National Day parades : we the citizens of Singapore

It has been fifty years since Singapore gained independence and embarked on a journey to establish itself as a first-world country. Other than building up the economy, defence force and infrastructure of the country, the government also had to quickly commence nation-building efforts. Efforts had to...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Low, Annabel Hui Xin
Other Authors: Miles Alexander Powell
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/69743
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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Summary:It has been fifty years since Singapore gained independence and embarked on a journey to establish itself as a first-world country. Other than building up the economy, defence force and infrastructure of the country, the government also had to quickly commence nation-building efforts. Efforts had to be made to form a cohesive multi-racial and multi-religious society. One of the earlier nation- building practices was the celebration of National Day on August 9th every year, to commemorate the day Singapore was declared an independent nation. Since 1966, a spectacular parade has been put up every year as the highlight of the National Day celebrations. This paper seeks to argue that the National Day parade is a significant annual event that the government uses to further nation- building efforts, by evoking a sense of national identity and emotional attachment to Singapore amongst its people. This will be done through the examination of how three segments of the National Day parade – the military showcase, performances and National Day songs – have been used and adapted over the years to further the government’s nation building efforts in Singapore.