Dialogue with Leaders of Member Associations

Organised by Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA), the “Dialogue with Leaders of Member Associations” was held on at Nanyang Pho Leng Hui Kuan, Nanyang Hakka Federation and Singapore Foochow Association on May 24, June 7 and June 9 respectively. A total of 113 member associations with 262 attendees attended the three dialogues.

The focus of the “Dialogue with Leaders of Member Associations” was to discuss how member associations can develop their operations more effectively and comprehensively. In addition to being a platform for communication between member associations and the Federation, the event was also a chance for SFCCA to listen to member associations, understand their situation and challenges, and share their experiences in the transformation initiatives of the Federation.

During the three dialogue sessions, many representatives of member associations shared their experiences in advancing the operations of the associations and offered many opinions, especially on the future development and transformation of the associations.

Dialogue with leaders of member associations held at Nanyang Pho Leng Hui Kuan (1)

As for the future development of the clan association, many representatives of member associations expressed their concern on ways to attract young people to join the clan associations. Mr Thomas Chua, President of SFCCA, also presented his views during the dialogue. In his speech, one of the main points of discussion was “injecting new blood and innovative thinking”. He said, “Youths are the driving force of innovation, and women have great potential in organising activities. Both groups have their own strengths and can play an important role in the initiatives of the associations. In the future, we should encourage and attract more younger people and women to participate in the affairs of the associations, so that new ideas can be created and new elements can be injected.”

Chin Kang Huay Kuan, Nanyang Loh Clan Association and Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan also shared their experiences in handing over the leadership baton to the younger generation, the youth group and women’s group in taking forward their affairs. In addition, winners of the SFCCA Outstanding Youth Award were invited to share their motivation and insights from their years of service in the associations.

Dialogue with Leaders of Member Associations at Nanyang Hakka Federation (2)

One of the main points of discussion at the dialogue was “What is taken from the community, is given back to the community”. Mr Thomas Chua encouraged more member associations to join hands and work together to actively engage in public welfare and charitable activities by going out into the community and caring for the underprivileged. Kowloon Club also shared their years of experience in community service. Mr Thomas Chua also added that young people are more interested in participating in community activities in recent years, and the member associations can also attract more youths to participate in association work through this avenue.

Dialogue with Leaders of Member Associations at Singapore Foochow Association (3)

In terms of the transformation of the associations, Mr Thomas Chua also emphasised in his speech the importance of keeping up with the times, thus the adoption of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to advance the transformation of the associations is an important plan of SFCCA. Many associations have a long history, and technology can not only preserve historical information, but also improve efficiency in the operation of the associations. At present, the member associations who are using the CRM include Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan, Nanyang Hakka Federation, Singapore Amoy Association, Fong Clan General Association, and Kheng Jai Wee Tee Soo. In the third session, representatives from Kheng Jai Wee Tee Soo also shared the benefits of the CRM system for their business development, such as low costs and easy access to information or data, and encouraged other member associations to come onboard the project. Please contact the SFCCA Secretariat at anthony@sfcca.sg. for more details.