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Singapore International Foundation

The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) is a non-profit, non-government organisation established on 1 August 1991 to help Singapore's globalisation efforts. Incorporated as a public company limited by guarantee, it is overseen by a Board of Governors.

Its vision is to represent Singapore by helping to integrate aspirations and achievements at home and abroad into global society and the global economy, while preserving the Singaporean identity and a sense of national belonging. SIF supports Singaporeans in building on their achievements as they search for fresh experiences and perspectives to prosper in the new millennium.

SIF promotes active citizenry at home and abroad, helps Singaporeans appreciate their place in the world community, while reaching out to the world with a hand of warm friendship. Using a wide variety of platforms, SIF helps Singaporeans become more international in outlook while staying Singaporean at heart. The Foundation's programmes connect Singaporeans at home and abroad with international communities in every area of endeavour, such as voluntarism, business development, arts, culture or academia. These programmes include: the Singapore Volunteers Overseas (SVO), Friends of Singapore (FOS), the Youth Expedition Project (YEP), and the Humanitarian Relief Programme. The Overseas Singaporeans (OS), which was also started in 1991, has grown from 30 Clubs to a present strength of 82. It also organises camps for kids, such as Rainbow Blossoms and Connexions.

Notable programmes in 2000/2001 involving SIF were:
Feb 2001 : Funded a Singapore medical relief effort of five doctors and five nurses to the earthquake-hit state of Gujarat, India.
Jan 2001 : Two doctors are sent to Mongolia under the Humanitarian Relief Programme to help the survivors of a UN helicopter crash.
Nov 2000 : Partially funded ten hearing-impaired students for an expedition to Vietnam, where they joined 19 other Singaporean youths to restore a school building and repair its furniture.
Sep 2000 : Partly sponsored 25 Civil Engineering students from NUS under the Youth  Expedition Programme to build seven houses and a playground for a village in  Myanmar.
Jul 2000 : Co-sponsored with the National Youth Council in sending:
Ten Singapore Polytechnic students to help build 10 underground water-storage tanks in Gangsu, China;
Students to Sarawak, Malaysia to build a drinking-water collection and filtration system for the Iban people; and 
Students to Guizhou province in China to set up the first computer lab in the School of Tourism and Hospitality, Guiyang.
Apr 2000 : Sent four young business envoys - an information architect, a tax consultant, a  direct-investment executive and an entrepreneur - to Melbourne for eight weeks under the Singapore-Australia Young Business Ambassadors Programme to network with Australian business leaders and government officials.



Author
Daniel Goh



References
Singapore International Foundation. (1993). SIF: Singapore International Foundation. Singapore: Singapore International Foundation.
(Call no.: RSING 337.5957 SIN).

Building a firm foundation. (2001, September 1). The Straits Times, Life. pp. 6-7.

Singapore International Foundation. (c2002). Singapore International Foundation. Retrieved October 6, 2003 from www.sif.org.sg/ 

The information in this article is valid as at 2001 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Organisations>>Companies
Associations, institutions, etc.--Singapore
International cooperation
Globalization--Singapore
People and communities>>Social groups and communities
Law and government>>Culture and community
Business, finance and industry>>Economics>>International trade and economics>>Economic cooperation



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