Singapore Philatelic Museum's 3rd Anniversary Celebrations

Mr Chiang Chie Foo, Chairman Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) Speech - Singapore Philatelic Museum's 3rd Anniversary Celebrations

Mr Chiang Chie Foo, Chairman
Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS)
Speech - Singapore Philatelic Museum's 3rd Anniversary Celebrations
Singapore, 15 November 1998

1. It is a pleasure for me to be here this morning to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of Singapore Philatelic Museum.

2. Three years ago, the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) set up the Singapore Philatelic Museum to showcase Singapore's rich collection of philatelic materials under its custody. TAS recognised that these philatelic materials, dating back to the era of the Straits Settlements, should be shared with the public because they are part of Singapore's heritage and a record of Singapore's historical development. By sharing the wealth of information on Singapore captured in the philatelic archival materials, we are helping to promote Singapore's culture and heritage for the benefit of our people.

3. It has been a good three years for the Museum. Today we can see that the museum has met, perhaps even surpassed our expectations. The Philatelic Museum has indeed, in many ways, fulfilled its vision to share Singapore's history, culture and heritage through stamps. The Museum has attracted more than 82,000 visitors since it was officially opened. This past year alone, it chalked up more than 30,000 visitors.

4. The Museum has been tenaciously striving to fulfill its mission. Through partnerships with various organisations such as the Singapore Nature Society, the URA, the Environment Council and the Parks Board, several excellent exhibitions were held in the past year. These exhibitions, focusing on topics such as Singapore's natural environment, local wayside trees and architectural heritage conservation, seek to educate and convey knowledge through the interesting stamp collection we own.

5. The Philatelic Museum has also strived to create and hold exciting and synergistic activities in conjunction with its exhibitions. This includes the launching of the first ever heritage trails through our historic and civic districts for schools. This pioneering initiative by the Philatelic Museum was made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Bank of America. The heritage walks have been highly successful with our schools. Some 33,000 pupils from our schools have experienced the Museum's heritage walks. These heritage walks will continue to be on the Museum's programme as they effectively reinforce and extend the knowledge shared through the philatelic exhibits.

6. As part of its objectives to introduce creative new activities, the Museum also launched a number of innovative education programmes, reaching out to different target audience. The Museum was among the first to include a talk show to go with the off-site exhibitions which move from school to school. These talks have proven popular with our schools. Another new initiative in the Museum's concerted efforts to reach out to students was the organisation of Camp-ins for its younger visitors. The Museum was the first to organise such Camp-ins. I was told that our primary school children enjoyed these Camp-ins. To further interest our Secondary students in philately and history, the Museum commemorated the 30th anniversary of ASEAN by organising an exhibition about ASEAN and a mock ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting for our secondary school students to role-play and learn more about ASEAN.

7. The Museum is also active in its efforts to interact and work with one of its primary audience: the stamp collectors and their clubs and associations. The Museum actively organises talks on various aspects of philately and offers its premises as a venue for stamp exchanges and fairs. I am pleased to learn that our Singapore stamp collectors have responded well to these Philatelic Museum initiatives and that the talks, stamp exchanges and fairs are well attended.

8. The Museum has been able to carry out all these interesting activities because of strong support from various sponsors, well wishers and philatelic societies. SingPost has also been an ardent supporter with its generous sponsorship to the Museum these past three years.

9. Judging by what the Museum has achieved in its three years of operations, I must say that the Museum has done well. I congratulate the Board and the staff of the Museum for all their achievements.

10. Continue to use the entrepreneurial spirit that is so evident in the staff. Continue to explore and develop new ways to promote interest in Singapore's culture and heritage through stamps and spread the interest in philately. With the continued strong leadership of the Board and the dedication of the staff, I am confident that the Philatelic Museum will carve a significant niche in the local museum scene.

11. I wish you every success in the coming year and a happy 3rd anniversary for Singapore Philatelic Museum.

Thank you.