Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) held the second edition of the Kindness Carnival in celebration of Kindness Day SG 2019. With the theme this year set as 'Kindness, It's a Two-Way Street', it was a new twist to the annual Kindness Day SG (KDSG) as Kindness Carnival 2019 marks the first event organised by Singapore Kindness Movement to focus on road graciousness and kindness.
This family friendly carnival was held at the Road Safety Community Park for the purpose of promoting kindness on the road through educational and fun-filled activities. It was truly a walk down the memory lane as I recall how I was assigned to be the pedestrian many years ago during the school visit at the Road Safety Community Park while I wished I was assigned to be the go-cart driver which seems so cool back then.
The main highlight of this year's carnival is the hourly Kindness Circuit Game, where the public is being reminded of good road etiquette through fun and play.
There were a total of 12 activity stalls with hands-on activities and 3 food stalls giving away complimentary food to those who wants a quick bite.
Can't resist but to buy these merchandises for Rena.
Outside the main area were the usual carnival games like bouncy castles, ball pit, hopscotch and giant twister game to keep the children entertained. To raise awareness of the carnival, volunteers cycled along East Coast Park on SGBike's bicycles to give out yellow gerberas to passers-by.
"Kindness is other-centeredness, which leads to fostering consideration for other road users, and that will surely contribute to road safety." observes Dr William Wan, General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement.
Mr. Tan Cheng Kong, Council Member of Singapore Kindness Movement gave the Welcome Speech followed by the Opening Remarks from Guest of Honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms. Grace Fu.
Mr. Tan Cheng Kong who is also a driver himself mentioned that this is a very good place to hold the Kindness Carnival. He believes that living in the fast-paced Singapore, we tend to become impatient and less aware of our surroundings. If we are more understanding towards other road users, commuting will be a more pleasant and safe experience. We need to cultivate a kindness conscious behavior to think of kind thoughts and kind words which will lead to kind acts eventually. In conclusion, each of us have the potential to Be Greater.
Ms. Grace Fu mentioned that during "Our Singapore Conversations" back in 2012 to 2013, Singaporeans wanted to see twelve characteristics of our society in future and four of the twelve revolved around building a kinder, more caring and inclusive society. What most Singaporeans hope to portray as an image of success is not just in term of wealth and career but to be a society where everyone can age with dignity, a society that takes care of the disadvantaged, where elderly are being looked after and taken care of. To conclude, Kindness should not be celebrated only once a year, but must be an everyday affair and come from each individual.
The Kindness Carnival was graced by Guest of Honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, where 16 new Ground-Up Movements (GUMs) and 6 Voices of Loving Kindness (VoLKs) were inducted into the Kindred Spirit Circle. To date, 81 GUMs have been recognised for their efforts towards building a nation of kindness since 2013 and SKIM hopes that more ground-up initiatives will be inspired to make a difference in our society.
Two of the inducted VoLKs this year are well known television personalities, Li Nanxing and Constance Song. Both of them were at the event to receive the certificate and also to tour the different booths. These two local artistes hope to contribute by promoting gracious behaviors both on the roads and in their daily lives, sharing these values in their personal capacity and events that they are involved in.
List of Inducted Ground-Up Movements (GUMs) for KDSG 2019
- AMCM.sg - Acronym for All Meaningful Content for Malays is an online content platform discussing issues the Malay Community faces.
- A Million Smiles Project - Global community that promotes positivity, love, kindness and appreciation to others.
- Anti-Chope Movement - Aims to make a difference to change social behaviour, Anti-Chope Movement leaves specially designed cards on tables that have been 'choped' in hawker centres and hope that diners can adopt a give-and-take mentality, and offer their seats to those with food in hand.
- Conversations Without Borders - Strives to be Singapore's first one-stop support group for people and caregivers of people with mental health conditions.
- Creight.co - Aims to bring skill-based lessons to senior citizens and raise awareness of the need for these seniors to be cared for.
- Drawn by a Nurse - Started by two nurses trying to bring fellow nurses together and paint for a good cause. Paintings are available for purchase, and proceeds will go into the funding of TOUCH home care.
- Friends of ASD Families - An autism advocacy group that focuses on gratitude and kindness, to encourage autism families and to drive awareness and acceptance in the society.
- Garden of Values - Community of families that support each other in the cultivation of values with meaningful family bonding activities.
- Interfaith Youth Circle - Ground-up initiative aimed at exploring high-quality engagements and creating a safe space for challenging and controversial issues within intrafaith and interfaith communities.
- Migrant X Me - Aims to provide public education and raise awareness for the migrant worker community in Singapore.
- Pebbles in a Shoebox - Seeks to engage ordinary people from all walks of life and ages to make the world a better and happier place with little deeds to our ultimate abilities.
- ReadAble - Weekly reading and language arts classes for children ages 2 to 15 in Jalan Kuboh.
- StonesoupSG - Crowdsources inspirational and positive stories from the public that often goes unreported and share them on their social media channels in a bid to amplify the impact of these stories.
- Synncroony - Strive to blend their voices together in harmony and hope that they are able to promote unity and harmony in the community through their singing.
- The Singapore Glove Project - Encourages all residents to stay active by getting out there and exploring what Singapore has to offer.
- #ArtforcauseSG2030 - Uses art as a focal point to involve school-going children, local businesses and the public in order to build a stronger and more sustainable network of support for our seniors.
List of Voice of Loving Kindness (VoLKs) for KDSG 2019
Ms Zai Miztig,
Mr Adrian Pang,
Mr M.P. Sellvem,
Mr James Chen,
Mr Li Nanxing and
Ms Constance Song
Other Kindness initiatives in the month of May
Various initiatives were organised by the SKM which lead to the Kindness Carnival.
1. SKM conducted a social experiment titled ‘Your Grandfather’s Road’ to see if Singaporeans would help someone in need on the roads. The video, posted on SKM’s Facebook page on 19 May 2019, garnered over 4000 views. Featuring an elderly deliveryman, the video showcased how various drivers reacted to an inconvenient situation.
2. On Thursday, 23 May 2019, SKM dressed up five Shell Stations island-wide with yellow gerberas. The five Shell Stations located at Shell Tampines Ave 2, Shell Yishun Ave 5, Shell Sengkang, Shell Dunearn University, Shell Bukit Batok Road, distributed complimentary SKM merchandise as well. In addition, drivers at the participating Shell stations were encouraged to pledge their commitment (via a pledge board at the cashier counters) to be kind to all road users.
Can't resist but to buy these merchandises for Rena.
Outside the main area were the usual carnival games like bouncy castles, ball pit, hopscotch and giant twister game to keep the children entertained. To raise awareness of the carnival, volunteers cycled along East Coast Park on SGBike's bicycles to give out yellow gerberas to passers-by.
"Kindness is other-centeredness, which leads to fostering consideration for other road users, and that will surely contribute to road safety." observes Dr William Wan, General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement.
Mr. Tan Cheng Kong, Council Member of Singapore Kindness Movement gave the Welcome Speech followed by the Opening Remarks from Guest of Honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms. Grace Fu.
Mr. Tan Cheng Kong who is also a driver himself mentioned that this is a very good place to hold the Kindness Carnival. He believes that living in the fast-paced Singapore, we tend to become impatient and less aware of our surroundings. If we are more understanding towards other road users, commuting will be a more pleasant and safe experience. We need to cultivate a kindness conscious behavior to think of kind thoughts and kind words which will lead to kind acts eventually. In conclusion, each of us have the potential to Be Greater.
 |
| Photo Credit - Singapore Kindness Movement |
Ms. Grace Fu mentioned that during "Our Singapore Conversations" back in 2012 to 2013, Singaporeans wanted to see twelve characteristics of our society in future and four of the twelve revolved around building a kinder, more caring and inclusive society. What most Singaporeans hope to portray as an image of success is not just in term of wealth and career but to be a society where everyone can age with dignity, a society that takes care of the disadvantaged, where elderly are being looked after and taken care of. To conclude, Kindness should not be celebrated only once a year, but must be an everyday affair and come from each individual.
 |
| Photo Credit - Singapore Kindness Movement |
The Kindness Carnival was graced by Guest of Honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, where 16 new Ground-Up Movements (GUMs) and 6 Voices of Loving Kindness (VoLKs) were inducted into the Kindred Spirit Circle. To date, 81 GUMs have been recognised for their efforts towards building a nation of kindness since 2013 and SKIM hopes that more ground-up initiatives will be inspired to make a difference in our society.
Two of the inducted VoLKs this year are well known television personalities, Li Nanxing and Constance Song. Both of them were at the event to receive the certificate and also to tour the different booths. These two local artistes hope to contribute by promoting gracious behaviors both on the roads and in their daily lives, sharing these values in their personal capacity and events that they are involved in.
List of Inducted Ground-Up Movements (GUMs) for KDSG 2019
- AMCM.sg - Acronym for All Meaningful Content for Malays is an online content platform discussing issues the Malay Community faces.
- A Million Smiles Project - Global community that promotes positivity, love, kindness and appreciation to others.
- Anti-Chope Movement - Aims to make a difference to change social behaviour, Anti-Chope Movement leaves specially designed cards on tables that have been 'choped' in hawker centres and hope that diners can adopt a give-and-take mentality, and offer their seats to those with food in hand.
- Conversations Without Borders - Strives to be Singapore's first one-stop support group for people and caregivers of people with mental health conditions.
- Creight.co - Aims to bring skill-based lessons to senior citizens and raise awareness of the need for these seniors to be cared for.
- Drawn by a Nurse - Started by two nurses trying to bring fellow nurses together and paint for a good cause. Paintings are available for purchase, and proceeds will go into the funding of TOUCH home care.
- Friends of ASD Families - An autism advocacy group that focuses on gratitude and kindness, to encourage autism families and to drive awareness and acceptance in the society.
- Garden of Values - Community of families that support each other in the cultivation of values with meaningful family bonding activities.
- Interfaith Youth Circle - Ground-up initiative aimed at exploring high-quality engagements and creating a safe space for challenging and controversial issues within intrafaith and interfaith communities.
- Migrant X Me - Aims to provide public education and raise awareness for the migrant worker community in Singapore.
- Pebbles in a Shoebox - Seeks to engage ordinary people from all walks of life and ages to make the world a better and happier place with little deeds to our ultimate abilities.
- ReadAble - Weekly reading and language arts classes for children ages 2 to 15 in Jalan Kuboh.
- StonesoupSG - Crowdsources inspirational and positive stories from the public that often goes unreported and share them on their social media channels in a bid to amplify the impact of these stories.
- Synncroony - Strive to blend their voices together in harmony and hope that they are able to promote unity and harmony in the community through their singing.
- The Singapore Glove Project - Encourages all residents to stay active by getting out there and exploring what Singapore has to offer.
- #ArtforcauseSG2030 - Uses art as a focal point to involve school-going children, local businesses and the public in order to build a stronger and more sustainable network of support for our seniors.
List of Voice of Loving Kindness (VoLKs) for KDSG 2019
Ms Zai Miztig,
Mr Adrian Pang,
Mr M.P. Sellvem,
Mr James Chen,
Mr Li Nanxing and
Ms Constance Song
Other Kindness initiatives in the month of May
Various initiatives were organised by the SKM which lead to the Kindness Carnival.
 |
A scene from Your Grandfather’s Road, where
one kind driver helped the uncle to unload his goods
|
1. SKM conducted a social experiment titled ‘Your Grandfather’s Road’ to see if Singaporeans would help someone in need on the roads. The video, posted on SKM’s Facebook page on 19 May 2019, garnered over 4000 views. Featuring an elderly deliveryman, the video showcased how various drivers reacted to an inconvenient situation.
2. On Thursday, 23 May 2019, SKM dressed up five Shell Stations island-wide with yellow gerberas. The five Shell Stations located at Shell Tampines Ave 2, Shell Yishun Ave 5, Shell Sengkang, Shell Dunearn University, Shell Bukit Batok Road, distributed complimentary SKM merchandise as well. In addition, drivers at the participating Shell stations were encouraged to pledge their commitment (via a pledge board at the cashier counters) to be kind to all road users.
3. On Thursday, 23 May 2019, SKM partnered with Grab SG to raise awareness of Kindness Day SG by branding the car icons in the app with yellow gerberas.
4. SKM’s valued partner, Gardenia Food(s) produced a special Kindness overband on their Gardenia 100% Wholemeal Super Soft & Fine Loaf. An online giveaway is currently running, where 5 winners will receive a kindness care package that includes a limited-edition Gardenia NETS FlashPay card (worth $20) and Singa premiums. The contest ends 31 May and is open to Singapore residents only.
For more updates, do connect with Singapore Kindness Movement on their various platforms
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
The Pride: Inviting fresh thinking on what's important to the community. News should always be this good.
XOXO
For more updates, do connect with Singapore Kindness Movement on their various platforms
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
The Pride: Inviting fresh thinking on what's important to the community. News should always be this good.
XOXO
