One Step Close To History!
Singaporeans who attest to the country’s history in great hawker culture will be excited to hear that Singapore’s hawker culture has a great chance of being inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, after an evaluation body from the agency announced its recommendation.
This comes as great news to Singaporeans, who have been debating and supporting the nomination since it was announced in 2018, says National Heritage Board (NHB) CEO Chang Hwee Nee. "We hope the successful inscription of hawker culture would further raise awareness and appreciation among Singaporeans of the importance of intangible cultural heritage in our daily lives, and continue to promote dialogues among our communities," she said.
In the recommendation, it was noted that hawker culture is "an integral way of life in Singapore" and provides a "sense of identity and continuity for people across the generations". Hawker culture in Singapore is also an example of how intangible cultural heritage can thrive in a highly urbanised environment, the evaluation body said.
Mr Tan Meng Dui, CEO of the National Environment Agency (NEA), said that hawkers are central to Singapore's hawker culture and NEA "remains steadfast" in its efforts to attract new entrants to the trade. It will also partner hawkers and stakeholders to sustain and strengthen hawker culture.
"A successful inscription in December will be the finest form of recognition to all our hawkers, past and present," he said.
The decision will be announced at the 15th session of the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) held online from Dec 14 to Dec 19.
