The SFCCA Youth Affairs Committee and representatives from Kong Chow Wui Koon exchanging banners after their exchange.
At noon on June 14, 2009, a group of five members from the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) Youth Affairs Committee visited the Kong Chow Wui Koon and Hok San Association in Chinatown, where they engaged in discussions with their youth groups. This exchange aimed to understand the operation of the clan associations and the current situation and activities of their youth groups. Charlie Lee, chairman of the SFCCA Youth Affairs Committee, stated that he hoped to use this opportunity to get to know other clan associations, establish an interactive platform for mutual learning, work together, and explore the possibility of collaboration.
Kong Chow Wui Koon – Openness and inclusiveness exercises its strengths
The historical Kong Chow Wui Koon, which was first established in 1840, had just held its 169th anniversary celebration in early June. During the exchange, Leong Kwok Khuen, deputy head of the youth committee and deputy director of the lion dance troupe, said that, starting from last year, youths were tasked with organising activities. Nine youths were then selected to form the youth committee. The clan association’s youth committee also set up a blog to promote its events.
Kong Chow Wui Koon has a unique trait. Starting from 1973, it has been open to people of different backgrounds and races to sign up as members. These people of different backgrounds and races can even become council members or vice-chairmen. Manager Chia Weng Soon said that there were times when Westerners or people of other races participated in their lion dance or Chinese opera activities. There are also people from different dialect groups holding positions such as vice-chairman.
The Junior Lion Dance troupe, founded in 2003, recruits its young members through the promotion efforts of the clan’s existing members. Their members persuade their children to joinby offering them the chance to learn martial arts or join the junior lion dance team. Recruits who join the clan at an early age tend to have a stronger sense of belonging, allowing them to potentially become the driving force of the clan in the future.
The belief that young people will become more motivated when given the platform to showcase their talents in areas they are interested in has infused the Kong Chow Wui Koon with renewed vitality.
The SFCCA Youth Affairs Committee and Hok San Association’s Youth Group engaging in an exchange.
Hok San Association – The vast potential of the active youth community. The young He Zhen Hua is the vice-chairman of the Hok San Association’s Youth Committee. Despite being a university student, he is already involved in the organisation and hosting of activities for the Association, taking on the responsibility to attract new, younger members.
Since its formation over a year ago, the Youth Committee has grown from its original four
members to over twenty members today, a significant development. During the youth networking session, He Zhen Hua admitted that the journey had not been easy. He had to reach out to new members introduced by his friends, as well as invite his friends to events organised by the Youth Committee. It was through such efforts that he was gradually able to invite interested youths to join the Association, contributing to its activities.
Furthermore, to dispel the misconception that “the Association was more targeted towards the elderly,” the Youth Committee used their technological skills to create a blog, aiming to attract the younger generation. The blog introduces the long-standing history of the Association and its Lion Dance Troupe. Unbeknownst to many, the Hok San Association Lion Dance Troupe was the first Lion Dance Troupe to be established in Singapore. To this day, it still preserves a Lion Dance Headdress with about 90 years of history.
Mutual support – Promoting activities of the youth
After the networking sessions, Charlie Lee felt that the different clan associations have succeeded in preserving their unique cultural history; they have even made use of technology to introduce traditional performing arts, such as Lion Dance and Wushu, to today’s youths. Moreover, the Kong Chow Wui Koon has also organised a junior lion dance team in hopes of attracting younger members. The Association occasionally organises teams to perform overseas, making clan activities all the more attractive.
Moving forward, Charlie Lee aspires to increase interactions between clans through the organisation of leisure activities, such as day trips. It is his hope that, through frequent exchanges and mutual support, the clans can work together to promote their youth activities, as well as introduce the clan associations to more people.
(Reported by Liu Hong Liang)
The clan association organises a “Junior Lion Dance Troupe” to attract more young members.
