Racial and Religious Harmony
The Foundation believes in supporting the minority races of Singapore, including Malay, Indian and Eurasian Communities. For a multiracial and multicultural society like Singapore racial understanding and harmony are essential for long-term prosperity. Providing assistance to less privileged groups not only fulfils a humanitarian purpose but also strengthens social cohesion and promotes racial harmony across society.
1. IPS Programme on Race, Religion and Intergroup Cohesion
The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) is a public policy think tank within the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. IPS conducts research and engages stakeholders to inform policies that strengthen social cohesion and advance Singapore’s long-term interests.
In 2022, The Silent Foundation pledged S$2.5 million to launch the IPS Programme on Race, Religion, and Intergroup Cohesion (IPS RRIC), a five-year initiative dedicated to promoting understanding and harmony across diverse communities.
IPS RRIC is one of Singapore’s first empirically based programmes designed with immersive tools and grounded in over a decade of research on social cohesion. At its core is a commitment to enhancing awareness and understanding of issues related to race, religion, and intergroup relations, moving Singapore toward a more cohesive and inclusive society.
Key components of the programme include:
- Research: Empirical studies, such as the IPS-OnePeople.sg Indicators, to track societal attitudes and intergroup dynamics.
- Training & Workshops: Workshops that build skills to navigate racial and religious issues confidently.
- Engagement & Thought Leadership: Forums and dialogues that bring together policymakers, academics, and community leaders.
- Assessments: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) evaluations to help organisations identify gaps and improve practices.
- Educational Tools: Immersive resources like virtual reality, games, and role-playing to foster understanding and empathy.
Through this collaboration, The Silent Foundation affirms its commitment to fostering an inclusive society where people of all backgrounds can live, learn, and thrive together.
2. The Silent Minority Compassionate Bursary
The Silent Foundation has established the Silent Minority Compassionate Bursary to assist minority races in Singapore, including the Malay, Indian, and Eurasian communities. The bursary provides financial assistance to school-going children who face difficulties completing their education when catastrophic events such as death, serious illness, divorce, loss of employment, or accidents affect their family’s breadwinner.
The bursary is administered by the following organisations, which represent their respective communities:
- The Eurasian Association for the Eurasian community
- AMP for the Malay Muslim community
- The Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) for the Indian community
It is currently available to students enrolled in:
- Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
- Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)
- Singapore Management University (SMU)
- Institute of Technical Education (ITE)
This initiative builds on the Foundation’s broader commitment to education and social inclusion, including the earlier establishment of the Silent Environment Bursary, which supported students pursuing environmental studies.
3. PeaceGeneration Indonesia – Breaking Down Walls Programme
PeaceGeneration (PeaceGen) Indonesia is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to promoting peace education and intercultural understanding among young people. The Breaking Down Walls Programme, supported by The Silent Foundation, fosters interfaith and intercultural harmony by creating spaces in schools and youth communities where students from diverse backgrounds can interact, collaborate, and learn together.
From 2019 to 2021, the programme reached 905 individuals across eight schools and four youth communities in Solo, Palu, Bandung, and Makassar. In 2024 to 2025, The Silent Foundation renewed its support to expand the programme to five additional cities across Indonesia.
Key components include training teachers as peace facilitators, adapting PeaceGen’s 12 Basic Values of Peace to different cultural contexts, and strengthening organisational capacity with support from The Silent Foundation.
Grounded in contact theory, the programme promotes equal-status interactions and shared goals to break down barriers between identity groups. By addressing the roots of intolerance, it is helping cultivate a generation committed to a more inclusive society.
Adriana Anjani, Partnership Coordinator at PeaceGeneration Indonesia, shared:
“The Silent Foundation’s support has been invaluable. It has empowered PeaceGen to grow from a small movement into a more powerful one, enabling us to amplify the message of peace to much wider audiences.”
These initiatives, made possible through support from The Silent Foundation, help plant the seeds of peace among young people, empowering them to become peace ambassadors in their communities and inspire a wider culture of understanding and inclusion.