Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon

Introduction

1.                I am glad to be invited to the sixth Asian Children’s Festival (ACF) in the series organised by the National Library Board (NLB).  Since its inception in the year 2000, the festival has brought a focus on Asia Pacific traditions and culture.

2.                For our children, the festival brings them into the creative and joyous learning of Asian culture.  For adults, it is an opportunity to share and develop content in the Asian cultures.

ACF 05

3.                I am pleased to note that ACF 05 is bigger than ever before.  It reflects its popularity and reach among Singaporeans.  This year, the Festival will stretch over three weeks, three days longer than last year’s.  The Asian Children’s Expo will be larger too, occupying nearly twice as much space as before[1]. It will feature a variety of fun activities from performing arts to making creative sandwiches.

Celebrating Childhood

4.                The theme for this year’s ACF is “Celebrating Childhood”.  It is a theme that both children and adults can identify with.  For childhood is a time filled with the joy of discovering new things, and having fun while learning about the world and life.  As parents, we should make this exciting stage of their lives as carefree and enjoyable as possible for them.

5.                Hence, it is apt that the Festival is creating opportunities for children, parents and even grandparents to bond.  Through the competition “Childhood Memories”, children are invited to write stories on their parents’ and grandparents’ memories.  I understand over 1,800 entries were received.  Our young winners of the competition will receive their prizes later.  Yet another activity to encourage bonding between young and old is a cooking workshop called “Fun with Asian Food”.  Children will be introduced to the delights of cooking, through their participation in the workshop with their parents or grandparents.

Activities Involving Everyone

6.                I am heartened that this time, the ACF is also focusing on disadvantaged children, by organising activities such as “Duck Tours” to places of interest.  Disadvantaged children are also encouraged to take up half of the 600 places for children who go on the MRT “Read-and-Ride & Storytelling Extravaganza”.

7.                At the Festival, children can also enjoy storytelling while learning yoga, or learn about safety while watching a puppet show.  I have been told that children will also have the opportunity to listen to Asian stories told by storytellers from Asia, Europe, USA, New Zealand and Australia.  This will certainly add a new flavour to storytelling.

NLB’s Commendable Efforts

8.                NLB’s efforts to make ACF a fun learning event reflects the fact that our children’s education has to go beyond the classroom.  Education does not only mean building up sound general knowledge, it also includes acquiring creative and thinking skills so that our young grow up to be well-rounded individuals.

9.                It is heartening to note that NLB is further facilitating this by introducing a “Drop-Everything-And-Read” or “DEAR” promotion for three months, which allows every library member to borrow twice the usual number of library materials.  This is NLB’s way of thanking its customers and celebrating the season of multiracial festivities, while emphasising that reading for leisure and pleasure is a fun-filled activity that can be enjoyed together as a family.  I congratulate NLB on this new initiative.

ACF in the Future

10.           I have no doubt that ACF could grow to become a truly regional event.  It could develop to a point where children from Asia and their educators converge in Singapore for this annual Festival.  This will give children in Singapore an opportunity to mingle with and share information about their cultures and traditions with their Asian counterparts.  Perhaps start with ASEAN and then fan out further.  As the Festival grows, so will regional participation in it.  NLB can draw encouragement from events such as the Chingay Festival, which started out as a Singaporean affair, but has grown to become an event that attracts international attention and participation.

11.           Growing ACF will take a bit of time.  But I am certain that NLB will rise to the challenge and achieve this aim.  I wish all of you a very successful Festival.

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