SINGAPORE - More than 1,500 ITE College Central students came together in a mass art jam on Tuesday (Aug 25) to set a new local record for the largest number of people painting at one time.
At the event, organised by government engagement agency Reach and titled "SG50: Singapore - Past, Present, Future", the students daubed canvas tiles with images of what SG50 meant to them, in an attempt to enter into the Singapore Book of Records.
They were joined in the painting by about 40 seniors from Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society.
Guest of honour Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law, Mr K Shanmugam, said at the event: "When we talk about SG50, we have a broad common understanding but there are obviously individual interpretations which we should encourage."
Mr Shanmugam later took part in focus group discussions with some of the students on topics such as housing, education and National Service.
Said Mr Shanmugam: "ITEs represent a key part of our educational ecosystem, and of the Government's emphasis on SkillsFuture.
"As Foreign Minister, in many countries that I go to as part of the Singapore Cooperation Programme, I tell them that when you have a broad base of a young population, the key is to have a set-up where people can be trained in technical, vocational training that fits them for the modern economy."
SkillsFuture is a national movement started last year to encourage Singaporeans to develop specialised and industry-relevant skills through training and career progression schemes.
ITE accounting student Ahmad Zaki, 19, chose to paint the National University of Singapore Baba House, a conservation Peranakan terrace house on Neil Road.
He said: "These are the kinds of places we come from. We need to grow as a country while preserving what we have as a cultural identity. Not all of us are preserving it."
