To observe the World Interfaith Harmony Week 2021, the Harmony Centre had organized the Pledge a Poet Campaign.  It was an initiative bringing youth and individuals of different faith together to pursue a good cause. For this campaign, the good cause was to provide notebooks to our beneficiary “Migrant Writers of Singapore”: a group of migrant workers working in Singapore who came together to share their interest on writing and literature.  Those who took the pledge will be made to pen down their messages of solidarity and motivation on notebook and these will be distributed to the migrant workers. The purpose of distributing these books to them was to encourage the migrant workers to pen down their thoughts and feelings to cope in these difficult times during the pandemic.

As part of the marketing of the campaign the centre featured four migrant workers of different faiths and their poems on our social media platform.

To run this campaign, the centre collaborated with a neighbouring Church; Zion Bishan Presbyterian Bible Church and three other tertiary institutions which include Madrasah Al Ma’arif Al Islamiah, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University.

Since end of January 2021, the centre conducted both online and physical program to run this campaign with the peak of the event took place on 20^th February 2021. In this last event for the campaign, a Friendship Meal and Pledge a Poet activity was held at the Zion Bishan Bible Presbyterian Church.

The programme comprised of a presentation by the Harmony Centre on Inter-religiosity and Social Harmony, a live demonstration on Islamic Calligraphy, a tour of the Church’s Sanctuary and ending off with dinner. In attendance were 30 participants, both students and working adults alike, from different faiths and background.  In total. four organisations participated with 170 individuals pledged for this campaign.

Impact

Commitment

4 institutions participated

170 pledges

Social Media Postings

11 postings - inclusive of the Friendship Meal photos, poems’ feature and presentations at the other institutions

203 likes

27 saves

4 comments

2,074 reach

Average engagement rate per post – 3.57%

Feedback from the Friendship Meal

100% of the post-event evaluation respondents rated a minimum score of 7 (out of a scale of maximum 10) that they are interested to know more about other faiths and are more willing/likely to mix with those of others

100% of the post-event evaluation respondents rated a minimum score of 7 (out of a scale of maximum 10) are more likely to attend or participate in other interfaith and intercultural events

100% of the post-event evaluation respondents rated a minimum score of 6 (out of a scale of maximum 10) that interfaith initiatives should include communities coming together to pursue a good cause

Comments from the Friendship Meal

“Very well done in terms of the presentation by the Harmony Centre” – Mr Adli Faiz

“The tour is a good initiative and I really love the calligraphy part” – Mr Luqman

“Thank you for organising the session!” – Ms Jessica Ann