Promoting Social Interaction
In your opinion, how can greater interaction between the different groups of people living in Singapore be promoted? Explain your answer with reference to two ways.
Singapore has many different groups of people living in our country and hence, it is important that we all interact to get to know each other better. One way this can be done is to build more common spaces in neighbourhoods which can be used by residents to come together. [Description]
An example of such a space could be communal barbecue pits in HDB estates. The availability and use of such spaces can be promoted through common spaces of display such as notice boards and lifts, so that residents will be encouraged to book the use of the barbecue pits to have social gatherings like birthday parties. [Example]
By planning their social events in such common spaces, there will be a chance for neighbours to come out of their homes into the neighbourhood, mingle and chat with each other. Over time, the use of such common spaces will foster interaction and hopefully understanding among different groups of people in Singapore. This is especially important as Singapore is a diverse society. [Explanation]
Singapore has many different groups of people living in our country and there needs to be education about the need to embrace diversity in order to promote greater interaction. One way of engaging the public in such education is through programmes in schools. [Descrption]
For example, Outward Bound School (OBS) was made compulsory across all schools in Singapore for Sec 3 students and often, different students are mixed from multiple schools to work together in teams for the duration of the camp. They have to work closely together for the camp activities such as kayaking, cooking, tent-pitching etc. As such, they will be stepping out of their comfort zone to have interactions in a common space with many different types of people living in Singapore. When they return from camp, they engage in reflections about this deliberate grouping with other schools. [Explanatio]
Over time, such educational experiences would instil a mindset of embracing diversity among the youth. They will accommodate these dispositions with them in the long term.. They will learn to value such interactions in a diverse society.