Youths can receive up to S$7,000 in grants to organise projects showcasing Singapore’s heritage

SINGAPORE: Youths in Singapore can now receive up to S$7,000 (US$5,110) in grants if they organise projects that showcase the country’s rich heritage.

They can apply for the funding from the National Heritage Board (NHB) and National Youth Council (NYC) for activities such as guided tours, talks or screenings.

Called the Young ChangeMakers - Youth Heritage Kickstarter Fund, this new initiative is the result of an online survey involving about 1,000 youths – individuals between 15 and 35 years old – to gather their views on the heritage sector in Singapore.

The survey found that funding and mentoring are key forms of support that youths find necessary for their projects to be achieved.

Of the respondents, 37 per cent said mentoring was the biggest support they felt they needed, while 26 per cent identified funding as the main factor.

SEEKING GUIDANCE

Apart from the financial support, the youths will also get guidance on pursuing their projects.

One individual who will benefit from the new initiative is 24-year-old Ng Wee Liang, who has a passion for taking photos and creating video clips of old heritage sites in Singapore.

He then shares them on social media platforms TikTok and Instagram, in the hopes of sparking interest in the topic among his peers in his age group.

Mr Ng, whose eventual goal is to create a book, said he was quite clueless on how to go about it, as there were many components such as publishing, getting royalties and even getting the book to be placed in the National Library Board (NLB) venues across the island.

“So as part of this fund, we will get mentorship with NHB and NYC … to help us to guide us smoothly through this process,” he told CNA.

“And it may not be just limited to book publishing. There will be people who want to do theatre or want to install art installations that are related to heritage, and they may not know how to do it as well."

The grant by the agencies aims to encourage youths to play a part in making Singapore's heritage scene more vibrant, as well as to help preserve and promote the sector.

They can receive up to 80 per cent of funding for their project, or a maximum of S$7,000, depending on the merits of the project and how it impacts the wider community.

On top of receiving money and mentorship, they will also get a chance to network with professionals in the field.

“We hope to support as many youth heritage projects as possible, and these projects could range from mini exhibitions, tours, documentaries, podcasts, e-magazines, and so on,” Mr Alvin Tan, NHB’s deputy chief executive for policy and community, told CNA.

“What's important is that these youth heritage projects reach out to the wider community and contribute to NHB's wider goals of preserving and promoting our shared heritage.”

INTEREST IN DEVELOPING PROJECTS

The grant was launched after the survey done from July to September this year, found that funding and mentoring were the biggest forms of support youths were lacking in kickstarting a project.

The survey found that while more than half of respondents were keen to take part in a heritage event, only one in three would actively develop their own project. 

"What stood out for us was that six in 10 respondents said that they will volunteer their time and resources for heritage projects, and three in 10 said that they are interested to develop their own projects,” noted Mr Tan.

Another key finding is the broad range of topics that youths are interested to embark on, including areas like tangible built heritage, intangible cultural heritage and community heritage, he added.

Projects on intangible cultural heritage include those in the performing arts and cultural practices.

The survey findings will be used to create recommendations for the Youth Heritage Blueprint, which is set to be released next year.