REACHSingapore
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Logo of REACH
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | October 12, 2006 |
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| Jurisdiction | Government of Singapore |
| Headquarters | 140 Hill Street, Old Hill Street Police Station, Singapore 179369 |
| Website | www |
REACH (reaching everyone for active citizenry@home)[1] is a department under the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). It was formerly a division under the Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports (MCYS), which was restructured in November 2012. REACH was assimilated into MCI.
REACH aims to promote active citizenry through citizen participation and involvement.
Contents
History
REACH was launched in October 2006 when the Feedback Unit was restructured to move beyond gathering public feedback, to become the lead agency for engaging and connecting with citizens. REACH was also appointed as the Singapore Government’s e-engagement platform in January 2009.
Key Roles
The three key roles of REACH are to:[2]
1) Gather and Gauge Ground Sentiments
We continue to feel the pulse of the ground and keep the government apprised of key issues of concern amongst Singaporeans.
2) Reach Out and Engage Citizens
We work closely with community and grassroots organisations to reach out to more heartlanders, as well as voluntary welfare groups, professional groups and groups with specific needs and interests.We have a wide variety of traditional and new media channels for citizens who are interested to engage the government, such as public forums, dialogue sessions, SMS, telephone, email, Facebook and Twitter.
3) Promote Active Citizenry through Citizen Participation and Involvement
We will facilitate the formation of workgroups to develop ideas into concrete proposals for the Government’s consideration.
Moving ahead, REACH will continue to encourage and promote public participation in shaping government policies.
Learn more about our REACH Feedback process.
REACH Supervisory Panel
REACH Supervisory Panel was appointed when REACH was restructured, and is currently chaired by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Health (Singapore) & Ministry of Manpower (Singapore) and Mayor, South West District.
The REACH Supervisory Panel sets the strategic direction for REACH for its programmes and initiatives. The current Panel comprises five Members of Parliament (MPs) and 24 people-private sector representatives from various segments of society. This representation underscores the important role that the people-private sector plays in helping to strengthen the public consultation process.
REACH Youth Ambassadors
Besides general outreach, REACH strives to enhance its outreach to young Singaporeans, to educate them on the role they can play in the feedback process, the platforms available for them to be engaged, and to promote active citizenry from a young age. It is in this vein that the REACH Youth Ambassadors programme was launched in 2008, involving 70 youths from 14 schools as a pilot. Launched by Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the programme aims to encourage youths to reach out and promote a feedback culture among their peers and had garnered warm support from participating schools during the pilot phase.
With a growing interest among youths in policy making, the YA programme has expanded from 70 YAs from 14 institutions during the first intake in 2008, to the appointment of over 170 YAs from 29 institutions in 2012. YAs are encouraged to come up with and to take ownership of consultation and engagement activities for their peers. During their tenure, YAs have proactively initiated activities such as the Singapore Model Parliament, SOTA-REACH Youth Arts Forum, VJC-REACH Model United Nations Dialogue, and a series of informal dialogues with political officer holders called Kopi Talk, among other forums.
Policy Study Workgroups
Five Policy Study Workgoups (PSWs) were formed to study specific key issues and challenges facing Singapore and submit recommendations on how to help Singaporeans to meet them. The PSWs were appointed for a two-year term from Sep 2007 – Sep 2009.
The five PSWs will focus on the following five issues: - Ageing and Health - Education and Human Capital Excellence - Economic and Employment Opportunities - Physical and Environmental Sustainability, and - Population and Integration
External links
- REACH Website
- REACH Facebook Page
- REACH Twitter Page
- REACH Youtube Channel
- REACH Feedback process
- Citizen Engagement Handbook
- Media Release: REACH Supervisory Panel sees new and wider representation
