S'pore writers can tap $800,000 bilingual fund to develop children's picture books
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The books must be set in the local context and written in a series of three to five titles.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Nisha Rahim
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE - Local writers and content creators keen to produce picture books that help young children master a language can get help from the $800,000 Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism.
Applicants interested in applying for the fund must submit proposals for their books.
The books must be set in the local context and written in a series of three to five titles.
They must also cater to young children in two categories, up to four years of age and aged four to six.
The books must use illustrations, but stories can be conveyed with or without words.
They must also be in three target languages: a single mother tongue language, a mixture of English and other languages, or wordless storybooks paired with conversation cues for parents or caregivers.
Applications will be accepted from Aug 1 to 31, and will be assessed on literacy and visual merit, impact and originality.
Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, who is also chairman of the fund, said in a statement on Friday (April 29): "The Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism has been playing an important role in nurturing the love for language learning in our children from a young age through a variety of language learning resources that are set in the local context. The early years are a critical period for language acquisition and the development of bilingual abilities."
The fund was set up on Nov 28, 2011, at the launch of Mr Lee's book, My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey.
It is intended to support efforts by the Ministry of Education in the teaching and learning of English and the mother tongue languages.
