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Inter Racial Inter Religious Harmony Nite 2018
IRIRHN is celebrated yearly to acknowledge the need to continue building the mutual trust and understanding between people of different races and religions, ensuring the growth of our harmonious society. We are honoured and privileged to have President Halimah Yacob and Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee as our Guests-of-Honour. The objectives of this annual event are:
To appreciate and value the peace and harmony we enjoy in Singapore;
- To support our national policy for racial and religious harmony;
- To encourage peoples of different cultures including children, to learn, understand and respect the diverse histories, cultures and arts in our woven Singaporean ancestry.
We would like to welcome all our residents in Singapore to join in this inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony event. Representatives of the various religions will open the Event with an invocation read by the 10 religions under the auspices of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO). The Event also features cultural performances by the various self-help groups. Our programme
also includes the reading of the Declaration of Religious Harmony in 4 languages. This year, IRIRHN 2018 will be held on the 14th July 2018 at Singapore Expo Hall 7. We welcome all to join us.
Harmony: Where our hearts meet
Singapore is approximately 697 square kilometres, almost 473 times smaller than our closest neighbour Malaysia and about 13,769 times smaller than China. In Asia, we are ranked as the second smallest country behind Maldives and the 19th smallest country in the world. Some people call us that “little red dot” on the map.
SIZE DOES NOT MATTER
The score card does not reflect our size. Singapore has never fallen short of being the top 5 richest countries in the world in recent years. Foreign investments and excellent trade agreements see our nation in the forefront of exports among the world’s largest countries.
Singapore is a magnet for foreign friends who wish to do their businesses here and even for individuals who yearn to make Singapore their home. These positive outcomes are parallel to having a good government with warm foreign relations, alongside trust, quality, geographical advantage and many more.
IT ISN’T EASY SO… WHAT MATTERS?
In a small space we share among our diverse ethnic population, we have learnt to share and live happily in this common space. In the beginning, it was never easy as diverse ethnic groups meant having their own cultures and religious practices and that, more often than not, collided with personal ideals. Many years back, we spoke about having tolerance and understanding. However, with the success we share today, it is believed that as Singaporeans, we have accepted our ethnic contrasts and started to embrace them as our own Singapore identity.
As a nation, we do not have a slew of natural resources to feed the global exchange of raw materials and staple goods. What we have is our people embracing our diversity and living in harmony. This peace and social stability makes us prosperous and viable as a nation.
BEYOND OUR SHORES
Today, the Singapore identity has gone beyond just a saying. People all around the world knows that when they come here, they would feel safe; never discriminated for their beliefs and never mocked for their cultural practices. The festivities that we celebrate have brought vibrancy to the fabric of our nation. The diverse cultures have made us more knowledgeable and offered us more avenues to cultivate the arts. We find a common ground, a common hope of peace and a perfect plan to live together in harmony… this is where our hearts meet!
Hence, the Inter Racial Inter Religious Harmony Nite reminds us of the value of peace and the success of the harmony we enjoy – A celebration of togetherness!