Operation Purple 04 | Singapore's Seventh Consecutive Purple Parade

Oct 29, 2021

Background introduction

The Purple March is Singapore's largest campaign to support the inclusion of people with disabilities and celebrate their abilities. It aims to raise public awareness of groups with special needs and make the local community a more inclusive country.

Their official introduction reads: "Purple March is a unified national platform to raise awareness and empowerment of persons with disabilities. At its core, the Purple March is to ensure that persons with disabilities are included in the main chapters of Singapore's development and maintained with equal opportunity to receive it. Education, employment, transportation and social networking."

This is a comprehensive campaign initiated by various organisations from the private sector (both public and private) and supported by Singapore's Central Community Development Council. Over the past few years, Honglin Park and Suntec City have had many festivities, which often include large carnivals, sports, action, networking and concerts.

Purple symbolizes royalty, and the square emblem represents a call for equality for those with special needs in all areas of society.

Since then, Singapore has hosted a total of seven Purple Parades, held every Saturday in October or November.

This year, the 9th year of the Purple Parade, will be a mixed concert of live and online performances, featuring talent from diverse disability groups and individuals. It will be held on October 30, 2021.

history

Originally conceived in 2013 as an event for people with special needs, the Purple March brings together 40 organisations and the Central Singapore Community Development Council to mark the International Day of Disabled Persons on 3 December each year. In previous years, various organizations celebrated in small groups, but without much influence. To publicize the event, a social media campaign led by Denise Phua and several MPs, including Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and then Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Wong Xun Cai, began to gain support for the event. The first event was held on November 30, 2013.

The 5Cs listed on the official website: Advocacy, Carnival, Concert, Parade, Dialogue

Parade over the years

Every event takes place on a Saturday. It was held at the Speakers' Corner at Honglin Park from 2013 to 2015, and at the Fountain of Fortune at Suntec City from 2016 to 2019.

2013 Purple Parade

The 2013 Purple Parade was held on November 30, the first time a parade was held. Despite the rainy weather, the event attracted 4,000 people and formed a large plaza in Fenglin Park. As part of the event, a carnival was organized to showcase the talents of people with special needs, and several performances were held. The success of the event has prompted organizers to make the event an annual event and do more to support the community.

2014 Purple Parade

The 2014 Purple Parade was held at Hong Lim Park on November 15 and attracted a total of 5,000 participants. 85 organizations participated in the event, compared to 38 last year, and there was an increase in carnival booths. The Singapore Book of Records set the record for the largest number of people with purple hair, eventually reaching 300.

2015 Purple Parade

The 2015 Purple Parade was held at Hong Lim Park on October 31, attracting a total of 7,000 participants and 106 organizations. Among them were Singapore Prime Ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Ho Ching, who came to support the special needs community. One of the main highlights was donning the purple glasses, which ended up being attended by 3,000 participants. This symbolizes the act of being open to those with special needs. The event also featured the first public event of the Purple Symphony, an inclusive orchestra of musicians with and without special needs.

Except for events, the North-South Line MRT trains are decorated in purple. The Land Transport Authority and the Central District Community Development Council have received support from the metro company SMRT to launch a "Operation Purple" North-South subway train. The six carriages of the subway train are all dressed in "purple new clothes", with "The Purple Parade" (The Purple Parade) hangings and stickers. This is the first time SMRT has launched a full-scale "Operation Purple"-themed subway, and the public will be able to ride this special purple train until mid-November.

2016 Purple Parade

The 2016 Purple Parade was first held at Suntec City Fountain of Wealth on 5 November, attracting 10,000 participants. These included the then Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Tharman Tharman (now Senior Minister). Several people at the event wore purple top hats made of cardboard. This time, there was a sign language interpreter on stage, allowing the hearing-impaired to follow the event seamlessly. Approaching 7pm, 16 landmarks in Singapore are lit purple in support of the cause , including the Esplanade, Marina Bay Sands, Clemenceau Bridge and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, from 29 October.

2017 Purple Parade

The 2017 Purple Parade was held at Suntec City Fountain of Wealth on 28 October, attracting 10,000 participants. Among them was Singapore's President Halimah Jacobs. Additionally, between October 21 and November 4, 21 buildings and bridges were lit in support of the cause.

In addition to leading the first team to start the parade, VIP President Halimah also received a limited-edition "Purple Parade" T-shirt designed by an autistic artist. T-shirts can also be purchased on-site by the public. In her speech, Halimah said that she agreed with Pan Liping, the mayor of Central District, that many people with physical disabilities actually have outstanding achievements, and she regards these compatriots as people with "ability", not "disability" ( disabled).

2018 Purple Parade

The 2018 Purple Parade was held at Suntec City Fountain of Wealth on 27 October, attracting 10,000 participants and 200 organisations. Among them was Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing. In addition, a record 26 buildings and bridges were lit in purple between October 15 and 28, including outside the city center.

The "Purple Parade" launched "The Purple Parade Pledge" for the first time this year . The public at the Suntec City event yesterday followed the host to swear an oath to support social inclusion and express their commitment and support to groups with special needs.

A total of 26 representative landmarks in the city, such as the Marina Bay Spiral Bridge, the Marina Bay Sands, the National Gallery, the Singapore Flyer, and the Esplanade, have become the "Purple Light-Up" activities. a part of. During these two weeks, the landmarks are lit up in purple. This is also the largest "Purple Lights" campaign since its launch in 2016.

Thirty volunteers from motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson also set off from Suntec City on motorcycles last night and rode along nearby "Purple" landmarks to build momentum for the "Purple Parade", which is entering its sixth year.

People from all walks of life have publicly expressed their support for Operation Purple on Facebook, including Singaporean President Halimah Halimah

2019 Purple Parade

The 2019 Purple Parade was held at Suntec City Fountain of Wealth on 2 November, attracting 10,000 participants and 200 organisations. These include Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. For the first time, a dialogue between members of the special needs community and the public was organized to share their stories. Hopefully this initiative will promote inclusion. In addition, about 30 buildings and bridges in Singapore were lit up between October 26 and November 10.

2020 Purple Parade

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Purple March was held on October 31 via Facebook with Education Minister Lawrence Wong and Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli. This is the first digital event to host a concert.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong donned a purple shirt and posted an oath on social media, calling on people to support the "Purple March". The Prime Minister also pledged to fully support groups with special needs. Each person's differences will be accepted and recognized, and each person is a part of society. And to provide people with disabilities with equal opportunities in daily life, lifelong learning, work and social participation.

Lee Hsien Loong: "Singapore will embrace and recognise the differences of every individual, that every individual is a part of society, and provide people with disabilities with equal opportunities in their daily lives, lifelong learning, work and social participation, All have a fair chance."

The theme of the 20-year parade is "Beyond my disability and see the real me." Due to the epidemic, the organizers moved the event online. For the first time, virtual "purple maps" have replaced action, and people can leave messages on the site supporting people with disabilities.

The concert was live-streamed on Operation Purple's Facebook page, with a special screening at Suntec City Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, and live-streaming of invited guests.

Most performances are pre-recorded to allow participants to continue to have the opportunity to showcase their talents while observing safety measures. The concert opens with a heartwarming rewrite of the nursery rhyme "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" sung by the Rare Disorders Society's choir. This was followed by drumming, martial arts performances, songs, dances and special music videos, mostly performed by people with disabilities. The only live performance was the song You Raise Me Up by Singapore Intellectually Disabled Welfare Society (MINDS) and artist Zheng Kewei.

Minister of Education and Second Minister of Finance Huang Xuncai, Minister of Social and Family Development and Second Minister of Health Ma Shangao, and Pan Liping, Advisor to the "Purple Action" Organizing Committee and Mayor of Central District, all watched the performance at the Suntec Singapore exhibition hall. Guests and line Online and offline audiences read the "Purple Pledge" together, promising to build an inclusive society. More than 2,700 people have recorded footage of the recitation of the oath, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.

Influence

Since the event was launched in 2013, the number of participants has increased year by year, with the largest to date at 10,000. The increase in turnout reflects increased awareness and support for the special needs community in Singapore. However, some advocates are calling for more work to be done on inclusivity, both in social settings and in teaching children about factors such as inclusion and creating a friendly workplace. This is because there have been several incidents in the past involving people with special needs being abused by the public. According to Denise Phua, this could be due to ignorance, prejudice, non-acceptance or just obscenity. Others have also called for more dialogue to understand the perspectives of special needs groups and change prejudices.

References

Introduction of works

"Purple Action", formerly known as the " Colosseum " project initiated by Shen Bolun in 2019, will be adapted and created by Shen Bolun, He Fa, and Shao Yifan as a theater and social practice project in 2021, aiming to create a fictional field to respond to the current environment , thereby rebuilding dialogue, reshaping relationships, and restructuring organizations. The work takes the interactive theater as the core, and designs the story background, process and rules to help the participants release their emotions and value propositions.

At present, "Purple Action" and its related creations have been invited and exhibited by Swiss Cultural Foundation , Belgrade Art Center in Serbia, Shenzhen OCAT Theater Contemporary Performance Documentary Exhibition, etc.