More funding for cultural activities, sports to strengthen community bonds
Participants taking part in mass Tai Chi at the official launch of the North West Tai Chi Club. Photo: Ooi Boon Keong
SINGAPORE — More financial support will be given to cultural activities, community sports, voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) and self-help groups, as part of the Government’s efforts to strengthen community bonds, Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat announced yesterday.
Over the next five years, up to S$100 million more will be pumped into the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund, which has received S$180 million since 2002 and helped around 400 organisations with the costs of staff training and outreach.
The Ministry for Social and Family Development (MSF) will provide further details on this initiative in the upcoming Committee of Supply debate.
An extra S$6 million will also be given over the next two years to the four self-help groups — the Chinese Development Assistance Council, Yayasan Mendaki, Singapore Indian Development Association and the Eurasian Association — so that they can better help needy families and children.
Mr Heng also noted that sports is one way through which society can get closer, either through games among friends and neighbours, or by cheering for the nation’s sportsmen and women.
To make it easier for Singaporeans to participate in sport, over S$50 million will be set aside to support community sports.
As part of this, the Sports-In-Precinct Programme — which was unveiled in 2014 as part of the Vision 2030 blueprint for sports development — will be expanded so that more Singaporeans can play sports near their homes.
The SportCares Programme will also be expanded to encourage disadvantaged youth to discover their strengths through sports.
Beyond sports in the community, aspiring athletes will also get more support, to the tune of an additional S$50 million in grants over five years. In addition, sports donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the Government, up to S$50 million. Mr Heng said this will build a wider base of support for Team Singapore.
The minister added that cultural activities also “build bonds among our people”. He noted that visitorship to museums and performances have increased, alongside higher giving — both in terms of time, as docents, or financially.
To “sustain this momentum”, Mr Heng said a S$150 million top-up will go to the Cultural Matching Fund, which was introduced in 2014 to encourage donations to cultural institutions. Since its inception, about S$150 million has been committed, with donations to arts and heritage causes having more than doubled. FARIS MOKHTAR
