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Connecting Communities Festival celebrates community service and engagement

25 Oct 2023
Communities and Engagement

The Office of Student Affairs held a Connecting Communities festival from 18-28 September 2023.

The festival celebrated the spirit of community service and engagement through a Project Showcase Exhibition of past NUS community projects, a Giving Marketplace to help beneficiaries and groups fundraise for a good cause, and a Connecting Communities Conference to discuss topics close to the hearts of social workers, volunteers and students.

The Giving Marketplace (19 September 2023)

Project Women Empowerment (WE) sold self-designed merchandise to raise funds for their project that aims to with young women in Singapore Girls’ Home.
Project Women Empowerment (WE) sold self-designed merchandise to raise funds for their project that aims to with young women in Singapore Girls’ Home.

The Giving Marketplace provided a platform for the NUS community to show their support for various initiatives that engaged less-privileged communities. 15 NUS Community Service projects and Social Service Agencies displayed booths at UTown to raise funds and awareness for their causes, and recruit students to contribute to community engagement.

Campus Impact, SG Cares Volunteer Centre @ Yishun, spread awareness of the different volunteering opportunities available with them.
Campus Impact, SG Cares Volunteer Centre @ Yishun, spread awareness of the different volunteering opportunities available with them.
NUS Me Too! Club sold bracelets made by Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.
NUS Me Too! Club sold bracelets made by Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.

Projects Showcase Exhibition (18 to 22 September)

A panel exhibition was set up at UTown to commemorate and commend the efforts of key community engagement projects organised and participated by the NUS Community in the past year. It was heartwarming to see different sections of NUS actively involved in engaging the community through academia, student life and alumni activities.

Conference participants viewing the exhibition at UTown Education Resource Centre during Conference Day.
Conference participants viewing the exhibition at UTown Education Resource Centre during Conference Day.

The online exhibition is available here.

Conference Day (28 September 2023)

The festival finale was a Connecting Communities Conference attended by the NUS community, social service agents and practitioners. The Conference opened with a plenary discussion featuring a panel of experienced speakers from diverse backgrounds, who exchanged good practices in community engagement.

(From left to right) The plenary panel consisted of Tan Wei Shuang (outgoing president of NUS Community Service Club), Lilian Ong (Director of Social Work, New Hope Community Services), Ong Kah Kuang (Executive Director of Youth Corps Singapore), Khadijah Madihi (Founder and Family & Child Specialist of Asia Family First), and Sue Chang-Koh (Director of Community Engagement, CAPT). It was moderated by Saza Faradilla Binte Zaini from the Office of Student Affairs.
(From left to right) The plenary panel consisted of Tan Wei Shuang (outgoing president of NUS Community Service Club), Lilian Ong (Director of Social Work, New Hope Community Services), Ong Kah Kuang (Executive Director of Youth Corps Singapore), Khadijah Madihi (Founder and Family & Child Specialist of Asia Family First), and Sue Chang-Koh (Director of Community Engagement, CAPT). It was moderated by Saza Faradilla Binte Zaini from the Office of Student Affairs.

Besides these speakers, members from the NUS Dance Synergy demonstrated how they married the arts with Community Engagement while promoting active ageing to seniors.

NUS Dance Synergy demonstrated a dance piece which was used during engagement exercises with seniors.
NUS Dance Synergy demonstrated a dance piece which was used during engagement exercises with seniors.

Three separate breakout sessions were held after lunch, where conference participants got to have deeper conversations at discussions led by representatives from NUS student community, social service agencies and industry practitioners.

Breakout session speaker, Willoughby Niki Lee (Technology Consultant, Sustainable Living Lab 2), provided his insights on applying Asset-Based Community Development.
Breakout session speaker, Willoughby Niki Lee (Technology Consultant, Sustainable Living Lab 2), provided his insights on applying Asset-Based Community Development.

The Office of Student Affairs would like to thank our speakers, community partners and students for actively participating in the Connecting Communities Festival. Let us move forward together to build a brighter, more connected future with various communities within and outside of NUS.

Click the video below to relive highlights from Connecting Communities 2023!

To learn how to contribute to community engagement, visit https://nus.edu/connecting-communities or contact community.engagement@nus.edu.sg

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