1. President Tony Tan Keng Yam officially launched the Harmony in Diversity Gallery (HDG) this evening. The HDG seeks to promote the importance of religious harmony to Singapore and the efforts needed to build interfaith peace in a religiously diverse society. It also serves as a key platform under the SGSecure movement's 'Community Cohesion' pillar to engage Singaporeans on the importance of racial and religious harmony.
2. The opening, hosted by Minister for Home Affairs and Law Mr K Shanmugam, was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Mr Teo Chee Hean and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Ms Grace Fu. Members of the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony, the National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony and the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) also attended the launch.
3. A ground-up initiative by the community, the HDG was first mooted by the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) in 2015 as an endeavour to value and sustain our religious and social harmony. More importantly, it was envisaged as a learning platform for younger Singaporeans to foster mutual respect and understanding for each other by providing them with the basic knowledge and awareness of the major religions in Singapore and the common values which they share.
4. Over the past year, the Ministry of Home Affairs has worked closely with the IRO, academics and other stakeholders to bring this idea to fruition. As a collaborative effort between the Government and people sectors, the HDG will continue to explore partnering opportunities with organisations with similar aspirations. The S Rajaratnam Endowment, for example, has agreed to sponsor and support outreach and engagement programmes[1] by the HDG. Moving forward, a panel of advisors comprising individuals from the Government and people sectors will be formed to provide strategic guidance to and advance the HDG's mission and goals.
5. The Gallery comprises four galleries of exhibits, artefacts and interactive features which celebrate Singapore's religious diversity and encourages the visitors to reflect on the role they can play in sustaining a harmonious Singapore. Visitors can also look forward to interactive exhibits which demonstrate how our responses to everyday scenarios can help safeguard our religious harmony and diversity.
6. More information about the various features and exhibits of the HDG can be found in the accompanying Media Factsheet.
[1] The S Rajaratnam Endowment will support the HDG's outreach and engagement programmes, such as seminars, dialogues and heritage trails.
