The mission of MICA is to develop Singapore as a global city for information, communications and the arts, so as to build a creative economy, gracious community and a connected society with a Singaporean identity rooted in our multi-cultural heritage. A total budget of $769m has been allocated to MICA in FY2009 to achieve this mission.

MICA aims to achieve the following strategic outcomes:

• A Vibrant and Self-Sustainable Creative Cluster;
• A Thriving Infocomm and Media Cluster;
• A Gracious and Knowledgeable People, Appreciative of Arts and Culture;
• A Sense of Community, National Identity and Rootedness; and
• A Better Understanding of Singapore and its Policies.

Developing the Creative Industries

The Creative Industries is strategic to our future competitiveness as Singapore transits to a Creative Economy. $20m will be set aside for the following key initiatives under the Creative Industries Development Strategy:

• "DesignSingapore Phase II", which aims to develop a vibrant, integrated and competitive design cluster, and to enhance the performance of other economic clusters and society by leveraging on design. Key strategies include:
• Develop capability for a globally competitive design cluster;
• Enable enterprises to leverage good design for economic growth, quality of life and the environment;
• Drive innovation and design intellectual property creation to stay ahead of the curve; and
• Setting up of a National Design Centre to better realise the vision of Singapore as a global city of design.
  
  
  
  
• “Singapore Media Fusion 2015 (SMF 2015)”, which aims to drive the development of the media sector. SMF 2015 will prepare Singapore’s media sector to thrive in a changed media landscape altered by technological changes, new market opportunities and intensifying competition. Key strategies include:
• Strengthen key building blocks of the media ecosystem;
• Strengthen key building blocks of the media ecosystem;
• Stimulate sustainable demand for made-by-Singapore content, applications and services.
  
  
  

Promoting the Infocomm Cluster

• $183m will be allocated for the iN2015 Masterplan to transform Singapore into an intelligent nation, and global city powered by infocomm. iN2015 aims to help encourage sophisticated demand for infocomm, foster the creation of innovative services and knowledge capital and strengthen Singapore as an economic hub. The key initiatives are:
• Establish Singapore’s Next Generation National Infocomm Infrastructure comprising the ultra-high speed Next Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN) and the pervasive Wireless Broadband Network;
• Encourage the creation of next generation services that utilises the NGNBN, under programmes such as the Next Generation Innovation Centres and Next Generation Services Innovation Programme;
• Spearhead the transformation of key economic sectors by partnering with sectoral champions to deploy innovative infocomm solutions in their sectors;
• Develop and sustain an infocomm-savvy workforce and globally competitive infocomm manpower through initiatives such as the Infocomm Attachment Programme, Enhanced Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme, National Infocomm Competency Framework, Techno-Strategist Programme, and National Infocomm Scholarships;
• Encourage local infocomm enterprises to continue investing in innovation development and deployment so as to build up their capabilities and remain competitive under programmes such as the Infocomm Business Innovation Support Programme, Infocomm Local Industry Upgrading Programme and Overseas Development Programme; and
• Build an all-inclusive digital society through the NeuPC Plus programme which aims to ensure Needy Students Have Equal Access to Infocomm (for needy students), Infocomm Accessibility Centres (for the disabled) and the Silver Infocomm Initiative (for the elderly).
  
  
  
  

Nurturing Gracious and Knowledgeable People

• $143m will be allocated to develop Singapore’s cultural infrastructure and to enhance the artistic capacity of the nation. The key initiatives are:
• Manage the School of the Arts, Singapore, in its provision of a 6-year arts and academic education for artistically talented students aged 13-18 leading to the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBD) Graduating Qualification at Year 6;
• Provide grants to over 600 artists and arts groups, and subsidised arts housing for deserving artists and arts groups;
  
  
  
  
• Organise and support arts outreach programmes that reach out to 2.65m people;
• Assess and endorse 650 quality arts education programmes to reach out to 330,000 students, as well as carrying out arts education initiatives for pre-schools;
• Organise major arts events in Singapore including the Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore Art Show and Singapore Writers Festival, to promote artistic excellence and develop audiences.
  
  
  
• $108m will be allocated to foster nationhood, identity and creativity, and to develop a more vibrant heritage sector in Singapore. Key initiatives are:
• Enhance museum curation and heritage outreach programmes in order to increase visitorship and community participation;
  
  
  
  
• Enrich Singapore's heritage showcase diversity through a new Heritage Industry Incentive Programme (Hi2P) to support private heritage and museum partners;
• Export shows to share our collections, scholarship and expertise, thereby building cultural understanding and enhancing our Museums' and Archive's international standing;
• Redevelop the former Supreme Court and City Hall Building into a National Art Gallery;
  
  
  
  
• Enhance support for selected key community heritage institutions to highlight Singapore's links with the larger Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures in the region, and to capture the contributions of our local communities;
• Promote the preservation of Singapore's built heritage, and organising outreach programmes to promote public awareness of national monuments; and
• Improve the Heritage Conservation Centre to support the housing of the national collection.
• $180m will be allocated to our libraries to support life-long learning among Singaporeans, and to promote a knowledgeable and engaged society, through the provision of:
• A national library that aims to become a one-stop centre for Asian collections and materials;
• A network of 3 regional libraries and 19 community libraries, which serve over 37 million library visitors and approximately 2 million library members;
• Distribution of physical and digital content to all libraries within the system;
• Rich on-line information sources and content at NLB's digital library which aims to serve 9 million on-line users;
• Rare materials and documents of historic significance which have been digitised for easy accessibility and the promotion of our heritage;
• Digitised artistic heritage materials for greater accessibility so as to raise awareness of Singapore's many arts and cultural icons; and
• Social learning spaces that facilitate access to information and content to enhance Singapore’s cohesiveness and connectedness. Initiatives include NLB's programmes for seniors, youths and the disadvantaged, a Mobile Library service for disadvantaged children, NLB's active citizenry efforts and NLB's utilisation of library spaces for job fairs, bazaars, and training courses.
  

Fostering National Identity and a Better Understanding of Singapore and its Policies

• $17m will be allocated to nurture a sense of rootedness among Singaporeans, and create affinity for Singapore amongst Singaporeans and the international community, through government’s public communications/information programmes, including:
• Enhancing programmes that strengthen journalists’ understanding of Singapore and creating new opportunities for bilateral journalist exchanges and cooperation;
• Hosting cultural diplomacy programmes which leverage on arts and culture to showcase the softer aspect of Singapore, increase awareness of Singapore as a cultural and business global city, as well as to create networking opportunities for Singapore companies in the target city;
• Raising emergency preparedness by enhancing the public’s access to accurate information, and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to deal with crises through public education efforts;
• Fostering a strong sense of pride, belonging and national identity among Singaporeans at home and abroad through outreach and engagement programmes.
  
  
  

To find out more about MICA and our initiatives, visit our website at www.mica.gov.sg.