By December, as all of us had begun to have enough of Zoom and could take another webinar no more, PIIMA’s new event format #IIMPULSE helped bring much needed freshness into a year of online activities. Between Dec 18-30, over 100 alumni participated in small group events (- maximum of 5 people-) organized under the theme “What’s Your SQ” (- SQ implying “Singapore Quotient”.) The idea was to meet, network and get to know each other in small groups while also building connections with Singapore. For those of you who missed it all, here is a roundup of the action.
But first, a quick background. The challenge in conceptualizing #IIMPULSE was to identify an event format that would allow alumni to engage with each other while maintaining a strict adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines. Not unsurprisingly, the alumni community came up with interesting and creative ideas. A number of fun and socially meaningful events linked to Singapore were organized for small groups of five. In fact, since the group sizes were small, we could accommodate a larger variety of activities for alumni to participate in.
Many events were focused on discovering aspects of Singapore that were not well known, even to those of us who have spent many years here. The #Tanglin Road Art trail group explored a very different side of Orchard Road. The 1 km stretch between Tanglin Mall and Ion Orchard is home to a treasure of public (and private) art which often goes unnoticed even in plain sight! Another group explored the hidden and untouched ecological park in the heart of Tampines (#Tampines Photowalk.) Whimsical depictions of everyday life at Everton, Tiong Bharu and Yip Yew Chong provided some fantastic photo opportunities for a group exploring Singapore’s public murals (#Off the wall!) Yet another group, guided by a true born local foodie, explored the local hawker culture, which is incidentally a UNESCO recognized cultural heritage item for Singapore (#Tracing the SG food court trail – journey to M*.) They even met Minister Indranee Rajah on their trail! Alumnus Vikram Berry and his Singapore-born wife Dorin hosted a wonderful visit to Bishan, the neighborhood where she grew up (#BridgingBishan.) #The Green Corridor group walked along the erstwhile Singapore-Malayan Peninsula railroad line aka the Green Corridor. Although the trail is still under construction and will only be completed in 2025, the walk offers beautiful views of the ridge line, the rain forest, the garden and the station. Some of the other interesting walks included Labrador Park (#LabradorNaturePark) and a hike to explore rural Singapore (#exploringruralSingapore.) The #Coast-to-coast group took on the ambitious 36 km trail that spans across Singapore, linking up nature areas, parks and park connectors from Jurong Lake to Punggol. And then, there was the #GreatSingaporeDrive group. Inspired by an article in the Straits Times, this group set off to replicate a 200 km road trip around Singapore. However, by taking their own small detours they not only added 62 kms to their drive but also came up with half a dozen additions to the original Straits Times route. Their write up covering this road trip (plus their new and improved map) can be found on the PIIMA website and definitely deserves a read.
It was not just fun and exploration – there were some very meaningful events and special moments of giving back to society. A number of our alumni donated towards the XMas Festive Lights Bus Tour with Migrant Workers organized by Itsrainingraincoats in collaboration with the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and supported by the High Commission of India, Singapore. Over 165 migrant workers accompanied by alumni and the Indian High Commissioner saw the Christmas lighting of downtown Singapore, some for the first time. Another #IIMPULSE group volunteered at ‘Krsna’s Free Meals’ to prepare nutritious meals for migrants (#FeedaThousand.) Two #IIMPULSE teams joined the Tanjong Rhu Neighborhood Committee Walk&Clean initiative to tidy up litter and help maintain clean surroundings.
Despite the short notice given to alumni, the breath of initiatives and the level of participation was amazing. The events will soon be presented to the alumni community for a voting round to identify the winning team(s). What’s more, PIIMA plans to keep the momentum going with similar small format campaigns. So, if you missed out on the year end fun, don’t despair. Watch out for the upcoming events in 2021.
