6: Living in a Diverse Society

1. Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles (IRCCs)

   Nota:

   • - Community inter-racial and inter-faith platforms that promote racial and religious harmony - found in everyconstituency
   1. Organises inter-faith and inter-ethnic themed activities (heritage trails, talks, celebrations)
2. OnePeople.sg (est. 1997)
   1. Spearhead programmes and initiatives fostering interactions and friendships among different ethnic groups
      1. CampTeen

         Nota:

         • - Youth racial harmony ambassador programme - organises bonding activities among youth
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3. People’s Association
   1. Promote racial harmony and social cohesion by bridging government and people

      Nota:

      • Offers wide range of communtiy programmes and volunteering opportunitites

1. Facilitate intercultural learning
2. Fusion (food)

1. Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) of Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
   1. Internationally renowned scientists with expertise and knowledge move to SG
      1. H1N1 flu vaccine: from collab between A*STAR and Switzerland’s Cytos Biotechnology AG

1. Arabs and Muslim Americans after 9/11 terrorist attacks

Nota:

• Refers to the movement of individuals between different socio-economic status, from high to low and vice versa

1. Income gaps increasing; social mobility being limited
   1. May be due to shifting of jobs to regions with lower labour costs; affects lower income groups
   2. Emphasizes re-training and learning of new skills
   3. Upholding principle of meritocracy
      1. Edusave Scholarship (top 10%) and Merit Bursary Schemes (top 25%)

1. More foreigners, lesser job opportunities
   1. Construction sector: Rather hire foreign workers than to pay for local workers; reason for stagnant low wages for SGporeans in lower income group
2. Tightened immigration framework; more stringent foreign workforce controls
   1. Reduce inflow of foreign manpower
      1. Monthly levy for Work Permit holders increasing since 2010
      2. Quotas for S Pass and Employment Pass holders reduced
      3. Eligibility criteria (monthly salaries) tightened since 2010

1. Increasingly congested public transport system
   1. Rail network expansion: by 100km to 280km by 2021
   2. More Integrated transport nodes
2. Competition over healthcare resources
   1. More public housing hospitals and healthcare facilities
3. Competition for availability of public housing