SS Content Summary

Issue1

ExploringCitizenshipandGovernance C1 Attributescanshapeone’sunderstandingof citizenship1. Legal Status- Thismeansthat thepersonisrecognisedbylawtobeamember of that country.- Birth/ Descent/ Mariage/ Naturalisation2. Asenseof identity- Commonspaces, commonpractices, commonexperiences- Thesecreateasenseof belongingandattachment tothecountry.3. Shareddecision/ values- Historyandheritage/ Thecountry’sexperiences (For example, Singaporeexperiencedracial riotsin1964.) - Acountry’ssharedvaluescanalsochangeover timeasdifferent challengesarise4. Civicparticipation- Civicparticipationreferstocitizensactivelytakingpart inpublicaffairs.- Publicaffairsaremattersof general interest or concerntomost peopleinsociety. - Individual/Community&Formal groups- Whenpeoplecontributetopublicaffairs, theyfeel agreater senseof belonging.- Thosewhoseneedsareservedandtakencareof alsofeel asenseof connectionandwell-being.- Eventhosewhodonot volunteer cancontributebybeingresponsiblefor themselvesandtheir family. C2 Government inarepresentativedemocracy1. Functionsof government- LegislatureTheLegislatureperformsthegovernment functionof makingandpassinglaws.- ExecutiveTheExecutiveperformsthegovernment functionof enforcingandimplementinglaws. Itconsistsof thePresident andtheCabinet.- JudiciaryThejudiciaryfulfilsthegovernment functionof interpretingandapplyinglawsthroughtheCourts.2. Rolesof government- Maintainslawandorder (TheSingaporePoliceForce(SPF) aimstoprevent, deter anddetect crime, anditsworkiswide-ranging. Thepoliceprotect livesbyensuringthat athreat doesnot escalatetothepoint that someoneisharmed.) - Ensurestheeconomicandsocial well-beingof citizens (TheCPFisacomprehensivesavingsplanthat providesafoundationfor theretirement of most Singaporeans. It canalsobeusedtobuyahome, payfor healthcareexpensesandtakecareof lovedones.) - Promotesandprotectsacountry’snational interest (For example, theMinistryof DefencedevelopstheSingaporeArmedForces(SAF) torespondtomilitarythreatsusingthelatest equipment andtechnology.) C3 Decidingwhat isgoodfor society1. Differingneedsandinterests (e.g., HBL- lackof conducivelearningenvironmentsat home) - belessagreement onwhat isconsideredgoodfor societyasbenefitsof government’sdecisionsmayonlybefelt bycertaincommunitiesinthesocietyandnot bytheother.2. Differingpriorities- resourcesarelimited→thegovernment cannot possiblyaddresstheprioritiesof everycitizen→tofeelingsof distrust towardsthegovernment →social tensions3. Unequal sharingof costs- varyingimpact that adecisionhasondifferent groupsof people.4. Trade-off- Atrade-off involvesmakingadecisionbetweentwoor morethingsthat cannot beobtainedat thesametimeduetolimitedresources. Thismeansthat havingmoreof onethingwouldresult inhavinglessof another.5. Havinggoodleadership- For example, Mr LimKimSan, first chairmanof theHousingDevelopment Board(HDB), wasabletocomplete26,000flatsin3years, anexceptional achievement comparedtoSingaporeImprovement Trust’s(SIT) 23,019unitsbuilt in32years. 6. Anticipatingchangeandstayingrelevant- For example, inthe2019National Dayrally, PrimeMinister LeeHsienLoongspokeabout theimpact of climatechange,informingSingaporeansthat thegovernment istakingearlyandvital actiontopreparethecountryfor risingsealevelscausedbyclimatechange. In2020, abudget of $5billionwasset asidefor theCoastal andFloodFundtohelpSingaporemeet thesignificant risksof risingsealevels 7. Astakefor everyone, opportunitiesfor all- FromJunetoSeptember 2020, theEmergingStronger Conversationsinvolvedover 16,900Singaporeansfromdifferentbackgrounds, languagesandexperienceswhoexpressedhopesfor howSingaporecanemergestronger fromthecovid-19pandemic. 8. Practisingmeritocracy- TheEdusaveGoodProgressawardalsorecognisesthetop10%of aschool'slevel andcourseintermsof improvement inacademicperformanceandgoodconduct. C4 1. AddressingtheNeedsof Society- Different groupsof peoplemayhavedifferent needsor challengestheyfaceinlifee.g. theelderly, low-incomeor thephysicallyhandicapped. Government & citizenscanworktogether torespondtotheir issuesandchallenges.- Citizens(I) - MsGillianTeefoundedHomage, aSingaporehealthcarestartupthat connectsfamilieswithelderlymembersrequiringcaretoprofessional caregiversandnurses. Thiscameafter sherealisedtherewasagapineldercareservices.

Familymembersstruggletofindreliableandqualifiedcarersfor their lovedones.- Citizens(Groups) - RSVPSingaporeisasocial serviceagency(SSA) formedbycitizenstoengagesenior citizensinvolunteerism. Theybelieveseniorsplayavital roleinsociety& seekstoprovidethemwithmeaningful platformstocontribute.- Govt - TheNational Council of Social Service(NCSS) developedtheVolunteer Management Toolkit toprovidesSSAsguidelinesonhowtomanagevolunteerseffectively. Someof theideaswithinwerecontributedbypartnerslikeRSVPSingapore, sothat other SSAscanbenefit fromtheir best practices. 2. InfluencingDecision-makinginPublicAffairs- Citizens(I/G) - Aspart of theCitizens’ Juryfor theWar onDiabetes, CitizenJurorssharedtheir observationsanddiscussedchallengesarounddiabetes. Theyconsultedexperts, stakeholdersandpresentedproposalstoMOHtohelptackletheriseofdiabetesinSingapore.- Govt - REACH(ReachingEveryonefor ActiveCitizenry@Home) isthenational feedbackandengagement unit under MCI.Theycarryout bothonlineandface-to-facesessionstoreachout toSingaporeans. 3. InfluencingDecision-makinginPublicAffairs- Citizens(I/G) - Whenthegovernment announcedplanstoredevelopDakotaCrescent, oneof theoldest housingestatesinSingapore, agroupof Singaporeansstartedananinformal groupcalled“BetweenTwoHomes” topreservethememoriesofDakotaCrescent. Aspart of theproject, aninteractivewebsitewascreatedtodocument thestoriesof DakotaCrescentresidents.- Govt - Our SingaporeFund, whichwaslaunchedbyMinistryof Culture, CommunityandYouth(MCCY) in2016, supportsground-upprojectsthat buildthenational identityor meet social andcommunityneeds. Successful applicantsmayreceivefundingof upto80per cent of costs, subject toamaximumof $20,000per project. BetweenTwoHomeswasoneof theprojectsthat receivedthisfunding. LivinginaDiverseSociety C5 Factorsthat shapetheidentitiesof people1. Raceandethnicity- Racereferstothebiological classificationof people, whichincludestheir physical characteristicssuchasthecolour of skin, hair andeyes.- Ethnicityisbasedonthecultureof agroupof peoplewhosharethesameancestry, customsandtraditionsthat distinguishthemfromother groupsinsociety. Eachethnicgrouphasitsownbeliefs,valuesandpractices.- For example: TheEthnicIntegrationPolicy(EIP) wasintroducedin1989toensurethat thereisamixof variousethnicgroupsineachHDBblock, basedontheethnicmake-upinSingapore. ThisaimstopromoteinteractionandharmonyamongethnicgroupsinSingaporeandprevent theriseof ethnicenclaves. 2. Religion- Religionreferstoanorganisedcollectionof attitudes, beliefs, values, practicesandworldviews.- ASingaporeStatuethat waspassedin1990toprevent inter-religiousfrictionandmisunderstandinginamulti-religioussocietylikeSingapore. Under theAct, anyindividual or religiousgroupwhoattemptstocausedisharmonyamongdifferent religiousgroupsmaybefinedupto$10,000and/or faceajail termupto2years. 3. Socio-economicstatus- Socio-economicstatusreferstoaneconomicsituationsharedbyagroupof peopleinsociety.- MOEFinancial AssistanceScheme(FAS) 4. Nationality- Singlishisaninformal wayof speaking, usedbymost Singaporeans. It mixesEnglishwithwordsandphrasesfromthelanguagespokenbythevariouscommunitiesinSingapore. Assuch, speakingSinglishhasbecomeapart of theSingaporeanidentityandculture. C6 Interactionsindiversesocietyandcommonspace1. Commonspace- It referstoaphysical location/ social spacewheredifferent groupsof peopleinteract, cooperateorcollaborateonprojectsor activities.- For example: VoidDecksinPublicHousingEstates/ Schools(OBS)/ Inter-Racial andReligiousConfidenceCircles(IRCCs)/People’sAssociation 2. Individual Responsibility - Adopt anopen-mindedattitudeandbewillingtointeract withpeoplefromdiversebackgrounds.- AninitiativewhereSingaporeanscanparticipateinisthe‘Just AnExtraChair