National Courtesy Campaign (Singapore)
The National Courtesy Campaign was a campaign launched in June 1979 by Singapore's Ministry of Culture as a means of encouraging Singaporeans to be more kind and considerate to each other, so as to create a pleasant social environment.[1] It was to be an annual effort by the government to encourage the people to adopt a more courteous attitude and lifestyle. It was seen as a means of ensuring a smooth transition to a new Singapore which would be densely populated, where people lived and worked in high rise towns, offices and factories, while traveling in crowded buses and lifts.[2] In March 2001, the campaign was subsumed by the Singapore Kindness Movement.[3]
Origins
The National Courtesy Campaign was not actually the first of its kind to instill values of courtesy to Singaporeans, though they were not conducted on as big a scale as the National Courtesy Campaign over such a long period. More than 10 years prior to the introduction of the National Courtesy Campaign, there was already a Bus Safety and Courtesy Campaign,[4] which was held in 1968, as well as the National Safety First Council Road Courtesy Campaigns[5] and the Safety and Courtesy Campaign Week[6] which were held between 1972 and 1973 among others. Thus, it can be seen that Singapore had already experimented using campaigns as a means of encouraging Singaporeans to acquire a more courteous disposition in their lifestyle. Nonetheless, the forerunner of the National Courtesy Campaign is usually recognized as the courtesy campaign that was conducted by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB).[1][7]
The courtesy campaign conducted by the STPB was meant to teach Singaporeans to be polite only to tourists for the benefit of the tourist industry.[1][7] Then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s had followed the courtesy campaigns by the STPB with ‘interest and amusement: interest because most people were responsive to the campaign; amusement because no one protested that it was absurd to teach Singaporeans to be polite to tourists’.[2] In his speech, he stressed the importance of being courteous in one’s everyday life as it would make life better for everyone. It was a desirable attribute which could be found in all cultivated societies, and something which we should practice for Singapore’s own self-esteem.[2] If tourists do find Singapore a courteous nation, it was because it was ‘incidental’.[2] This ‘prodding’[2] by Lee Kuan Yew thus saw the birth of the National Courtesy Campaign, which became a recurrent, annual campaign that was seen as a long-term project of aiming to imbue values of courtesy into Singaporeans within a period of 10 years.[7]
Singa the Courtesy Lion
Represented by a Smiley logo as the campaign kick started, the National Courtesy Campaign had Singa the Courtesy Lion replace the Smiley logo in 1982. The lion was chosen because, in addition to the fact that Singapore was a ‘lion city’, it was believed to paint the picture of the ideal, courteous Singaporean: warm and friendly.[9] In addition, using the race-neutral lion overcame the issue of racial representation.
Singa the Lion is the familiar icon for courtesy that most Singaporeans grew up with. Since then, the Singapore Kindness Movement has adopted Singa as their mascot to promote messages of kindness.
The National Courtesy Campaign was a campaign launched in June 1979 by Singapore's Ministry of Culture as a means of encouraging Singaporeans to be more kind and considerate to each other, so as to create a pleasant social environment.[1] It was to be an annual effort by the government to encourage the people to adopt a more courteous attitude and lifestyle. It was seen as a means of ensuring a smooth transition to a new Singapore which would be densely populated, where people lived and worked in high rise towns, offices and factories, while traveling in crowded buses and lifts.[2] In March 2001, the campaign was subsumed by the Singapore Kindness Movement.[3]
Origins
The National Courtesy Campaign was not actually the first of its kind to instill values of courtesy to Singaporeans, though they were not conducted on as big a scale as the National Courtesy Campaign over such a long period. More than 10 years prior to the introduction of the National Courtesy Campaign, there was already a Bus Safety and Courtesy Campaign,[4] which was held in 1968, as well as the National Safety First Council Road Courtesy Campaigns[5] and the Safety and Courtesy Campaign Week[6] which were held between 1972 and 1973 among others. Thus, it can be seen that Singapore had already experimented using campaigns as a means of encouraging Singaporeans to acquire a more courteous disposition in their lifestyle. Nonetheless, the forerunner of the National Courtesy Campaign is usually recognized as the courtesy campaign that was conducted by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB).[1][7]
The courtesy campaign conducted by the STPB was meant to teach Singaporeans to be polite only to tourists for the benefit of the tourist industry.[1][7] Then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s had followed the courtesy campaigns by the STPB with ‘interest and amusement: interest because most people were responsive to the campaign; amusement because no one protested that it was absurd to teach Singaporeans to be polite to tourists’.[2] In his speech, he stressed the importance of being courteous in one’s everyday life as it would make life better for everyone. It was a desirable attribute which could be found in all cultivated societies, and something which we should practice for Singapore’s own self-esteem.[2] If tourists do find Singapore a courteous nation, it was because it was ‘incidental’.[2] This ‘prodding’[2] by Lee Kuan Yew thus saw the birth of the National Courtesy Campaign, which became a recurrent, annual campaign that was seen as a long-term project of aiming to imbue values of courtesy into Singaporeans within a period of 10 years.[7]
Singa the Courtesy Lion
Represented by a Smiley logo as the campaign kick started, the National Courtesy Campaign had Singa the Courtesy Lion replace the Smiley logo in 1982. The lion was chosen because, in addition to the fact that Singapore was a ‘lion city’, it was believed to paint the picture of the ideal, courteous Singaporean: warm and friendly.[9] In addition, using the race-neutral lion overcame the issue of racial representation.
Singa the Lion is the familiar icon for courtesy that most Singaporeans grew up with. Since then, the Singapore Kindness Movement has adopted Singa as their mascot to promote messages of kindness.
He's not been around for a few days now.. Kinda miss his presence man...
