5) Explore other ways to foster social cohesion in S'pore

http://www.wp.org.sg/news/hammer_online/07_singaporean_youths.htm

Ways to foster social cohesion in Singapore

Ø By having National Education Program and Racial Harmony Day

Ø By having the social studies syllabus to help students be familier to Singapore's constraints and needs.

Ø By having community involvement program



National Education Program and Racial Harmony Day

Ø Foster stronger bonds between races

Ø Acquaints the youths with national history as well as to help them understand and appreciate differences between the races.

Ø Creates awareness and helps understand the differences for the inculcation of the values of tolerance and respect

Ø Sustain genuine interaction that deepens the understanding and bonding between races.
Ø Familiarize the students to Singapore's constraints and needs.

Ø By using Switzerland as the model which shows the importance of racial harmony , and Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland as the consequences of having racial disharmony.

Ø to inculcate such values, the people's mindset must be changed, and this can only be done through sustained interaction between races,

Ø Which students are actually exposed to differences and even culture shocks which changes their mindset and their values.



Community Involvement program

Ø Increases students' involvement and empathy with other classes in society, such as the less advantaged low-income families through tuition programs and student mentorships.

Ø Award students with CIP points for the hours of service they put in.

Ø Could be the fastest way of sustaining youth involvement in the community, but it reinforces the motivation of self-reward and individualism in the youths.

Ø Such individualism ultimately causes the young generation to devote themselves to the pursuit of inflated expectations and to be disengaged from the community at large.

Ø It is difficult to have social cohesion and bonding amongst all social classes , as community outreach is motivated by the promise of self-benefit.


Refections

I feel that in oreder to have Social cohesion in Singapore, the people have to play a part in it.
The Government can only help so much in ensuring that there is social cohesion anoung the people, but ultimatly, its the people who choose whether if they want it or not.