The Eiffel Tower. The Taj Mahal. The Great Wall of China. We all know these famous Monuments, but how well do we know the National Monuments in our own backyard, Singapore?

Whether you are a history buff or someone who just walks past them everyday, National Monuments are an important part of the Singapore landscape. Recently, The History Workroom has been involved in researching and writing an education kit on Singapore’s 61 National Monuments. Commissioned and produced by the Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB), the kit can be downloaded for free at the PMB website.

3 great reasons to download and read this kit:
-    Be Kiasu – This kit is the only publication to have basic information on all 61 National Monuments currently gazetted.

-    Increase your knowledge. Find out interesting stories and information nuggets about the monuments. For example: Did you know Low Kim Pong  built the Siong Lim Temple because of a dream? Learn how to recognise different architectural styles such as the Neo-classical, Neo-gothic and Art Deco, commonly used in colonial buildings

-    Get ideas for holiday activities for children or young adults. With the easy and educational ideas and activities (with ready-to-use sheets) in this kit, you will have hours of fun visiting the monuments and learning more about them.

Although the heritage scene all around the world is blossoming with new centres and organisations, often institutions don’t spend enough time learning and reading about best practices. This website developed by the Connecticut Humanities Council’s Heritage Resource Center (HRC) is designed to connect directors, staff, and board members with current thinking and discussion on the most important issues affecting museums, historical societies, arts agencies, and other non-profit cultural organisations today.

It has book reviews, links to useful Web sites and blogs, and a variety of reports, surveys, and tools all organized around eight core subject areas:

Audience Assessment & Evaluation

Technology & New Media

Marketing & Communications

Leadership & Governance

Finance & Business Planning

Collections & Archives

Museum Education

Public Programming

Community Center

A really helpful and useful resource.

Up to a few years ago, “memories” were considered a thing of the private realm. Even though there had been a popular history movement in the UK and US for about 20 years or more, it never really took off in Soutehast Asia. For much of this part of the world, history is one with a capital letter H.

How things have changed. Now, “memories” is all the rage. Stories now have a part to play in history. But if these “memories” or their narratives of it still follow the framework of “Great men’s history”, then it is merely adding spice to what is already known and repeated.

One can only hope that these stories told humanises the society, not reinforcing the convenient structures.

STRAITS TIMES
Apr 11, 2010

Wanted: Your memories of S’pore
National Library Board hopes to collect 5 million memories to mark the nation’s 50th birthday in 2015

By Huang Lijie

What do you give Singapore for its 50th birthday?

Singaporeans may want to consider offering their memories of life on the island.

The National Library Board aims to collect five million memories to commemorate the occasion in 2015.

The project, Singapore Memory, was announced in Parliament recently. Mr Gene Tan, the project’s programme director, said libraries, heritage agencies and research institutions will team up to ‘collect, preserve and provide access’ to these memories – which may be captured in print, audio and video. He said the project, to be launched later this year, aims to ’strengthen a shared sense of identity and heritage’.

The Oral History Centre, a department under the National Archives, has been documenting the past since it was established in 1979.

Its five full-time oral historians conduct interviews with people about their life experiences. They have logged almost 17,100 hours of interviews with 3,500 people in English, Malay, Tamil and Chinese dialects.

‘We want to trace not only the major political milestones but also the cultural and social aspects such as family history, traditions and values,’ said Ms Julia Chee, the centre’s deputy director.

Recent interviewees include Mr Samuel Lee, Singapore’s first test-tube baby, and Madam Goh Siew Geok, TAS Theatre Company’s founder, who shared her views on developments in the Chinese opera scene in Singapore.

Retiree Lai Thiam Hock, 78, contacted the centre recently after a friend encouraged him to record his World War II experiences. He recalled his family’s near escapes from death during the Japanese Occupation.

‘It was painful at times to relive those bitter memories, but I want to let the younger generation know what life was like then and how fortunate they are,’ he said.

The interviews, lasting about two hours each, may take place over one or more sessions, depending on the interviewee’s availability and the breadth to be covered. The recordings are done in digital format.

Interviewees may opt to release the recordings immediately or embargo them for a period. They are also given a copy of the recording.

The recordings are available for free at the National Archives or online at www.a2o.com.sg. In the last year, 16,901 oral history discs were consulted at the Archives while 474,480 discs were accessed online.

As for the authenticity of the accounts, Ms Chee said checks are done during the interviews. The accounts may also be cross-checked against other sources.

‘Oral history’s strength lies in its ability to cover a dimension that documents and facts and figures cannot capture – the feelings, emotions and reflections expressed via recounting,’ she said.

lijie@sph.com.sg

Those who wish to share their oral history may contact Ms Julia Chee of the Oral History Centre on 6332-7944, or e-mail julia_chee@nhb.gov.sg

Those interested in British and Singapore military history may like to attend the following event organised by the Churchill College, Cambridge and the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, NUS.

What: A one-day symposium to revisit historical problems and questions relating to the career of Winston Churchill and the relationship between Britain and Singapore, with particular reference to problems of defence and foreign policy.

When: 9 April 2010

Where: University Cultural Centre Theatre

Registration starts at 8.30 am and all are welcome. If you wish to attend, please email to fasv3@nus.edu.sg or fashelp@nus.edu.sg for registration.

The programme can be found here.