Sewing the Future

By Sg United Journalist, Lee Zi Ning & Sharlene Wong Chun Shyuan (River Valley High School)

Andy Soh Zhi Wei, 17, from the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, had been sewing patchworks for the past few nights.

At a Pre-U seminar held in NUS.

Weird? Certainly. This must have been a surprise to you. In fact, student Rina Bai, 19, from Millennia Institute also recalled being shocked when she heard that they would be required to sew quilts during the Pre-U seminar.

The Pre-U Seminar, held from 1 to 5 June, co-organised by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Innova Junior College, saw the participation of 500 students from 27 institutions. The quilt-weaving activity was inspired by the Fabric of the Nation project in 2003 and the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. It was adopted with the aim of getting the student participants to learn a life skill, ignite their own creativity, as well as to encourage teamwork to achieve a common goal.

The theme of the quilt weaving activity was to encourage Singaporeans to strive through the recent economic downturn. Motivational words and symbols, such as rainbows and light bulbs which signified hope, were sewn onto patchworks.

Heranshan, 17, from Nanyang Junior College, had people holding hands walking up a slope for his design. The significance behind it was to encourage Singaporeans to stick together as one nation, signified that they would reach the top of the mountain eventually. Motivational words "Smile, Laugh, Love" were also sewn on his patchwork to motivate fellow Singaporeans to be optimistic in times of recession.

When asked whether this activity was challenging for the students, they all unanimously agreed. Rina Bai, 19, mentioned that coming up with the design was actually the most challenging part. It was also difficult to come up with the motivational words as they had to be short and concise. "I even had to redo my patchwork 4 to 5 times because I sewed something wrongly." said Kevin Martens Wong Zhi Qiang, 17, from Catholic Junior College.

Through the activity, the students learned to bond together and help each another.

Kevin acknowledged that it was tiring to do the sewing and they were half-asleep, but the group members helped to spur one another on. The organisers Innova Junior College even created opportunities for sharing. They gave each group different types of decorations for the quilts - for example, some groups received "butterflies" while others received "stars". This was done to encourage them to share.

Although the quilt-weaving activity would not directly affect the economy or help it to improve, the students hoped that it would bring a ray of light to Singaporeans, no matter how small.

Tan Yi Wen, 17, from Victoria Junior College, hoped that the messages in the quilts would encourage the people to tide through the economic situation. While participating in the activity, Yi Wen could feel the power of Singaporean youths getting together to give encouragement to the nation. Working together to complete the patchwork in groups was, to him, a sign that society could be united together for a common goal.