National Library Heritage Road Show 2009 - I Remember Singapore

Do you know the National Library of Singapore is organizing a heritage road show this August 1?

From NLB website,

What do you remember from the years of growing up in Singapore? Do you recall the opening of the National Stadium in 1973? The Heritage Road Show this year focuses on the theme of 'I Remember Singapore' and celebrates the 50^th anniversary of Singapore’s self-governance from 1959 to 2009. What do you recall of your own life against the backdrop of significant events in the last 50 years of Singapore’s self-government? Your experiences and stories form a part of the history of Singapore and we want to hear from you! If you have written narratives, print materials or photos of these significant events and milestones in your life, do share your life experiences with us at iremember.sg@nlb.gov.sg. Your stories and photos may be selected and showcased on our website at www.iremember.sg (from 1 July 2009). Your contributions stand to win cash prizes of up to $5,000!

Oldies may want to share their stories and photos. For me, I just do what's natural. Here is what I find most interesting:

1. Geographical and chronological tagging of pictures and stories on the Singapore Map

This is on the main website. Guess what, they are not using Google Maps but Bing Maps. Bing is the latest (actually rebranded) search engine by Microsoft and Bing Maps was formerly Virtual Earth.

There is not much user-contributed content (stories, pictures) on the map now. The only contributors I can see are NLB and NHB. The sole story I find (on the Maria Hertogh Riots) is an article from Infopedia. What intrigues or rather excites me is the 1935 old map from the Koh Seow Chuan collection. Hmm, perhaps the Japanese had one such copy when they invaded Singapore? I can see the old railway line to Pasir Panjang and Sungei. Sembawang. I even found the hills Chun See and Peter described - 100, 180 and 265 in Marsiling.

Screenshot of website on July 4.

2. Flickr SNAP - Singapore National Album of Pictures

This is on flickr website and features things Singapore. So you not only find historical pictures by donors, but also everyday pictures (which will become historical pictures in time to come). If you do not have the luxury of time (like this retiree) to comb Singapore, you can view the country here. So I found Pulau Hantu Besar, Nicoll Highway when it collapsed and even a bus advertisement for Axe Oil.

The donors collection include E.A. Brown, Percy R. Hill and Kouo Shang-Wei. Enjoy the pictures. If you are observant, you can even spot railway tracks, like I did on Kouo's Sugar Industry of Singapore (SIS) factory picture.

Screenshot of website on July 4

Some highlights of the road show on August 1:

a. I Remember.sg goes on Air segment, where members of the public will share their memories and experiences of nation building in the past 50 years.

b. 50 Firsts Wedding Aisle, where couples whose lives revolve around the number 50 - such as being married for 50 years/weeks/days - share their personal stories.

c. Changing Landscapes of Singapore photo exhibition, where "participants are to submit 24 of their best photographs, taken over a continuous period of 24 hours and include their personal stories of not more than 150 words to explain about their choice of photographs and the memories of Singapore associated with it." (source)