Life! Straits Times

A different breed of sponsors

Clarissa Oon, 23 June 2011

(c) 2011 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Controversial groups here get funding support from companies Google and Man Investments

The Singapore branch of global Internet giant Google has lent its name to the annual Pink Dot gathering at Speaker’s Corner.

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We love Singapore!

Glad so many of you had a wonderful time yesterday. Here’s our video highlighting some of the best moments from Pink Dot 2011. Thank you for making this happen. Thank you for standing up for a more open and loving Singapore. Till a bigger and better Pink Dot next year!

* We’ve gotten some feedback about the balloon-releasing that happened this year – thank you. We’ll take extra care to remind everyone that balloons are not to be released during future Pink Dots.

Singapore, June 18, 2011 – Over 10,000 pink-attired Singaporeans turned Hong Lim Park into a sea of pink, where they gathered – for the third year running – to form a giant pink dot in a show of support for inclusiveness, diversity and the freedom to love. This breaks Pink Dot 2010’s previous record for the largest public gathering ever seen at the Speakers’ Corner since its opening in 2000, and is more than twice the number of people who turned up last year.This milestone event is organised by a group of local volunteers and aims to raise awareness and foster deeper understanding of the basic human need to love and be loved, regardless of one’s sexual orientation. Pink Dot 2011 aims to re-affirm the movement’s credo, Supporting the Freedom to Love, by encouraging Singaporeans to speak up for their … Read More »

At the pink dot formation every year, the crowd sings along to a song about love and friendship. This year, the Pink Dot song we’ve picked is I Want To Hold Your Hand by The Beatles. Hope you’re ready and PINK-ed up for Saturday! See you!

Lyrics:

I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND

Yeah I´ll tell you something
I think you’ll understand
When I say that something
I wanna hold your hand (3x)

Oh, please, say to me
You’ll let me be your man
and please, say to me
You’ll let me hold your hand
Now let me hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand
And when I touch you i feel
happy, inside
It’s such a feeling
That my love
I can’t hide (3x)

Yeah you, got that something
I think you’ll understand
When I say that something
I wanna hold your hand (3x)

And when I touch you I feel
happy, inside
It’s such a feeling
That my … Read More »

Thanks for all of your emails, tweets and blog and Facebook comments. We’re sorry we haven’t been able to reply to every message, but please know that we’re reading more than we’re typing. FOUR days to go and work’s been piling up! Anyway, here are responses to questions and concerns that seem to come up quite often… a sequel to our previous FAQ posting.

Q.

What if there’s wet weather – and flooding?

A.

It’s going to be a rain or shine event. Love is weatherproof (or at least we believe this to be true). That said; if weather conditions get mighty bad, we may call for a slight delay, rearrange the event flow or cancel some segments of the programme. All of our volunteers have been working very hard for the past … Read More »

Simply copy and paste these codes into your own blog or website to show your support for Pink Dot and the freedom to love. 

<a href=”http://pinkdot.sg/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://pinkdot.sg/web_badges/pinkdot_badge.gif” alt=”The Freedom To Love” border=”0″ /></a>

<a href=”http://pinkdot.sg/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://pinkdot.sg/web_badges/pinkdot_badge2.gif” alt=”The Freedom To Love” border=”0″ /></a>

<a href=”http://pinkdot.sg/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://pinkdot.sg/web_badges/pinkdot_badge3.gif” alt=”The Freedom To Love” border=”0″ /></a>

<a href=”http://pinkdot.sg/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://pinkdot.sg/web_badges/pinkdot_badge4.gif” alt=”The Freedom To Love” border=”0″ /></a>

We talk to the everyday heroes who make Singapore a better place person by person, day after day. These LGBT support groups will also have a booth (or a picnic mat) at Pink Dot 2011, so come by and say hi!
INDIGNATION

Who they are:

The Singapore Pride Season, the annual LGBT festival of Singapore

What they do:

To establish an annual platform for LGBT expression in forms of art, music, texts, films, talks and other forms discovered hereafter.

How to get in touch:

• Website : www.indignationsg.wordpress.com

• Email: pluadmin@gmail.com

[Snapshot]

IndigNation, the Singapore Pride Season, turns 7 this year. A social and artistic event, it engages with the mainstream public and raises awareness about LGBT culture in everyday life.

[Q&A]

Pink Dot speaks to the current programming director, Jun Zubillaga-Pow, and finds out more about his aspirations for the festival.

How did the idea for IndigNation come about?
The Pride season was … Read More »

We talk to the everyday heroes who make Singapore a better place person by person, day after day. These LGBT support groups will also have a booth (or a picnic mat) at Pink Dot 2011, so come by and say hi!

Who They Are:

Young Out Here aka YOH is a queer youth community group started back in 2006 by Elsa Tay, Jeremy Kwok and Benjamin Xue. It caters to queer youths between the ages of 16 to 22 and hopes to help queer youths build ties with the larger queer community.

What They Do:

YOH provides a safe and inclusive space which enables the youth to talk about queer youth specific topics and issues. The Support Group programme is composed of 13 sessions, focusing on topics like Coming Out, Family, School, Safer Sex, Relationships & Self.

How To Get In Touch:

Sign up … Read More »

We talk to the everyday heroes who make Singapore a better place person by person, day after day. These LGBT support groups will also have a booth (or a picnic mat) at Pink Dot 2011, so come by and say hi!
SINQSA (Singapore Queer-Straight Alliance)

Who They Are:A group that fosters understanding and support between the straight and queer communities that was set up in May 2008 by Sam Ho, Jean Chong and Jennifer Teo.

What They Do: Provide a space and network for like-minded and LGBT-supportive people to share their views.
How To Get In Touch: SinQSA Facebook

[Snapshot]

The Singapore Queer-Straight Alliance (SinQSA) is a forum to express support for equality regardless of sexual and gender orientation. Conversations happen a lot online, through their facebook page, where members freely share their thoughts on queer-straight unity and harmony with like-minded folks.

[Q&A]
We catch up with … Read More »

We talk to the everyday heroes who make Singapore a better place person by person, day after day. These LGBT support groups will also have a booth (or a picnic mat) at Pink Dot 2011, so come by and say hi!

Who they are:
A youth group that develops and organises social activities for young gay and bisexual men.

What they do:
Social events to raise awareness of the existence of young MSM and to promote their growth as individuals. Their tagline of “Self.Growth.Realise” is advocated and adhered to in all of their programs.

When was it set up:
June 2008

How to get in touch:

Website : sgrainbow.blogspot.com

Email: sgrainbow@gmail.com

[Snapshot]

SGRainbow is a non-profit independent activities-based social group for young gay and bisexual males aged 18 to 25. Its mission is to provide a platform – through social settings and activities – for gay and … Read More »