Singapore Memory Project Community Heritage Portal

Overview

Singapore Memory is a community heritage portal and national initiative designed to collect, preserve, and share personal memories and cultural content related to Singapore. The portal allows Singaporeans and others to contribute memories in the form of text, photographs, audio, and video, building a crowdsourced archive of the nation's lived experience.

History and Founding

The Singapore Memory Project (SMP) was launched in 2011 as a whole-of-nation initiative led by the Singapore Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (now the Ministry of Communications and Information) and facilitated by the National Library Board (NLB). The project aimed to collect five million personal memories by 2015, Singapore's 50th anniversary of independence, and was established to address concerns about the permanent loss of the nation's heritage and cultural identity.

In October 2023, the NLB expanded the initiative into the Singapore Memories portal (singaporememories.gov.sg), incorporating both the original Singapore Memory Project collection and contributions from the National Archives of Singapore's Citizen Archivist project.

Collections and Holdings

The portal aggregates personal memories contributed by individuals, community groups, companies, and institutions. Materials include photographs, video clips, audio recordings, and written recollections spanning Singapore's history from the colonial era to the present day. Partners include academic institutions, heritage agencies, public bodies, and community organizations. A network of volunteer Memory Corps members has assisted in collecting and digitizing contributions.

Access

The original portal at singaporememory.sg was undergoing review as of 2023 and not accepting new submissions. The expanded Singapore Memories portal at singaporememories.gov.sg continues to accept contributions.