Singapore Kindness Movement

The Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) is a non-government, non-profit organisation, registered charity and Institution of Public Character focused on cultivating kindness and graciousness in Singaporean society. Its work is directed toward public education rather than the sale of consumer products: it creates awareness of considerate conduct, encourages people to practise acts of kindness and seeks to raise standards of behaviour and social responsibility. The movement emerged from a national discussion about Singapore's social development as the country entered the twenty-first century. In his 1996 New Year address, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong argued that Singapore's economic achievements should be complemented by social, cultural and spiritual development, including the development of a more gracious society. A pilot project connected with the Singapore Courtesy Campaign was announced in July 1996. Approximately 2,000 students from uniformed groups in 20 secondary schools took part in that pilot. SKM was launched in January 1997, initially reaching more than 80,000 secondary-school students, and was formally registered as a non-profit society on 31 January 1997. It became the successor to the Singapore Courtesy Council, the body associated with the National Courtesy Campaign that operated during the 1980s and 1990s. In March 2001, the National Courtesy Campaign was subsumed into the Singapore Kindness Movement, bringing the earlier courtesy-promotion work under the movement's broader social mission. The organisation's stated vision is a kind and gracious Singapore. Its mission combines public awareness, personal inspiration and the improvement of behavioural standards. Its focus areas include gracious living and online graciousness, character education and parenting, and the use of shared public spaces. These areas allow SKM to address both everyday interpersonal conduct and newer questions about digital communication and communal environments. SKM operates through the SKM Council and the SKM Secretariat. The council includes representatives from the private and public sectors, while the secretariat carries out the movement's programmes and administration. The organisation is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, receives a government grant and also raises funds through sponsorships. SKM served as the secretariat of the World Kindness Movement from 2003 to 2012, giving it a coordinating role within the international kindness-movement network during that period. The movement's identity is reinforced by visual and educational symbols. Its logo depicts two people connected through an act of kindness, with freehand strokes forming a heart. Red represents love for fellow people, while green conveys care for the environment, tolerance, creativity and consideration. Singa, the Kindness Lion, is its official mascot and received a refreshed appearance from 2014. The yellow gerbera daisy is associated with appreciation and has become a recognisable symbol of kindness in Singapore. SKM also supports related initiatives and platforms, including The Pride, Hood Champions, Kindsville and the Seed Kindness Fund. Its present role is that of a civic education and advocacy organisation working to make considerate conduct more visible and habitual in Singaporean public life.

The Singapore Kindness Movement developed from Singapore's earlier state-supported efforts to encourage courtesy in public life. During the 1980s and 1990s, the National Courtesy Campaign was overseen by the Singapore Courtesy Council. By the middle of the 1990s, the policy discussion had broadened beyond formal courtesy messages toward the wider question of how a prosperous and developed Singapore should behave as a society. In his 1996 New Year address, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong called for economic achievements to be accompanied by social, cultural and spiritual development. He described the creation of a more caring and gracious society as an important national objective for the new century. In July 1996, he announced a pilot project associated with the Singapore Courtesy Campaign. The pilot involved roughly 2,000 students from uniformed groups in 20 secondary schools and provided an initial platform for a broader movement directed at young people and schools. The Singapore Kindness Movement was launched in January 1997. Its initial launch reached more than 80,000 secondary-school students, signalling an emphasis on education and early formation of social habits. The organisation was formally registered as a non-profit society on 31 January 1997. Rather than treating kindness as limited to etiquette, SKM framed it as a continuing social responsibility involving consideration for other people, the environment and the community. The movement became the successor to the Singapore Courtesy Council and eventually absorbed the National Courtesy Campaign. In March 2001, the campaign was subsumed by SKM. This change consolidated Singapore's courtesy-promotion work within an organisation whose remit included broader public awareness, social behaviour and graciousness. SKM subsequently operated across schools, families, communities and public settings instead of focusing only on a single annual courtesy campaign. From 2003 to 2012, SKM served as the secretariat of the World Kindness Movement. This international coordinating role connected its Singapore-based work with a wider network of organisations promoting kindness in different countries, while the organisation continued to concentrate its programme activity on Singapore. SKM's institutional structure consists principally of the SKM Council and the SKM Secretariat. The council includes participants from public and private-sector backgrounds, while the secretariat executes programmes and manages the organisation's day-to-day work. The movement is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, receives a government grant and supplements that support with sponsorship funding. It is also recognised as a registered charity and Institution of Public Character. Its focus has expanded to include gracious living and online graciousness, character education and parenting, and behaviour in shared public spaces. The organisation's public identity includes the Singa the Kindness Lion mascot, a logo representing an exchange between a person giving and a person receiving kindness, and the yellow gerbera daisy as a symbol of appreciation. Since 2014, Singa has used a refreshed design. SKM-related platforms and initiatives include The Pride, Hood Champions, Kindsville and the Seed Kindness Fund. Together, these activities position the movement as a long-term civic education organisation rather than a single-event campaign.

• 2014

  Singa mascot refreshed

  [1]Singapore Kindness Movementen.wikipedia.org

  The movement refreshed its official Singa mascot, subsequently presented as Singa the Kindness Lion.

• 2012

  Completed World Kindness Movement secretariat period

  [1]Singapore Kindness Movementen.wikipedia.org

  SKM's period as secretariat of the World Kindness Movement ended after nine years.

• 2003

  Began World Kindness Movement secretariat role

  [1]Singapore Kindness Movementen.wikipedia.org

  SKM became the secretariat of the World Kindness Movement, a role it held through 2012.

• 2001

  National Courtesy Campaign subsumed into SKM

  [1]Singapore Kindness Movementen.wikipedia.org

  The National Courtesy Campaign was incorporated into the Singapore Kindness Movement, consolidating earlier courtesy-promotion work within the newer organisation.

• 1997

  Singapore Kindness Movement launched and registered

  [1]Singapore Kindness Movementen.wikipedia.org

  SKM was launched in January, reaching more than 80,000 secondary-school students, and was formally registered as a non-profit society on 31 January.

• 1996

  Courtesy and kindness pilot announced

  [1]Singapore Kindness Movementen.wikipedia.org

  A pilot project associated with the Singapore Courtesy Campaign was announced in July. It involved about 2,000 students from uniformed groups in 20 secondary schools.

A civic education and social-behaviour movement that promotes kindness, consideration and graciousness through public awareness, schools, families, communities and shared spaces.

• Civic education · 1997

  Public education programmes

  SKM's core offering is a set of public education activities designed to make kindness, consideration and graciousness more visible in daily life. The programmes address schools, families, communities and the wider public, with an emphasis on awareness, participation and improved social behaviour rather than commercial consumption.

• Education resources

  Character education and parenting resources

  These initiatives apply the movement's principles to children, young people and families. They focus on developing habits of empathy, responsibility and consideration, and on helping parents and educators support positive social conduct.

• Digital citizenship

  Online graciousness initiatives

  SKM's online-graciousness work extends its social-behaviour mission into digital communication. It promotes awareness of how people interact online and encourages respectful, responsible conduct in internet-based spaces.

• Community engagement

  Shared public spaces initiatives

  This area addresses behaviour and responsibility in places used collectively by the public. The objective is to encourage consideration for other users and strengthen everyday norms of cooperation in Singapore's communal environments.

• Mascot and educational symbol

  Singa the Kindness Lion

  Singa is SKM's official mascot and a recognisable vehicle for communicating kindness messages, particularly to children and young people. The character received a refreshed design from 2014 and is known as Singa the Kindness Lion.

• 1997Singapore Kindness Movement launch programme

  Singapore

  SKM was launched with a major education-oriented effort involving more than 80,000 secondary-school students.

  Outcome. The launch established SKM as the successor to the earlier courtesy-promotion structure.

  Source
• 1996Singapore Courtesy Campaign pilot

  Singapore

  The pilot provided an early school-based test of the initiative that developed into the Singapore Kindness Movement. Around 2,000 students from uniformed groups in 20 secondary schools participated.

  Outcome. The pilot preceded SKM's nationwide launch in 1997.

  Source

• 2001

  Consolidation of the National Courtesy CampaignStrategy

  Background

  The National Courtesy Campaign had previously been overseen by the Singapore Courtesy Council. SKM had developed as a broader movement concerned with kindness, graciousness and social responsibility.

  Action taken

  The National Courtesy Campaign was subsumed into the Singapore Kindness Movement.

  Aftermath

  Courtesy-promotion activity was consolidated under SKM's wider public-education and social-behaviour mission.

  Source

1. 1Singapore Kindness Movementen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Singapore Kindness Movement official websitekindness.sg