted our stakeholders and conducted focus groups with Singaporeans who expressed their wish to celebrate the nation’s 50th Anniversary with a commemorative gift from the current generation of Singaporeans to those born in the Jubilee Year.
Launch of Public Engagement
As the Gift is symbolic of what Singaporeans wish to give to the next generation, NPTD would like to involve as many Singaporeans as possible in determining the items to be included in The Jubilee Baby Gift.
NPTD is launching a public engagement campaign from 1 April to 15 May 2014, which will take place in two phases:
Phase I: Call for Suggestions
From the 1st of April till 15 April 2014, Singaporeans can submit their ideas on the items they would like to see included in The Jubilee Baby Gift. They can do so via several channels:
| Platform | Details |
|---|---|
| Online | “The Jubilee Baby Gift” Microsite (http://www.nptd.gov.sg/jubilee) |
| “The Jubilee Baby Gift” Feedback Booths | “The public can contribute their ideas at various feedback booths across the island. The first two “The Jubilee Baby Gift” feedback booths will be located at Jurong Point on 5-6 April and at VivoCity on 12 – 13 April. Subsequent feedback booth locations will be announced in due course, and updates on the venues will be posted on REACH’s website/Facebook Page and at The Jubilee Baby Gift Microsite. |
| Focus Group Sessions | Members of the public can email outreach@reach.gov.sg to register their interest to participate in the upcoming focus groups. Details of upcoming focus groups will be available on REACH’s website/Facebook Page. |
Phase II: Selecting gift items
In phase two of the process (18 April – 15 May 2014), NPTD will collate all contributed suggestions and curate them in consultation with our Advisory Panel comprising people-sector and community representatives (see Annex A for more information on our Advisory Panel). We will then publish a shortlist of Singaporeans’ top suggestions on The Jubilee Baby Gift Microsite and at The Jubilee Baby Gift Feedback Booths. The public can then further select the most meaningful items they think should be included in The Jubilee Baby Gift.
“The Jubilee Baby Gift is our special way of saying ’Welcome!’ to our babies born in 2015, a year of great significance to Singapore. To make it a meaningful gift, Singaporeans should be the ones deciding what should go into the Gift. Ideas from Singaporeans will make The Jubilee Baby Gift a uniquely Singaporean keepsake for soon-to-be-born citizens. I can’t wait to see what Gift will welcome our babies in 2015,” says Ms Grace Fu, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.
For more information on The Jubilee Baby Gift initiative, please visit www.nptd.gov.sg/jubilee.
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FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES, CONTACT
Rachel Ong (Ms)
Executive, Corporate Communications Directorate
National Population & Talent Division, Prime Minister’s Office
Email: ong_shi_min@nptd.gov.sg
Mobile: 9199 1375
Faye Shen (Ms)
Assistant Director, Corporate Communications Directorate
National Population & Talent Division, Prime Minister’s Office
Email: faye_shen@nptd.gov.sg
Mobile: 9650 4229
ANNEX A
BACKGROUNDER ON THE JUBILEE BABY GIFT ADVISORY PANEL
While the NPTD engages Singaporeans widely on their ideas for The Jubilee Baby Gift, it has appointed an Advisory Panel to ensure that the community’s suggestions are suitable and resonate with the parents of the newborns who will receive the Gift in 2015.
The Advisory Panel comprises representatives from the people sector who work closely with organisations linked to parents, families and children. They will curate the Singaporeans’ suggestions arising from the public engagement, and will advise on the suitability of the items and the design of The Jubilee Baby Gift.
The bios of the panel members are attached below.
| 1 | Ms Anita Fam. Chair, Jubilee Baby Gift Advisory Panel | Ms Anita Fam serves on the council of Families for Life (FFL). She is a full-time mother and volunteer. FFL aims to promote strong and resilient families in a positive way. As a FFL council member and previous Chairman of Marriage Central, Anita has been an active champion of marriage and parenthood in Singapore for many years. |
| 2 | Mrs Joni Ong Member, Jubilee Baby Gift Advisory Panel | Mrs Joni Ong, a HR consultant and a mother of five, is President of I Love Children which advocates early parenthood and exists to encourage, inspire and equip would-be parents for their parenthood journey. Passionate about Singapore, Joni wants to do her part to make our country children-plenty and children-friendly. |
| 3 | Ms Toh Hwee Tin Member, Jubilee Baby Gift Advisory Panel | Ms Toh Hwee Tin is the Director of NTUC’s Family Development Unit and U Family Community. As the voice for working families, U Family advocates the building of strong and happy families by championing work-life harmony. |
| 4 | Dr Jazlan Joosoph Member, Jubilee Baby Gift Advisory Panel | Dr Jazlan Joosoph is a father of a young child, and an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Raffles Hospital. He used to write regularly on health matters in magazines and was a weekly columnist for Berita Harian, Singapore’s Malay newspaper. |
| 5 | Mr Jim Lim Member, Jubilee Baby Gift Advisory Panel | Mr Jim Lim is a father of three young children and the founder of REAL Academy, a relationship consultancy firm for families, schools and corporations. Jim also has extensive experience as an educator and a social worker. |