SPEECH FOR MR CHAN SOO SEN, MINISTER OF STATE, MINSTRY OF EDUCATION AND MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SPORTS AT THE RSVP SEMINAR CUM WORKSHOP, “INTERGENERATIONAL INTEGRATION… ISSUES, CHALLENGES, THE WAY AHEAD” ON 31 JULY 2004 AT 9.15AM AT THE NOVO

SPEECH FOR MR CHAN SOO SEN, MINISTER OF STATE, MINSTRY OF EDUCATION AND MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SPORTS AT THE RSVP SEMINAR CUM WORKSHOP, “INTERGENERATIONAL INTEGRATION… ISSUES, CHALLENGES, THE WAY AHEAD” ON 31 JULY 2004 AT 9.15AM AT THE NOVOTEL APOLLO SINGAPORE HOTEL

Dr Philbert Chin
President, Retired and Senior Volunteers Programme

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

1 It is my pleasure to be at today’s RSVP Seminar cum Workshop on Intergenerational Integration. As Dr Chin mentioned, Intergenerational programming, to-date has received little attention in Singapore. We need to pay more attention because there are about 235,000 elderly people aged 65 years and above today. This number will double in 20 years’ time and triple in 30 years’ time. This is compounded by fact that they will live till about 80 years of age. The action this seminar cum workshop aims to inspire will certainly have far reaching impact.

2 This is a subject close to my heart as I can be considered part of the sandwiched generation looking for ways to bridge and connect my parents with, my wife and I, and our children. It is still some years to go but I do look forward to being a grandparent some day.

Why is Intergenerational Bonding on the Decline

3 It is timely to step up efforts on promoting intergenerational bonding because the gap in between generations – between the elderly and their children, between the elderly and their grandchildren – will continue to widen. If nothing is done, we will see our elderly functioning separately from the younger population. It is therefore imperative that we work on integrating them – so that there will always be an inter-dependant relationship between the generations.

4 Intergenerational relationships are threatened by two main factors:
Firstly, with the increasing number of nuclear families, and our successful housing policies, the opportunities for grandparents to interact with their married children and grandchildren have been reduced. This is compounded by some grandparents not wanting to play the role of grandparents, but preferring to keep themselves free during retirement. For the grandparents who wish to stay engaged with their grandchildren, even if opportunities for interaction present themselves, communication can be difficult for those elderly who speak only dialects because the younger population speak English and mother tongue.

5 The second factor why intergenerational bonding is on the decline is the rising singlehood. Both these factors will deprive people of the opportunity to bond with younger members of their family. They will have to turn to friends and community in their older years. A recent Straits Times article pointed to a generation of swinging singles growing old and lonely in Britain. This will also happen in Singapore if we do not pay attention.

How Intergenerational Programmes can Help

6 Instituting strong intergenerational programmes can help by encouraging grandparents to reprise their role as grandparents. They will benefit by remaining relevant and occupied. Their adult children benefit by being relieved of some of their parenting pressures. And their grandchildren will benefit from having an involved grandparent. Jonathan Yeo said this of his grandfather Mr Lim Soo Tsu who won the Grandparent of the Year Award in 2003 "What strikes me is how my grandfather has remained relevant to his grandchildren throughout our lives. The painstakingly handwritten notes of encouragement before each examination and phone calls whenever I am ill are but a small testament to his love and concern. He shapes my life by inculcating important values - not just through words, but actions too. These include commitment, filial piety and, most impressively, fidelity, which he exemplifies through his 61 years of marriage!"

7 Intergenerational programmes can also help by fostering a strong community network to enable the elderly to continue leading active and meaningful lives. Mr George Suppiah, an Active Senior Citizen of the Year finalist in 2003, is a former soccer player and World Cup referee. At 75 years of age, he continues to train and mentor children in soccer, act as an advisor to school soccer teams and give motivational talks to Singapore’s sportspersons on how to mentally develop themselves to the fullest. In addition, he volunteers in a SINDA programme where he befriends low-income families and help parents build strong literacy and social skills in their pre-schools children.

8 These two examples show that our seniors have a wealth of experience that we can learn from. They are the repositories of our heritage, values and memories. There is much that can be done to tap on the expertise of our elderly and engage them in society. Not only that, in the current economic reality of dual income families, we need the elderly more than ever to be the guardians and mentors of our children, so that we can be assured that our children will grow up to be strong model citizens (like you and I).

Bringing Intergenerational Programming to the next level

9 Since July 2002, the Family Matters! Singapore Taskforce on Grandparenting and Intergenerational Bonding has received more than 100 applications from 65 organisations and disbursed more than $500,000. One of the programmes funded this year is a book on grandparent-grandchild relationships for a secondary school holiday reading programme. The programme was submitted by a private sector book publisher. To reach a higher level in our implementation of intergenerational programmes, your challenge as social service providers is to form a network of exchange and collaboration with such private sector partners to implement programmes to help our younger generation internalise the value of treasuring the elderly. To give an example, RSVP could expand its existing student mentoring programme and run it for private organisations as a staff benefit for their employees.

Conclusion

10 On this note, I wish to thank RSVP and the Members of the Task Force to promote Grandparenting and Intergenerational Bonding, especially the 2 Co-Chairpersons, Mdm Tan Siok Min and Dr Thang Leng Leng, for organising this seminar. I encourage all of you to actively participate in the workshop later and contribute your ideas on how we can bring Intergenerational Bonding Programmes to a greater height in Singapore. Remember, all of us here in this room have a stake in this event. We will grow old one day. We do ourselves a favour by giving our inputs towards the intergenerational movement. I wish you all an informative, productive and enjoyable day.

Thank you.

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