People's Association
Encyclopedia : P : PE : PEO : People's Association
The People's Association (abbreviation: PA; Chinese: 人民协会) is a statutory board of the Government of Singapore under the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, with the primary aim of building social cohesion and to foster interactions and bonds between itself and society at large. This is done by tapping on traditional notions of "community leaders" and the assistance of community volunteers to form a network of organisations and physical facilities to provide venues for interactions and as accessible sources for community services.
History
The PA was formed on 1 July 1960 as one of the earliest initiatives to create social cohesion and bonding in the midst of racial tensions, riots, and widespread poverty in Singapore. It built 28 community centres (CCs) around the island as a means of establishing a common meeting ground for the multi-racial community, and to organise local grassroots into effective organisations for their respective localitis.Since 1960 till 1979, the People's Association was put under the charge of four different Ministries - from Ministry of Labour to Ministry of Social Affairs, to Ministry of Culture, then Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Interior and Defence and back to Ministry of Culture. It depended on which Minister the Prime Minister appointed as Deputy Chairman. That is why in 1995, in order to avoid this switching of Ministries, PA was put under the Prime Minister's Office. When the role of the then Ministry of Social Affairs was reviewed, and Ministry of Community Development (MCD) was formed, the decision was that PA actually had synergy with the roles of the new MCD because MCD and PA were both promoting social cohesion, racial harmony, communication between the Government and the community. Hence PA was put under the new MCD. MCD is now reviewed to form MCYS.
With the establishment of the CCs, the PA formed Community Centre Management Committees to manage them, formed from community leaders and volunteers. Subsequently on 1st May 1993 it merged with the Social and Community Development Division of MCYS, these were expanded with the Citizens' Consultative Committees, the Residents' Committees (RCs) and the Neighbourhood Committees, forming a hierarchy of grassroots organisations across much of the local societal spectrum.
In 1997, the Community Development Councils were established, representing the highest level of grassroot organisations under which the rest falls under.
Institutions and facilities
At the local level, all public housing estates are organised under a web of Residents' Committees, headed by the Community Development Division (CDD) of their respective CDCs. Representing the private housing properties are the Neighbourhood Committees, also coming under the charge of the CDD.There are currently a total of 104 community centres and community clubs, spread across all political boundaries in Singapore, with each establishment imanaged by a Community Centre/Club Management Committee. Heading the organisations of each political entity are the Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCCs), which used to be act as the top level of direct communication between glassroots and the government until the establishement of the CDCs.
Supporting these organisations are several national level establishments, including the Senior Citizens' Executive Committees (SCECs) who operate in the RCs and CCs, the Women's Executive Committees (WECs), the Malay Activity Executive Committees (MAECs), the Indian Activity Executive Committees (IAECs), the People's Association Youth Movement (PAYM), the T-Net Clubs, the Civil Defence Executive Committees (CDECs) and the Constituency Sports Clubs (CSCs). Each of these either cater to the needs of distinct groups in the local society, or are geared towards interests to specific activities which anyone may participate.
Some organisations of note include the Lifeskills & Lifestyle Division, which is responsible for organising the annual Chingay Parade, the National Youth Council (NYC), the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI), Outward Bound Singapore, and the Social Development Service (SDS), which manages the Social Development Unit (SDU).
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.