Racial Harmony Day Commemoration
Premised on the theme, “Singapore: Our Multicultural Mosaic”, our college’s Racial Harmony Day (RHD) Commemoration this year served as an apt reflection of how each community, while having the space to express its own identity as part of Singapore society, also intertwines with others to culminate in the unique cultural diversity that characterises Singaporean life. This is Singapore’s bespoke approach towards multiculturalism and social cohesion, where the experiences of each individual matter and add to our diversity.
The RHD programme commenced on Wednesday, the 12th of July 2023 with Civics Tutors conducting the CCE lesson packages, “Regardless of Race” (Parts 1 and 2). The focus of the Part 1 lesson was on raising JC1 students’ awareness and appreciation of the complex and delicate ethnic-religious dynamics in Singapore, and how they could play their part as individuals to help preserve our much treasured racial and religious harmony. For the JC2 students, the focus of the Part 2 lesson was on contextualising Singapore’s unique multicultural approach to handling racial and religious relations, as compared to the global preference for some form of assimilation to try and eliminate ethnic-religious differences in the name of national unity. At the end of the day, students were reminded that Racial Harmony is a continual work in progress. Without the continued buy-in of Singaporeans to sustain our successful multicultural approach, our social fabric can easily unravel.
The JC1 CCE Representatives subsequently attended our college’s first ever Project Harmony dialogue, with the rare opportunity to hear directly from Buddhist (Hai Inn Temple), Christian (Victory Family Centre) and Muslim (Masjid Al-Khair) religious representatives about their close connections to, and services for the Choa Chu Kang and Teck Whye community. Organised in collaboration with Keat Hong Racial and Religious Harmony Circle and Keat Hong Youth Network, the insightful inter-religious sharing based on mutual respect and understanding really served as an apt symbol of Singapore's unique ethnic-religious harmony in this increasingly divisive world.
A week later, on Wednesday, the 19th of July 2023, student leaders from the Community Engagement Council collaborated with the Student Council, Chinese Cultural Society, Malay Cultural Society, playArt and numerous teacher and student volunteers, to organise the Racial Harmony Day (RHD) Carnival. The wide variety of colourful traditional ethnic costumes worn by students helped to create a festive atmosphere on the day itself. The Carnival – the focal finale event of our college’s RHD Commemoration – saw an unprecedented 9 cultural booths, featuring Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian, Filipino, Thai, Burmese, Japanese and Korean cultures. These diverse cultures were showcased during the Carnival, together with a concurrent RHD-themed Wellness Bazaar, and helped to conclude this significant annual milestone event on a high note.
