SINGAPORE - A swanky new indoor arena to attract world-class events and a new $165 million fund to host more such events are among efforts to build a vibrant sporting culture here, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong in Parliament on March 7.

Announcing plans by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) in its budget debate, Mr Tong said the initiatives are aimed at building a vibrant and cohesive home where diverse dreams can thrive.

“There is no one Singapore dream. No uniform pathway for success,” he said. “What matters is that we live in a society that values our diverse passions and aspirations, and that there are opportunities for us to achieve our fullest potential.”

Sports

1. New indoor arena

Mr Tong announced plans for a new indoor arena that aims to attract more world-class events to Singapore. It will be located adjacent to the current Singapore Indoor Stadium site.

The new arena will replace the existing Singapore Indoor Stadium, which is more than 30 years old. It will allow Singapore to host high-quality international events, have a faster turnaround time between events and offer more varied hospitality suites to spectators.

Mr Tong said since the Singapore Indoor Stadium was built in 1989, others around the region have refreshed their facilities with new, modern indoor arenas that are state of the art.

“We believe that it is now an opportune time to develop a new indoor arena that will be among the best in class globally,” he said.

Sport Singapore (SportSG) has built 10 facilities, with another 24 more projects in various developmental stages.

As part of the master plan, four new facilities will open in 2024 – Kallang Tennis Hub, Kallang Football Hub, new basketball courts at the former Bedok Swimming Complex, and a facility for softball and baseball at Jurong East.

“Our ambition is for Singaporeans to be able to take a 10-minute walk from home to affordable sport facilities by around 2030,” said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua.

2. Funding support for sports

To continue to position Singapore as a major sporting destination, a $165 million Major Sports Event Fund will be set aside over four years. This new fund will allow for more sporting events to be held here.

In addition, $20 million will be set aside for the One Team Singapore Fund (OTSF). The OTSF, a dollar-for-dollar matching grant by the Government that aims to encourage corporations and the public to support national athletes through donations, will be extended for another year till 2027.

The OTSF will be expanded to support the Athletes’ Inspire Fund, which was launched in 2021 to support promising athletes who represent Singapore in emerging sports and are not receiving support from a National Sports Association, funded directly by SportSG.

“When Joseph Schooling won his Olympic Gold medal, or when Loh Kean Yew became World Champion, or when Shanti took on the very best in Asia and beat them all, we all remember and cherish those moments, feel proud of their sporting achievements,” said Mr Tong, “but even prouder, because each of these athletes represent something in each of us, and collectively as Singaporeans. And it ignites our shared Singapore spirit.”

The OTSF will also be expanded to provide government dollar-for-dollar matching for donations to SportCares, the philanthropic arm of SportSG.

3. Inclusive sports to get a boost

MCCY and SportSG have embarked on efforts to update the Disability Sports Masterplan, and the recommendations will be announced later in 2024.

The sports participation rate among persons with disabilities rose from 28 per cent in 2015 to 54 per cent in 2022. Since 2016, SportSG has introduced a range of disability sports programmes which have reached out to close to 20,000 persons with disabilities to date.

Since its launch in 2022, the Para Sport Academy has rolled out 10 sports with more than 400 participants to date, including para badminton, para table tennis and para swimming.

SportSG is on track to make all ActiveSG gyms inclusive by 2026.

Arts

4. Support for self-employed persons in arts

The Government will invest an additional $100 million over the next four years to support the refreshed Our SG Arts Plan, a strategic five-year roadmap from 2023 to 2027 to make arts pervasive and accessible to all.

About one-third of the arts workforce, or around 7,000 individuals, are independent arts self-employed persons (SEPs). To meet their diverse aspirations and strengthen Singapore’s arts workforce, the National Arts Council (NAC) will create and support multiple pathways of training for arts SEPs to drive artistic excellence and growth in the sector.

“Working in a wide range of roles, arts SEPs primarily take on gig work, and generally do not have structured support from employers to support their training or career development. But they are very critical to the continued success and growth of the arts ecosystem,” said Mr Tong.

“Increasing support will help arts SEPs seize better work opportunities across a broader and wider spectrum of job roles, and in turn, boost the long-term growth of the sector,” he said.

NAC will continue to increase efforts in diversifying both public and private spaces for the arts, for Singaporeans from all walks of life to enjoy the arts.

NAC will also work with healthcare sector partners SingHealth and Agency for Integrated Care to develop a framework and resources to guide the design of programmes that promote the arts for health and well-being.

Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling said the framework, to be developed by 2027, will initially focus on the well-being of seniors before expanding to others.

Community

5. More heritage touchpoints in community spaces

The National Heritage Board will work closely with community partners to introduce heritage programming and enhance spaces in their neighbourhoods.

This is under Our SG Heritage Plan 2.0, in which Heritage Activation Nodes will be launched in various precincts from 2024 to provide opportunities for the community to participate in, develop and implement projects to celebrate the heritage of their neighbourhoods.

For example, the first Heritage Activation Node will be launched in Katong-Joo Chiat in April 2024 with a weekend festival.

Members of the public can look forward to more than 25 programmes at various locations throughout the Katong-Joo Chiat neighbourhood, organised together with about 20 community partners and heritage businesses in the area. These include guided tours, a pasar malam (night market) and games.

6. Growing philanthropy

A new platform will be set up to bring together donors, non-profits and public and private organisations to uplift lower-income families. Called the Collective for a Stronger Society, the platform will help donors better appreciate the needs of our society and direct their resources.

Set up by the Community Foundation of Singapore in partnership with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Community Chest, and supported by MCCY, the collective will allow donors to connect with causes on the ground that uplift lower-income families, and to come up with solutions that address unmet needs in society.

7. Supporting mental well-being

A guide is being developed to help those interested in setting up their own well-being circles in the community. Well-being circles are made up of community leaders and volunteers who work with mental health organisations to conduct well-being programmes for the community.

There are 12 well-being circles set up by the SG Mental Well-Being Network, including three new ones at Queenstown, Marymount and the Singapore Management University. More than 3,000 residents have taken steps to look after their own well-being and that of others.

Youth

8. Giving young people a greater say in policymaking

Youth panels were launched by MCCY and the National Youth Council in 2023 for young people to review and develop policy recommendations with the Government. Around 140 young people, including secondary school and tertiary students as well as young working adults from private and public sectors, are part of the inaugural panels.

Those on the panels will be engaging their peers through platforms such as the youth policy forum, which will be held in the second half of 2024.

At the forum, the youth panels will present their policy ideas to their peers and hear their feedback before finalising their recommendations, which may subsequently be addressed by the Government.

“Our youth panels mark a shift in how our Government is creating more space for youths to take ownership of nation-building,” said Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan.

“We will ensure the views of our youths are incorporated into the panels’ policy recommendations, and then either table these recommendations in Parliament for debate, implement them, or address them via other channels such as written responses.”

9. Increasing impact of mentoring

In 2024, Mentoring SG aims to partner 300 companies. Launched in December 2022 to build a culture of mentoring among young people in Singapore, Mentoring SG will channel more efforts into industry-led mentoring initiatives. One example is a collaboration with Respect SG, where young people are provided with opportunities to experience and learn about the F&B and hospitality sectors under the guidance of mentors.

To date, Mentoring SG has engaged about 100 companies, 2,000 mentors and more than 5,000 young people.

10. Funding of ground-up initiatives

The Youth Action Challenge, a platform for young people to champion ground-up initiatives on issues that matter to them, will include a scaled-up exercise to allow participants to decide on which projects should be allocated more funding.

Through this exercise, called the Participatory Budgeting Exercise, young people will learn how funding is allocated and better understand the trade-offs involved in policymaking. Some teams could get additional funding of up to $30,000 via the exercise, with a total of up to $70,000 per team.