Singapore Youth Festival

The Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) (Chinese: 新加坡青年节) is a biennial event in Singapore organised by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to celebrate the achievements of youths in co-curricular activities (CCAs). Starting in April and culminating in a month-long celebration in July, students in schools across Singapore involved in the performing arts, sports and uniformed group CCAs are engaged in preparations to compete in the SYF. More than 30,000 students participate in the performances and activities in the SYF, as well as events leading up to it.

The SYF reflects MOE's belief in the importance of a well-rounded education, as it promotes many lesser-known CCAs such as those about the arts.

The SYF was first launched on 18 July 1967 by then President of Singapore Yusof Ishak, and was initially a two-week affair involving 24,000 students that year. The launch was part of a drive at that time to "cultivate the human resource" as espoused by then Minister for Education Ong Pang Boon, although nation-building agendas were not too distant. The SYF Art and Crafts Exhibition was introduced in 1968, and local compositions by youths were showcased, such as the composition by Cerise Lim, then a Secondary 3 Methodist Girls' School student which was performed in 1969. Sports was also featured, such as the Track and Field championships which were held since 1967.

The festival grew every year in scale, until complains that it was over-emphasised in place of academics led to its scaling down to a one-night event in 1975. The event's programme ballooned again soon after, however. Drama was introduced in 1976, the Singapore Youth Orchestra was featured in 1980, and the Choral Festival became part of the programme in 1990. Public performances at locations such as the National Museum of Singapore, the Chinese Garden, the Jurong Bird Park and shopping malls such as Parkway Parade were introduced from 1991. A mass jog was held in 1992, the Youth Flying Club was featured in 1996, and the National Heritage Trail was introduced in 1997.

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