Temasek Foundation – National University of Singapore (TF-NUS) Heritage Champions Showcase at Temasek Shophouse

There were ten student-led community heritage projects that were showcased at the inaugural Temasek Foundation – National University of Singapore (TF-NUS) Heritage Champions Showcase that took place at Temasek Shophouse on Saturday 5th September 2026. Through those student-led projects, participants were able to learn, experience, understand and discover refreshing and often unexpected ways to rediscover Singapore’s history and cultural heritage.

For the younger generations that do not know much about Singapore’s roadside ice cream hawkers, a children’s book was created to share more about Singapore’s disappearing  world of roadside ice cream, to retracing the journeys of Orang Laut and recreating meals from Singapore’s wartime past. These projects undertaken by young students demonstrated how they used various mediums and platforms for storytelling, modern technology and social media, food and community activities to make Singapore’s heritage more accessible, experiencing lively, refreshed and unexpected new ways to learn and know more, for today’s generation.

The TF-NUS Heritage Champions showcase at Temasek Shophouse marks the finale of the TF-NUS Heritage Champions programme that aims to deepen youths’ appreciation of Singapore’s unique heritage and inspire them to play an active role to document and safeguard it through community projects. 

Over a period of two years and across two cohorts, 125 students from institutes of higher learning participated in this programme. They were given heritage preservation training by NUS Libraries and with support from the National Heritage Board, students formed teams and developed proposals for community-based heritage projects.

The top five teams from each cohort were awarded up to S$7,000 and six months to turn their ideas into reality. On a whole, the ten student-led projects have since engaged more than 1,000 members of the public. 

Ms Goh Hanyan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth, was the Guest of Honour at TF-NUS Heritage Champions showcase on Saturday 5th September 2026, touring the exhibition and spoke with the participants.

Ten Student-led Community Heritage Projects of TF-NUS Heritage Champions Programme

Who are the ten student-led community heritage projects of TF-NUS Heritage Champions programme? Here are the ten teams with a short write up of their community heritage project.

Scoops of Memory

Scoops of Memory documents Singapore’s fading roadside ice cream hawker trade through a children’s book, storytelling sessions, a documentary and a growing digital archive, connecting today’s children with a familiar part of their parents’ childhoods.

Shore to Shore

Shore to Shore invites Singaporeans to see the Southern Islands as places of community, memory and biodiversity, not only as leisure destinations, through immersive programmes and a multimedia website.

The Good OL Days

The Good OL Days traces the histories and lived experiences of four Orang Laut communities into the present through an interactive map and a self-guided Orang Seletar heritage trail.

Wartime Tuckshop

Wartime Tuckshop organised experiential cooking workshops and created an online cookbook that recreated the flavours of wartime meals. Participants learnt how food shortages and hyperinflation shaped everyday diets before preparing dishes adapted from historical accounts.

Hainanese Cooked

Hainanese Cooked uses a stamp rally and children’s book to trace the Hainanese influence on chicken rice, Nanyang coffee, the Singapore Sling and possibly laksa, showing how those roots became less widely recognised as the favourites entered Singapore’s wider food culture.

Finding Chinatown

Finding Chinatown reconnects Singaporeans, especially younger people, with the businesses and organisations keeping Chinatown’s living heritage alive.

MamaMIA

MamaMIA documents Singapore’s traditional neighbourhood convenience stores from the perspectives of the people who run them, preserving their stories and the memories residents associate with these shops.

Anchored Memories 

Anchored Memories uncovers first-hand stories of the people who lived and worked around Singapore’s old harbourfront, revealing the human history behind the area’s transformation.

Eterna Trees 

EternaTrees treats trees as living archives, using guided and self-guided trails to reveal the memories, beliefs and community histories rooted in Singapore’s landscape.

Ten Years to Grow a Tree

Ten Years to Grow a Tree explores how Traditional Chinese Medicine developed in Singapore and the practitioners who have sustained its knowledge and traditions across generations.

Engaging the Future and Younger Generation through Heritage, History, Culture 

Engaging the future and younger generation through heritage, history, culture, how do we make heritage matter to a new, future, and younger generation?

For Associate Professor Natalie Pang, University Librarian at NUS, the programme highlights the important role young people can play in deciding what stories of Singapore should be remembered and how they should be shared with future generations. 

Assoc Prof Pang said: “Singapore’s heritage is not only found in monuments and historic buildings. It also lives in everyday experiences, memories, food, places and the stories of communities. When young people take ownership of these stories and find new ways to share them, they help ensure that our heritage remains relevant and meaningful to future generations.”

Mr James Chan, Head of Programmes Office and Resilient Societies, Temasek Foundation, said: “Heritage comes alive and stays relevant when each generation finds its own way to reconnect with it. These young heritage champions have shown how Singapore’s heritage can be rediscovered and retold through new ideas, creative storytelling and community participation. This is what the TF-NUS Heritage Champions programme is all about. Temasek Foundation is excited to be part of this heritage journey with NUS and its co-partners in sparking innovations and programmes that drive meaningful impact in Singapore and beyond.”

Mr Jervais Choo, Deputy Director for Organisation Design and Innovation, National Heritage Board, said: “Engaging youth is an important part of NHB’s mission, because we believe the stewardship of our heritage must be passed from generation to generation. The TF-NUS Heritage Champions programme has been an effective way of empowering youth to take ownership of heritage in Singapore. The projects have been meaningful, and we’re especially heartened by how the youth have been able to forge genuine connections on the ground with heritage communities. We hope these experiences will inspire them to continue playing an active role in being champions of our heritage.”

Ms Amira Karim, President of the Singapore Heritage Society said: “The Singapore Heritage Society is heartened to see young people taking ownership of Singapore’s stories in such creative and meaningful ways. The TF-NUS Heritage Champions programme embodies our belief that heritage is not just about monuments and artefacts, but also the living traditions, memories and knowledge passed down through generations.

These projects have done remarkable work surfacing both tangible and intangible heritage, from the skills of ice-cream hawkers to wartime culinary traditions and the stories of the Orang Laut. Just as importantly, they help young people develop the confidence and vocabulary to advocate for the histories and communities they care about. As questions about how we develop, conserve and remember our city receive greater attention, we need future generations who can not only appreciate heritage, but articulate why it matters.

We hope the programme will continue to nurture young people as active stewards and advocates for our shared heritage, ensuring that as Singapore changes, the stories of the people and places that shaped us remain visible and meaningful.”

Let’s hear from the TF-NUS Heritage Champions programme participants!

Scoops of Memory, Shore to Shore, The Good OL Days, Wartime Tuckshop and Hainanese Cooked are among the projects that offered fresh perspectives on Singapore’s past. Let’s hear from them!

Rachel Lie, 22, from Shore to Shore said: “Through Shore to Shore, we wanted people to see that Singapore’s story extends beyond the mainland, to the communities that once lived across the Southern Islands. The response to our tours and workshops has encouraged us to continue building on the project. We are applying for a grant to continue our work with the community so that more people can experience the islands for themselves.”

Totaan Aljean Choong, 20, from Scoops of Memory said: “Preserving heritage is not just about documenting the past but ensuring that the voices and memories from yesterday will be remembered tomorrow. Interviewing ice-cream hawkers and working with a small but resourceful team has taught me valuable lessons in research, interdisciplinary collaboration and perseverance. I am grateful to NUS Libraries and Temasek Foundation for giving us the opportunity to save a scoop of Singapore’s history for generations to come.”

What’s Next for TF-NUS Heritage Student-led Community Heritage Projects?

The inaugural run for the TF-NUS Heritage Champions programme is successful, NUS Libraries will be continuing this programme, with discussions with potential partners ongoing. If you like more information and updates on this programme, this will be made available at a later date on their website – https://nus.edu.sg/nuslibraries/tf-nus-heritage-champions/about-the-programme 

Prior to this TF-NUS Heritage Champions showcase, I heard about Temasek Foundation working with NUS Libraries on this heritage programme, thanks to Wee Liang from Hainanese Cooked project. I was invited to their media preview of Hainanese Cooked stamp rally, the team gave insights and details of TF-NUS Heritage Champions programme that they were involved in. Read more about my story on “Join Bo Hou on a Stamp Rally to learn about Hainanese businesses in Singapore”

At the TF-NUS Heritage Champions Showcase at Temasek Shophouse, I visited each booth discovering and learning more about their community heritage projects, listening to their stories, experiences, how they brought their community heritage projects to life, engaging the community, creating more publicity and awareness for the heritage projects that their group was involved in.

At every community project booth, whenever possible I would asked each team on what future plans they have for the community project that they had produced and brought to life, how they can bring their project further and onto a bigger scale.

Some of the teams have considered bringing their student-led community heritage projects further, although they face constraints and challenges of balancing a working life with their passion-led community heritage projects. 

I personally feel that some of those student-led community heritage projects have the potential to be developed further and bigger under another organisation’s events/festivals lineup. They could be featured in future heritage/cultural event listings.

With my personal interest in heritage, history, cultural documentation and visual storytelling that I started in the 2010s till date, witnessing the younger generation (Disclaimer: I am not that old) carrying the torch, continuing on this trail blazing journey via TF-NUS Heritage Champions programme, to pass it on and pay it forward priceless heritage, history and culture to the future generations, all those projects warm and brighten me up together with fellow (and senior) heritage enthusiasts, researchers and practitioners.

On a personal note, I would do my part to highlight the TF-NUS Heritage Champions projects, share with my heritage, history, culture networks, recommending them whenever possible. The younger generation has done a great job with their student-led community heritage projects, it’s now up to the rest of the Singapore community (not just heritage sector) to help develop and grow them further and bigger. 

* Information courtesy of NUS Libraries and Gloo PR *

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