PA to train 1,000 grassroots leaders to be community facilitators

This will help them use community assets better, rally people around shared causes

- Chin Soo Fang

A new People's Association (PA) programme will train 1,000 grassroots volunteers, starting with Citizens' Consultative Committee (CCC) members, to become community facilitators who can identify the strengths and interests within the neighbourhoods they serve.

Doing so will help grassroots leaders here harness community assets more effectively and rally people around shared causes, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said at a dinner on Oct 23 to mark the 60th anniversary of PA's CCCs.

At the event at Marina Bay Sands, PM Wong said PA's grassroots movement and CCCs must continue to stay relevant and evolve their methods to keep up with the times, even as their underlying purpose continues to be bringing people closer together and keeping society united.

This is as Singapore is very different today compared to when CCCs - the apex grassroots body in each constituency were established in 1965, added PM Wong, who is PA chairman and also Finance Minister.

For instance, society's needs are more varied and its challenges more complex, while people today have more options for recreation and entertainment, including outside their constituency, he noted.

This was why PA had in 2024 refreshed its mission statement to "spark and nurture community participation for a caring and united Singapore", said PM Wong. Its previous mission statement was to build and to bridge communities in achieving one people, one Singapore.