Home to people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, Singapore’s rich multicultural environment and racially tolerant society are distinctive to the city-state’s national identity worldwide. Various cultural precincts and religious landmarks across the island nation are representative of its multi-ethnic society.
Sharing the ethos of nurturing an inclusive society, Global Indian Foundation reaches out to both, the local and expatriate community through its socio-cultural and educational programmes.
Over the years, GICC students have been invited by the Home Nursing Foundation to perform at their Annual Nite. Showcasing the vibrant Indian cultural through captivating performances, GICC students have enthralled over 2000 elderly people from various old-age homes. GICC is proud to be amongst selected institutions to perform at this event. Former President of Singapore, Mr S R Nathan, has appreciated the Foundation’s spirit of inclusiveness in imparting cultural education to people from all nationalities.
Celebrated on August 9, Singapore’s National Day marks the unifying spirit of the people of the nation. Various community centres across the city-state organise National Day celebrations to uphold this unifying spirit. GICC has been invited to perform by various community centres, including Queenstown CC, Tanjong Pagar CC and Redhill CC, over the years. The students lend a view into the rich cultural heritage through their widely-appreciated performances, which are attended by various prominent ministers and government officials.
GICC students conducted a workshop at CHIJ St. Nicholas School on Performing Arts, including Katha, Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Orchestra. The workshop included a performance, followed by a demonstration of the specific form of art. These workshops go beyond the realm of educating students by providing an insight into the rich Indian cultural heritage.
One of the Foundation’s key initiatives towards community integration is the Yoga programme, which was initiated in 2005. Conducted in collaboration with Nikam Guruji Yoga Kutir, the programme is provided free-of-cost and is open to all people living in Singapore. The core objective of the course is to offer selfless service to the society. The Yoga journey has laid the path towards health and well-being, ailment healing and a platform for strong social integration since its inception. The programme has consistently drawn participants from ethnic communities.
Today, Yoga classes are conducted across all three GIIS campuses in Singapore as part of GICC activities, enrolling more than 800 participants every year. Nearly 6000 participants have been trained across all three centers till date. In November 2013, the 25th batch of participants graduated from the Yoga programme from the Queenstown Campus marking a key milestone in the Foundation’s mission of serving the society.