Overview of Cultural Night 2024
Cultural Night is one of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy’s (LKYSPP’s) much anticipated and well-known signature events, and this year’s was even more special – coinciding with the school’s 20th anniversary. As a reflection of LKYSPP’s international community where almost 8 out of 10 students are foreigners, and student and staff come from nearly 90 economies, we truly celebrated diversity. Our 2024 edition of Cultural Night saw 200 student and staff turn up in their best ethnic wear, and LKYSPP’s main Oei Tiong Ham lobby transformed into 13 student-decorated booths, each representing a country the students are from. Students played ambassadors, hosting visitors to their booths with quizzes, cultural games, arts and crafts, free giveaways such as signature country snacks, information cards about countries, displays of ethnic wear, artefacts and much more.
To make this a truly immersive experience, lucky draw participants had to collect stamps from each booth. To earn their stamps, they must complete a challenge. These included quizzes, board games, cultural activities like recognising childhood toys, and even tasting spices. Some teams went the extra mile by bringing items back from their home countries during their recess week, making this an eye-opening experience.
The night took on an energetic spin when students claimed the stage to perform – each of the 10 were dazzling displays of their cultural best! Performances ranged from solo and group performances to cultural dances, to instrumental music and songs in various languages like Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian and Vietnamese!
Why did we choose the theme “Passing the Flame”?
“Passing the Flame” embodies a continuation of the tradition of hosting the annual LKYSPP Cultural Night event, and the passing of knowledge and sharing of culture.
The flame symbolises unity of the LKYSPP community coming together to celebrate and acknowledge our school’s rich cultural diversity. Fire is widely seen as a symbol of warmth and life, which we hope to ignite in everyone this year to evoke a sense of togetherness and connectivity.
This theme also inspired the design of our backdrop, and our ‘sports ticket’ provided to all participants on the night. The idea of a ‘sports ticket’ is inspired by the Olympics, evoking the feel of running a marathon as attendees dash to get all the chops which represent unique country codes, after completing an activity at each booth.
Did the committee encounter any challenges? And how did we overcome them?
Yes, of course there were challenges! Initially, the committee had a slow start because it was difficult to find common time for everyone to meet. At the start, we were familiar with each other’s names as we communicated mostly over email, online chats, and struggled to recognise each other in person. However, once we decided on a theme and everyone was assigned a role, everything started to run smoothly. Over the course of our planning meetings, we got to know each other better and we bonded.
Leading a student committee to organise such a significant and meaningful event was a first for me, and I knew all the students were looking forward to it. I could not have accomplished this without the help and commitment of all the committee members. I am sincerely grateful for everyone’s support and patience. It was a rewarding and amazing learning experience, and I feel privileged to have been involved.
Seeing everyone’s individual contributions – be it the committee members or the students involved in the booths and performances - come together on the night was truly remarkable. Despite managing our own academic deadlines and preparing for mid-term exams, everyone executed their roles incredibly well.
We are also grateful for the guidance from Alice and Sin Ying from LKYSPP Academic Affairs, as well as Jamie from the Thought Leadership and Strategic Communications team, who worked closely with our committee to organise this year’s Cultural Night. We cannot thank them enough for their ongoing support and understanding when we could not meet our deadlines on time. Their dedication, even outside of their office hours, and their attention to detail, were significant to the success of Cultural Night 2024.
Key takeaways from Cultural Night 2024
Fun times, great memories, lovely photos, new friends, and a better understanding of the cultural diversity at LKYSPP. Cultural Night has always been an event that students eagerly look forward to. It is a time when we can learn more about each other’s backgrounds, forget about our studies (for just one night), and simply enjoy being a part of the vibrant and colourful LKYSPP community.
I am already looking forward to next year’s Cultural Night! I cannot wait to see the creative ideas and amazing talents that future students will bring. I have no doubt that the spirit will remain as high and energetic as they were this year. Thank you to everyone for their participation in Cultural Night 2024!