Speech by Minister Indranee Rajah at Launch of Gardens by the Bay's New Family Initiatives

Hello, good afternoon everyone, including the children here. I am really delighted to be here today with you to join Gardens by the Bay for the launch of their new family initiatives, and to open the Disney Garden of Wonder later this afternoon – the second edition of this exhibition at Gardens by the Bay's Floral Fantasy.

Many families enjoyed last year's edition, and I am sure that you will enjoy this year's too. Walking through the Floral Fantasy, you will see some of your favourite Disney characters brought to life through flowers. Some are characters that many of you who are parents grew up with, and this creates a special opportunity for you to share a piece of your own childhood with your children, with the next generation. It is the kind of magical place where children's eyes light up, and it lets parents rediscover that same sense of wonder, and it reminds us why family time is so precious.

Gardens by the Bay as a family-friendly space

We are working to make Singapore even more family-friendly. We are now in the midst of our month-long National Family Festival. This year's theme, "Family Begins with Me", reminds us that everyone has a part to play in strengthening families. And when it comes to where to start, the Families for Life website has a curated list of programmes and events that families can enjoy during the school holidays. In addition, Families for Life has also gathered corporate partners like GetGo, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa and ABC Cooking Studio to offer Large Families Deals with exclusive discounts and offers.

Gardens by the Bay is an important partner in our efforts to make Singapore a great place for families. Building on our earlier collaboration in 2022 for the Year of Celebrating Singapore Families, we worked together to bring to life the PropNex Family Zone — Singapore's first family-themed destination playground. This reflects our shared commitment to making Singapore a place where families can come together and thrive.

Over the years, Gardens by the Bay has become a favourite family destination. I am heartened by Gardens by the Bay's continuing efforts to be a welcoming, family-friendly space – from signature events like the ongoing Children's Festival, to thoughtfully designed spaces like the Far East Organization Children's Garden. These offer opportunities for free play, discovery and connection. I want to thank Gardens by the Bay for coming up with initiatives like complimentary admission for children to enjoy the Blue Beauties floral display in the Flower Dome this June holidays.

This year, Gardens by the Bay has continued to come up with new efforts. Firstly, they have organised a Ticket Giveaway for families to selected arts and culture shows at IMBA Theatre. Up to 10,000 tickets will be made available to families visiting the National Family Festival, running this June, as well as selected People's Association's Family PLAYground parenting workshops, starting from July. Secondly, behind the scenes, Gardens by the Bay has been working with our social service agencies to organise ticket giveaways and trips to the Disney Garden of Wonder. I am heartened by this gesture to let more families and children of all backgrounds enjoy the magic of Disney in this immersive way and spend time together.

Together, these efforts make these experiences more accessible and inclusive, and provide opportunities for families to gather, bond, and create special memories together.

The Marriage and Parenthood Reset

As you know, Singapore's Total Fertility Rate fell to 0.87 last year, our lowest to date.

You will also know that we have set up the Marriage and Parenthood (M&P) Reset Workgroup to address this issue. Work is underway. We are examining key factors that influence M&P decisions, such as financial costs, work-life support, preschool and education. These factors shape the lived experience of many parents. We are also reviewing how the Government can strengthen support for families.

However, as I have said before, making this Reset a reality and making Singapore a truly family-friendly place is not, and cannot be, the task of government alone. It has to be a whole-of-society effort. Every organisation and every individual can play a part in this important national goal. To give a sneak peek into our thinking, we want to mobilise the whole of society to contribute within their means, their time, their skillsets and their resources, and combine the power of collective effort so that the impact of the sum can be far greater than the parts.

From time to time, we do get feedback from families that, in some cases, depending on the activity, going out with children can be expensive. We therefore want to encourage more accessible and affordable activities for children and families. So, when I shared this feedback with IMBA and Gardens, they said they would be happy to extend complimentary tickets to the IMBA Theatre so families can enjoy exhibitions together. Among these, the exhibition featuring the works of David Hockney stands out as a particularly engaging experience for families and children.

More than a day out – free activities that develop young minds

For those less familiar with his work, Mr David Hockney was a British artist, and one of the most influential of the 20th and 21st centuries. He just passed away last week, at the age of 88. His passing is a great loss to the art world. It also makes this exhibition even more poignant, as going forward there will be no more new artworks from this artist. His art is known for its bright, bold, vibrant colours. However, what is most striking is that over his 70-year career he moved across mediums – from acrylics, to oils, to iPad drawings, and then to immersive digital work, which you will see today – reinventing himself even in his 80s. So that is a great SkillsFuture example. His work is, in a sense, a remarkable lesson of evolutionary creativity.

The exhibition here is a visual spectacle and an exploration of perception. Children will find his artwork very engaging because it is very childlike – with bright, bold colours and a playful style which sparks imagination. So, this ticket giveaway is not just a simple viewing of art. Beyond being a captivating experience, such exposure to art can also help nurture creativity and support children's cognitive development, while giving families the chance to spend meaningful time together.

Gardens by the Bay is a great example of how an organisation, just by doing what it does best, and within its means and its mission, can contribute to making Singapore a more supportive place for families. Every organisation and every individual has the ability to do something meaningful for this Reset. Today's initiative by Gardens by the Bay is a precursor of our plan to set in motion a wider and broader movement. So when we do, remember – it started here!

Closing

And with that, it is my great pleasure to join Gardens by the Bay for the launch of their new family initiatives in support of the Marriage and Parenthood Reset. Thank you all very much.