Speech by RADM (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Senior Minister Of State For Education, And Information, Communications and the Arts, at the Opening Ceremony Of The Festival Of Ideas, On 7 November 2008 (Friday), 12 PM, At Toa Payoh HDB Hub
Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen,
I am happy to be here at the Festival of Ideas, a two-day event organised by the Creative Community Singapore (CCS), under the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA). This Festival celebrates creativity and the value that it can bring to each one of us and society at large. Creativity creates new opportunities, infuses variety and enhances the quality of life for all of us.
Nurturing creativity
2 Singapore’s creative industries have witnessed good growth since 2003. At the national level, MICA and its agencies’ strategic plans such as Singapore Media Fusion 2015, Design Singapore II, Renaissance City Plan III and Intelligent Nation 2015, will boost the media, design, arts and ICT sectors to transform Singapore into a creative hub.
3 Beyond masterplanning, we have to nurture and train creative talent both to fuel and to harness the new opportunities which the burgeoning creative industries will bring. There have been several exciting developments in the creative industries in recent months, as our local talents have been making waves overseas. For example, Eric Khoo's My Magic competed for the prestigious Palme D'or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, while feature films, Money No Enough II by Jack Neo and 12 Lotus by Royston Tan, have recently received nominations at the prestigious Golden Horse Awards. Furthermore, “My Garden,” a multi-disciplinary installation by two DesignSingapore scholars, Melisa Chan and David Lee, together with local fashion designer, Ashley Isham, won a first prize at the recent London Design Festival 2008.
4 At the ground level, CCS creates opportunities for Singaporeans from all walks of life to unleash their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Since its launch in July 2005, CCS has provided various levels of support, including facilitation, capability development, marketing and co-funding, to help creative individuals and organisations get their creative ideas off the mental drawing board and implement them in the real world.
5 To achieve these objectives, CCS has organised outreach events similar to today’s Festival of Ideas in the past. These include its inaugural GreenField festival in 2006, a showcase of CCS-supported projects and workshops, and Creative 24 in 2007, a 24-hour non-stop festival. Both festivals held in the city area attracted over 30,000 people in total. What is different about this year’s Festival of Ideas is that it has brought creative inspiration to the heartlands and the community, with the support of the Housing and Development Board. The public can learn more about the processes and creative ideas behind the CCS-supported creative entrepreneurs’ projects. Hopefully, this can inspire future creative entrepreneurs.
Festival of Ideas
6 Another new element in this year’s Festival is the CCS-initiated Ideas@Work, a creative idea competition targeted at germinating early stage creative entrepreneurship by encouraging tertiary students to come forward with their proposals. Ten ideas have been shortlisted for the final showdown here tomorrow and I would like to congratulate these finalists from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, LASALLE, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and Singapore Polytechnic, on their highly imaginative ideas.
7 There are other interesting activities at this Festival. Located behind you is a maze that allows you to experience the exciting range of creative ideas by fellow Singaporeans. You can enjoy interactive displays such as a mad scientist’s lab depicting skills in art decoration and design used in movie sets, and a dark room which offers a 3D animation experience. In the Play! and Kids Corner, you and your child can play digital or board games, appreciate music and paintings, or participate in creativity workshops. You can even pick up some tips from the creative entrepreneurs supported by CCS at the Festival. There is also a series of special performances that includes snippets from the local musical, Georgette, a screening of local short films and performances by talented kids and local musicians. I believe there is something for everyone!
Conclusion
8 The Festival of Ideas is really an amalgamation of raw and seasoned talents to showcase their creative ideas and work. It is also a testimony of the impact CCS has brought to the community. All projects here have been developed and implemented with support from CCS over the past three years.
9 I hope all of you have an enjoyable time today. All of us have creative and innovative ideas, which sometimes need a little help to bubble to the surface. I hope the Festival will ignite the creative spark in each and every one of you.
Thank you.
http://app.mica.gov.sg/Default.aspx?tabid=79&ctl=Details&mid=540&ItemID=912