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Ground-Up Party

8 August 2021 (Sunday)
Welcome to our third National Day Ground-Up Party (NDGUP)!
Explore Singapore's lesser-known social and cultural stories in a fun and experiential way at our online festival.

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Human Library

At our human library, instead of borrowing a traditional book, borrow a human “book” to have a small group convo, for about 40 minutes per ‘book’. Ask about their initiatives in spaces like community building, accessibility and LGBTQ+ issues. Find out why they started it and what keeps them going.

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Breakout Activities

Join an interactive activity hosted by ground-ups, for ~1h 45min. Learn about social issues in a light-hearted way. Be open, be creative and make friends as you enjoy the activity together!

Explore
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Chillax & Games | 10am onwards

Hang out and meet with fellow playful Singaporeans in this online room where we will be playing various party games.

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Event Opening | 11.15am

Come for our Event Opening to find out about our exciting activities and how to navigate our home-made "Party Mode" virtual map! Also, hear from us about why we started this.

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Telegram Group

Join our Telegram group at bit.ly/SingaloreTele for on-the-day updates on activity availability, and to stay in touch with your new friends from the party.

Join Telegram Group
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Chit-Chat, Hangout | 10am onwards

If you want to just chill and relax, you can come listen to some relaxing music and chat with fellow Singaporeans.

Rather than let our programme define your experience, come craft your own instead..

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Drink, Chat, and Paint with Natural Inks with Botanical Inkmakers Shirin & Liz

Prepare a glass of black coffee or wine (or whatever coloured drink that floats your boat), some watercolour paper and brushes, and join us for a chill drink, chit-chat and paint session. This experience is for anyone keen on creative experimentation. We will share some playful techniques to create different textures on paper, and also some stories on our work as botanical inkmakers.

Shirin and Liz are the co-founders of Wild Dot, a design and art company that makes colours and art tools using plants and other natural materials found across Singapore. Their goal is to use the traditional craft of botanical ink-making as a gateway for more people to directly interact with plants around us, and learn how we are dependent on the rest of nature for our livelihoods.

Bring: A coloured drink of your choice e.g. coffee, wine; fine salt; kitchen towels; watercolour paper; paint brushes (or makeshift brushes); scissors. See this guide for some pro tips: https://bit.ly/paintingprep

Maximum participants: 20

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A Neighbour Indeed

What has zentangle got to do with neighbours and National Day? Join Kang Li for a time of cosy conversation about our ordinary - extraordinary neighbours in Singapore. Have an artsy time creating zentangles together!

Bring: a 3-inch square of white paper (preferably thicker than printer paper), pencil, black marker, black pen (any other dark colours are good too)

Maximum participants: 10

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Food We Love

Does thinking about a particular hawker dish makes your mouth water? And you would brave the long queue just to eat it? Yes! You're a foodie!

Our iconic hawker centres are not just goldmines for delicious food at affordable prices, they are also filled with hidden and amazing stories of resilience and resourcefulness. Join the cosy conversation in exploring our UNESCO recognised hawker culture, chill and make friends with fellow foodies. Be empowered to keep it thriving, as we dive into hands-on activity on marketing and photography tips for your social media.

Come hungry and curious ok? Don’t say we bojio!

Bring: A local dish you love. A phone/camera for taking pictures

Maximum participants: Unlimited

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Human Library

At our human library, instead of borrowing a traditional book, borrow a human “book” to have a small group convo, for about 40 minutes per ‘book’. Ask about their initiatives in spaces like community building, accessibility and LGBTQ+ issues. Find out why they started it and what keeps them going. Max. 8 participants per book.

P.S. Be respectful to our “books”; deep conversations are awesome, but give them the space to decide if they prefer not to talk about something sensitive. The “books” will share their personal views, which do not represent their organisations’ views, if any.

We encourage you to turn on your webcam for a more "real life" party experience.

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joohymn
Joo Hymn

Joo Hymn is a facilitator, storyteller, trained early childhood educator, trained lawyer, mother and a volunteer at AWARE for over 20 years, including being a past President. She is currently the project director for Birds & Bees - a workshop for parents on how to talk with their children about sex, consent and relationships.

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Carissa Cheow

Carissa (she/her) is a community organizer by circumstantial necessity, a multidisciplinary writer, an aspiring political theorist, and a student of public policy. She seeks to center those of us on the margins for whom institutions weren’t designed to care for, such that community organizing for alternatives becomes a necessity.

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muiping
Mui Ping

Muiping is a social designer and illustrator. She has led several participatory-based works, co-creating design solutions to improve people' lives. She is part of Participate in Design (P!D), a registered non-profit design, planning and educational organisation that helps local neighbourhoods and public institutions design community-owned spaces and solutions.

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hidayat
Hidayat

Hidayat lost his sight a few months before his 19th birthday. Picking his life back up was like scaling a slippery wall. His various pursuits included being a massage therapist, national athlete and theatre actor. He works part-time at Dialogue In the Dark Singapore as a project guide/facilitator.

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Basil Kannangara

Basil is a community innovator who facilitates inter-faith and inter-racial dialogues. He heads Being Bridges, a social enterprise that develops tools for such dialogues. Basil is the co-editor of Being Beings, a community newsletter which uses shared stories to build a more versatile diversity, and is working on Being Community, which aims to facilitate conversations on racial and religious discrimination.

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Ling Yi

Lingyi, a healthcare worker, founded Before Beyond, a website that empowers people to navigate mortality-related issues confidently and provides comfort and guidance for people who are grieving. Before Beyond was born out of Lingyi’s grief of losing a loved one.

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shivaji
Shivaji Das

Shivaji is the author of four travel memoirs and photography books. His latest book is ‘The Other Shangri-La.’ Shivaji’s work has been featured in TIME, Economist, BBC, Asian Geographic, etc. He is the conceptualizer of Global Migrant Festival and Migrant and Refugee Poetry Contests and is the Managing Director-APAC for Frost & Sullivan, a research and consulting company.

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Mathilda Ho

Mathilda is Founder and Partnerships Coordinator at Advocates For Refugees - SG (AFR-SG). Prior to AFR-SG, she volunteered with Amnesty International Australia to organise awareness and fundraising events, to promote understanding and rights for aborigines, refugees and asylum seekers. In 2015, an encounter with Rohingya refugees spurred Mathilda to establish AFR in Singapore, in the same year as the Andaman Sea Crisis.

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Faridah Bte Rashid

Faridah is an active community contributor animating bottom-up initiatives in the Redhill neighbourhood, spreading the spirit of Gotong Royong since five years ago. She is known as the unofficial "MP" for Redhill. Her life is a "zero to hero” story. Faridah is trained as an ABCD Guide, and volunteers with organisations like South Central Community Family Service Center (SCC) and Beyond Social Services.

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palvindran
Palvindran Jayram

Palvindran has been working as a Community Social Worker with South Central Community Family Service Center (SCC) since December 2015. His role involves journeying with residents in things that they are passionate about and harnessing their gifts to make their communities a better place. His key areas of work are in Community-led initiatives and Community Narratives.

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Anusri Subramaniam

Anusri has been involved in local mutual aid efforts for about a year now. She learnt loads during the process and have built amazing relationships in the community. It’s really prompted her to rethink the way charity is viewed. She hopes that more people would incorporate mutual aid in their daily lives as a show of solidarity and sustained giving.

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Sam

Sam started a learning community, The Nature Club, in late 2020 which hosts monthly sessions (mostly around books & art) at the Central Public Library. This sproutied from the belief in a shared space to process ecological grief - and its many, many intersections and forms - and uncover the stories and discourses that liberate us.

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Alanson

Alanson took charge of his family's matters and finances since serving NS. Having spent his formative years moving up and down the social ladder, he experienced living in different conditions, and now hopes to put his experiences into good use. He is part of Merpati Kakis, a ground-up initiative that works with rental flat residents on Merpati Rd (near MacPherson MRT) on mostly resettlement and grants.

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haziqah
Haziqah

A psych kid at NUS and active mental health advocate, Haziqah started her mental health advocacy page to begin a movement to fight against the mental health stigma. Along this advocacy journey, she has realized that mental health is a systemic issue. Beyond raising awareness and normalizing conversations for mental health, Haziqah hopes to enact real social change to address the systemic gaps of mental health in singapore.

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Aanya

Aanya is a budding student entrepreneur who runs Art:Connect (since June 2020). She is currently studying in grade 10. Art:Connect aims to connect the student community and healthcare, and has collaboated with healthcare institutions on projects such as senior buddy programs. Through Art:Connect, Aanya hopes encourage students and positively impact the lives of patients/residents.

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June Chua

June founded The T Project with her late sister Alicia, which supports the transgender community by providing holistic social services, including a temporary homeless shelter. June also founded the Alicia Community Centre, Singapore’s first drop-in centre for transgender people.

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Elijah Tay

Elijah is an LGBTQ+ activist. They founded My Queer Story SG, Queers of LH, Huh, got this thing ah? and co-founded MehMeh Singapore. Elijah protested in the #FixSchoolsNotStudents movement. They are currently a Sociology undergraduate at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and a Red Dot United Youth Wing representative.

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Singa-spot | 4pm - 4.45pm

Think you know all the good food places and cool hangouts in Singapore? Test your knowledge by joining this GeoGuessr-style virtual adventure that brings you to different foodie places and landmarks around the country. Who knows, you might find a new favourite hangout!

Bring: yourself, and highly encouraged to join via computer

Maximum participants: 20 per session

Join Game
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Singa-spot | 5pm - 5.45pm

Think you know all the good food places and cool hangouts in Singapore? Test your knowledge by joining this GeoGuessr-style virtual adventure that brings you to different foodie places and landmarks around the country. Who knows, you might find a new favourite hangout!

Bring: yourself, and highly encouraged to join via computer

Maximum participants: 20 per session

Join Game
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National Day Songs Analysis | 4pm - 5.45pm

National day songs have been around since the 1980s, and they have evolved significantly over the years. In this part-singalong, part-analysis session, we will be going through the songs through the ages, and witnessing the change in tone, mood, narratives, and use that as a signal for where our country is currently at, and what our current narratives and struggles are. Use this opportunity to finally understand what you've been singing in the past years!

Bring: just yourself!

Maximum participants: unlimited

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In and with Nature - The Untamed Paths x Ground Up Initiative | 7pm - 8.45pm

Explore Singapore's hidden natural beauty through sharings by Dennis and Xiaoyun, from two unique, local nature-based organisations. You will also get to chat with fellow participants about nature in cosy, small-group breakout sessions.

First, hear from Dennis, founder of a wildlife and eco-field trip company The Untamed Paths which aims to promote access to and raise awareness of unconventional and fascinating biodiversity, right here in Singapore. Next, hear from Xiaoyun, a key volunteer/educator with Ground-Up Initiative, a nonprofit community which aims to inspire sustainable living practices with a nature-based kampung campus.

Bring: a photo of a nature spot in Sg you like (bonus: with yourself in the photo!)

Maximum participants: unlimited

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Hard at Work Bookclub | 7pm - 8.45pm

“Why do we work hard?” During this book club, we will explore the answer to this question by reading a series of excerpts from the book Hard At Work: Life in Singapore.

The book is a collection of accounts from sixty people (mostly in Singlish!) about their life and work in Singapore, and examines their experiences of their jobs, as well as their reflections on their lives and society. You do not need to have read the book. Excerpts will be provided to you, and we will take turns reading some stories out loud at the beginning of the session.

Bring: just yourself!

Maximum participants: 20

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Singapore Ghost Stories | 9pm - 10.30pm

Have you experienced something paranormal? Heard weird marble sounds at your friend’s house? Or are you just interested in eerie stories? Join us for a late-night session of trading ghost stories and reflecting on the beliefs behind them!

Bring: a torch (phone torchlight is ok); a scary Zoom background

Maximum participants: Unlimited

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Chillax & Games | All-Day

Hang out and meet with fellow playful Singaporeans in this online room where we will be playing various party games.

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Party Mode

Virtual Singapore

Let lo-fi national day songs play in the background as you walk around our virtual recreation of a Singaporean HDB estate, exploring the various activities we've organized for this party. Discover some secrets we've hidden in this virtual space!

Music

Listen to lo-fi, 8-bit national day music in the background, arranged by local musician Hafeez

Explore

Walk around and explore the virtual space, so you can participate in this event like a real offline event.

Art

Appreciate art produced by local artist Vienne

Take a Break

Walk around the virtual space between zoom sessions to give yourself a break. Too much zoom is tiring after all!

Organizers

We’re a group of random Singaporeans who decided in 2019 to have a small party to bring people and social initiatives together. But we got so into it that it got bigger, and 100+ people turned up!

We’re back for our third year with an online festival. Singapore isn’t boring - you can support so many ground-up initiatives, enjoy local culture and nature, and connect with friendly people.

Team

Random Singaporeans

coming together for fun.
Team

Praxium

runs programmes to help teens and youth find out what they want to do for work when they grow up. So instead of just asking "What do you want to do when you grow up?", they help you find the answer and learn the skills related to it.
Team

Friendzone

is a social enterprise that activates and creates young adult communities through conversation. We dream of neighbourhoods as friend-zones -- where it’s natural to approach another young neighbour to chat, hangout, and ask for help.
Team

OpenJio

a learning community of people who care to learn about social causes and contribute to society. Join their telegram channels, OpenJio and VolunteerJio to keep updated with events and volunteering opportunities in the social sector. Stay OPEN & JIO your friends!
Team

Kanga Creative

is a digital marketing agency that focuses on telling good stories for great brands. When online communication becomes cluttered with advertising and competition, the best solution is to create great stories, relevant visuals and creative content for your audiences.
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A Good Space

is a co-operative that brings together active citizens, community based organisations, social enterprises, companies and anyone concerned about social problems to create the Singapore of our dreams, together.

Tip Jar

Contact Info

This is a 100% self-funded ground-up party. Your contributions will help us cover event costs e.g. web domain costs, marketing, etc. that we've personally chipped in, in order to create this event for fellow Singaporeans. If there’s any left over, we’ll use it only for next year’s party.

Last year, we collected $104, and used all of it (and more from our own funds) on web hosting, art, and advertising to make sure you get to know about this and join it!

Add to our ground-up fund via PayNow.

You should see Amos Liu as the recipient. He's our treasurer to keep track of funds!

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