The annual Tamil Language Festival (TLF) that will run for a month until May 2 will showcase an extended programme line-up, even as it will be held virtually for the second year in a row.
Spearheaded by the Tamil Language Council (TLC), this year's festival will feature 44 programmes ranging from podcasts to journalism workshops, nearly double the 25 programmes in last year's run.
Communications and Information Minister S. Iswaran, who launched the festival yesterday, said the TLF has encouraged Tamil usage in Singapore and young people's passion for the language, and support by community leaders, teachers, parents and students has improved the quality of the festival to the level it has achieved today.
"This festival has helped Tamil usage in our country grow as well as play an important role in growing the passion for the language among our students, our youth.
"This is because every year, new events, innovative events, events that utilise information technology - all of these offer good opportunities to grow the usage of the Tamil language," said Mr Iswaran, who is also Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations.
TLF, which is into its 15th year, has seen an increase in participation from students ranging from pre-school to university level over the years, and it is a welcome sign that they are creating unique programmes for the festival, said Mr Iswaran.
"To ensure that the Tamil language proudly remains a living language, everyone has to work hard together," he added during the launch telecast, which featured performances by TLF programme partners and Vasantham artistes.
TLF 2021 will welcome six new partners, making it a total of 42 partners supporting the festival throughout the month. The virtual festival is open to people of all ages.
A variety of literary, oratorical, arts and cultural programmes will be made available through virtual platforms such as Zoom, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Tamil Aruvi, organised by journalist Elakeyaa Selvaraji, is the TLF's first Tamil podcast-based programme. The five-episode podcast series will feature segments by language experts and an oratorical competition for secondary school students.
Anderson Serangoon Junior College, a new partner to the festival, will present a programme to showcase Tamil literary works and values through cinematic songs.
A journalism workshop and competition for secondary and tertiary students organised by Goldfish Publications hopes to spark interest in journalism in Tamil among students.
TLC chairman S. Manogaran said this year's festival aims to celebrate the future of the Tamil language in Singapore.
"Having the festival officially launched by children and youth represents our vision for the younger generation and our hopes for them to be empowered to take the lead in promoting the use of our mother tongue," he said.
"We are also marking the 20th anniversary of the Tamil Language Council by introducing a Tamil Youth Festival this September."
More information on the festival is available on TLC's Facebook page www.facebook.com/TamilLanguageCouncilSingapore, Instagram page @TamilLangFestival or its website www.tamil.org.sg
