Event celebrating racial and religious harmony returns, with spotlight on youth

In an era of social media and misinformation, youth in Singapore play a crucial role in preserving interracial and inter-religious harmony.

- Lee Nian Tjoe

The chairman of the organising committee for the Inter Racial Inter Religious (IRIR) Harmony Nite said this on July 6, as the community event returned after a five-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than 2,000 people, including 24 foreign diplomats, representatives of religious groups and political office-holders, showed their support at the event celebrating Singapore’s racial and religious diversity, held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands.

Racial Harmony Day is celebrated on July 21. And since 2023, July has been designated Racial and Religious Harmony Month.

Organised by the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society, a non-profit voluntary welfare organisation, the IRIR event had been an annual affair since 2004, until 2020 when Covid-19 struck.

On July 6, besides ethnic performances, the Declaration of Religious Harmony was read out in Singapore’s four official languages, with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam as the guest of honour.