We Are Aware » Past Events

We Are AWARE Reunion – 1st May

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:51:21 +0000

When: Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 7:00pm
Location: 15 Minutes, Blk D #01-01 McNally Street @LASALLE

Facebook Invite
Please RSVP to help us gauge numbers.

IT’S A REUNION

TRUST
RESPECT
CHOICE

It has been a year. A WHOLE YEAR.

Come join us over a drink and some food. All are invited! This is the official unofficial reunion of We Are AWARE and the AWARE 2009 EGM which took place on May 2nd.

For many of us this was one of the most memorable events of our lives. Whether you were there in person or lived the spirit of event through tweets, blogs or mad phone calls from Suntec City, this reunion is for you.

It was a day of taking a stand, of standing up and speaking out. It was a day to reunite with old friends and to make new ones. It a day to cast a vote that made a difference. It was a day to be heard.

It was an amazing day worth celebrating. We hope you can join us.

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The Extraordinary V Conference

JY Yang — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:07:00 +0000

The “Shut Up & Sit Down” Play!

Were you one of the 1414? Did you spend the 2nd of May refreshing Twitter on your computer at home? Or maybe you bought one of the post-EGM t-shirts and wore it with pride? Then, this entertainment may be something you might appreciate.

Following the well-received The V Conference in 2007 and The Return Of The V in 2008, comes The Extraordinary V Conference by Fly Entertainment!

With comedienne Irene Ang chairing this year’s Extraordinary V Conference, laughter is the order of the day. Or pigs will fly! Indeed, SWINE FLU! Witness how a certain Page 73 reject Toe Soo Man clamors for recognition as a Feminist (tor)Mentor, while Rosie and her Pussycat Dolls belt out their comeback hit “SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN”.

Will Amy Winehouse stay sober enough to get into Singapore in time for the V Conference? Will the Little Nyonya lip-sync again? Will our beloved Guan Yin Ma be able to save the little Slumdog Millionaires from more s**t? So Extraordinary is the V Conference this year that even Mr. and Mrs. Obama have been invited!

Controversial? Perhaps. Apologetic? Absolutely not.

Hosted by Club Zirca, with an 18+ target audience, The Extraordinary V runs from the 4th to the 13th of September 2009.

V Aware.
V Very Aware.

Highlights from the The V Conference in 2007 and The Return Of The V in 2008 on YouTube

The Extraordinary V Conference
A Production by FLY ENTERTAINMENT PTE LTD
Starring: Irene Ang , Chua Enlai, Brendon Fernandez & Shane Mardjuki
Director: Beatrice Chia Richmond
Date: 4th –13th September 2009
Time: 8 pm
Venue: Club Zirca (The Cannery, Clark Quay)
Ticket Price: $46* (inclusive of 1 Tiger Beer)
Free Seating

10% off Early Bird Tickets before 10th Aug
15% off for all OCBC Debit & Credit Cardmembers

Buy Tickets from Sistic | Follow on Facebook

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Siew Kum Hong is not reappointed as NMP

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:36:05 +0000

Siew Kum Hong is not only a friend of AWARE but has emerged as a key spokesperson representing the ideals of many who stood up on May 2nd. It is with great disappointment that we recently learned he would not be reappointed for a second term as Nominated Member of Parliament.

I would like to think that if I was not reappointed because of the Aware incident, and I had known that things would turn out this way, I would still not have done anything differently.

There is, of course, much speculation that his failure to be reappointed was because of his involvement in AWARE. The more extreme conspiracy theorists have mused whether his ensuing popularity – bordering on hero worship (some went so far as to call him “Singapore’s Obama”) – made him a threat to the usual power structures.

So just as I did not allow the possibility of offending the Government stop me from asking tough questions and making difficult points, I also did not allow the possibility of adverse publicity stop me from my involvement in civil society causes and organisations that I believed in.

There is no doubt that in the aftermath of AWARE, Siew Kum Hong was mercilessly attacked by the astroturfers for his role as advisor to the Old Guard – a role he has repeatedly emphasised is something he did in his personal capacity.

Of course even without being involved in the AWARE Saga, Kum Hong was already in the cross hairs of Christian Fundamentalists over his stance on section 377A of the Penal Code regarding homosexual anal sex. He has argued eloquently in parliament for its repeal and even though he was gracious in defeat pundits continued to state – nonsensically – that the very suggestion the law should be changed was an act of treason.

This was not his only issue – he has spoken in favour of a number of reforms. But it is the one that most captured the public’s imagination in recent months, after AWARE was accused of having a “Gay Agenda.”

Well what’s done is done and just as we wish the newcomers well, we are now eagerly looking forward to seeing how Kum Hong will continue to contribute to civil society.

But first perhaps a short break is in order. We have it on good authority that he intends to use some of his free time to reconnect with his Wii (specifically – Guitar Hero World Tour: Metallica) but we are sure that he will be courted from all sides to quickly return to public life.

Full Stament by Siew Kum Hong

Related:

May 28, 2009 -- Sin Boon Ann: AWARE & Failure of the Media
May 28, 2009 -- Koo Tsai Kee: Tolerance & Diversity
May 28, 2009 -- Thio Li-ann: Religion & the Secular State
June 1, 2009 -- How ST covered the story
May 21, 2009 -- Information Sheet on MOE SEd Programme

AWARE Press Con Highlights

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:01:48 +0000

EXCO and staff in last minute discussion before press con

Tweeters Callan & June wait for the presscom to start.

Callan’s Report on the Press Con

June shows Twitter to Connie Singam

Corinna, Ching Wi, Dana & Joo Hymn just before kick off.

Press Kit:

State of the Nation’s Women report

AWARE, Singapore’s leading women’s rights advocacy group, is launching a two-year project to reach out to a wide range of women in Singapore and gather their views on the issues that most affect them. These views, together with other research findings, will be published in 2011 in a report titled The State of the Nation’s Women.

In its scope, the State of the Nation’s Women (SNW) report will be similar to the CEDAW shadow reports that AWARE produces and submits to the United Nations. CEDAW, or the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, is regarded as an international bill of rights for women. Countries that sign the convention have to submit national reports at least once every four years on the progress they have made to remove all discrimination against women. Shadow reports are submitted by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and are considered alongside the national reports by the UN’s CEDAW Committee.

Like the CEDAW report, the SNW report will examine the state of Singapore’s women in areas such as employment, health, family, leadership, and media. But a key difference is that the voices of Singapore’s women will feature prominently in the SNW report.

“Our CEDAW shadow reports have identified the inequalities that still exist and the many issues that need to be addressed, such as the lack of sexual harassment laws, stereotyping in the media, the need for more day care centres for young parents and for greater financial security for older women,” said Dana Lam, AWARE president.

“What we will now do, in parallel with our CEDAW work, is reach out to women in Singapore and get their views on all these issues. We want to get the women to talk and we will listen carefully. We want to find out what they see as the key challenges in their lives, what they would like to see by way of changed or new policies and laws. The State of the Nation’s Women report will cover largely the same ground as the CEDAW reports but it will be from the perspective of a cross-section of Singapore’s women.”

AWARE will reach these women in a variety of ways, including a forum series called ‘Stand Up and Speak Out’. There will also be talks and small group discussions, and at least one major conference. Joint projects and other forms of collaboration with the media and with other NGOs will be explored.

Millie (camera woman & editor extraordinaire) with Fizz and Nicole

Ching Wi, Rina, Kerry and Marisse

Margie and Nancy

Lelia and Joo Hymn

July 7, 2009 -- Video: New AWARE Training Institute Programmes
July 6, 2009 -- AWARE Presscon: The $90k Question
May 31, 2009 -- Dana Lam: No Apologies
February 22, 2009 -- Dana Lam – File Photos
May 21, 2009 -- Response to MOE Decision