Milestones
|
|
 2009 marked the 50th year of MICA's establishment. As part of a series of commemorative events, we showcase important milestones in MICA's history. Click here to read about these milestones.
|
|
| 1823 |
- First library at Raffles Institution
|
| 1824 |
- First newspaper, Singapore Chronicle, circulated
|
| 1856 |
- Victoria Theatre and Memorial Hall built
|
| 1887 |
- First museum, the National Museum, built
|
| 1934 |
- Present day MITA Building, then Hill Street Police Station, completed
|
| 1935 |
- First radio broadcast
- First cinema, Cathay, built
|
| |
| 1959 |
- Ministry of Culture was set up with S Rajaratnam as its Minister
|
| 1963 |
- Inception of national television, Television Singapura. Later renamed Television Malaysia (Singapura) when Singapore became part of Malaysia
|
| 1965 |
- Encik Othman Wok became the Minister of Culture & Social Affairs
|
| 1966 |
- The phrase, "to inform, educate and entertain", became popular, thus laying the groundwork for MITA's first mission statement
- Radio and TV Malaysia (Singapura) became Radio and TV Singapura
|
| |
| 1968 |
- Jek Yuen Thong became the Minister of Culture
- National Archives and Records Centre set up
- National Theatre Company established. It comprised the Singapore National Orchestra, Chinese Orchestra, Choir, and Dance Company
|
|
| 1969 |
- Wee Toon Boon became the Acting Minister of Culture
- First full-time branch library at Queenstown opened
|
|
| 1971 |
- Public Monuments Board (PMB) set up
|
|
| 1978 |
- Ong Teng Cheong became Acting Minister for Culture.
- Instituted the Cultural Medallion.
- The first Festival of Arts
|
|
| 1979 |
- Inauguration of National Courtesy Campaign and Speak Mandarin Campaign
|
|
| 1980 |
- The Broadcasting Division of the Ministry of Culture became a statutory board, the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation
|
|
| 1981 |
- S Dhanabalan became Minister for Culture
|
|
| 1985 |
- Dissolution of the Ministry of Culture. Its Information Division came under the new Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). Its arts promotion component was assimilated into the Ministry of Community Development (MCD) as the Cultural Affairs Division. Yeo Ning Hong became Minister for Communications and Information
|
|
|
1989
1990
|
- Release of the report by Advisory Council on the Culture and the Arts
|
- The Information Division of the MCI and the Cultural Affairs Division of MCD, together with other associated departments and statutory boards, reunited to form the Ministry of Information and the Arts. BG (NS) George Yeo was MITA's acting Minister, and subsequently its first minister
|
|
| 1991 |
- The Festival of Arts Secretariat, Singapore Cultural Foundation, Arts Division of MITA, and the National Theatre Trust merged to form the National Arts Council (NAC)
|
|
| 1993 |
- The National Archives, National Museum, and the Oral History Department merged to form the National Heritage Board (NHB)
|
|
| 1994 |
- MSBC was corporatised to become Singapore International Media
- The Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA) was formed as a statutory under MITA to oversee and promote the broadcasting industry in Singapore
- First public Internet access available
|
|
| 1995 |
- National Library Board formed
- First cable TV service
|
|
| 1998 |
- Singapore Film Commission (SFC) formed
- Present MITA Building gazetted as a national monument
|
|
| 1999 |
- Lee Yock Suan became the Minister for MITA
- Festival of Arts merged with the Festival of Asian Performing Arts to become the annual Singapore Arts Festival
|
|
| 2000 |
- MITA HQ moves to 140 Hill Street
- Renaissance City Project ($50m over 5 years)
|
|
| 2001 |
- The Infocomm technology (ICT) function (under then-Ministry of Communications and Information Technology) came under MITA. The expanded Ministry was renamed the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, but retained the acronym MITA
- Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) became one of MITA's statutory boards
- David Lim Tik En became the Acting Minister
|
|
| 2002 |
- Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, opened
- MITA restructured and came up with the new vision: A Creative and Connected Singapore. MITA saw itself playing an important role in propelling Singapore's creative economy and drafted its Creative Industries Development Strategy.
- Renaissance City Project II ($12m per year from MITA block)
|
|
| 2003 |
- Singapore Broadcasting Authority, Singapore Films Commission and Films and Publications Department (previously under MITA HQ) merged to form Media Development Authority (MDA) on 1 Jan
- DesignSingapore Initiative ($48m over 5 years)
- Media 21 blueprint ($100m over 5 years)
- Dr Lee Boon Yang became Minister
|
|
| 2004 |
- Increase in industry funding under Media 21 of $65m
- The Ministry's acronym is changed from "MITA" to "MICA"
- Creative Youth Xchange Competition launched
- Revamped Singapore Infomap launched
|
|
| 2005 |
- Inaugural cultural diplomacy initiative, Singapore Season held in London from 25 February to 1 April
- Inaugural Singapore Art Show 2005, the largest curated art show of its kind and a new national platform to celebrate local visual arts and artists
- Creative Community Singapore initiative launched
- Plans to transform the City Hall and Supreme Court Building into a world-class art gallery announced
- Singapore’s first specialised Arts School announced
- President S R Nathan officially opened Drama Centre with the new National Library building
- Singapore topped the rankings of the Networked Readiness Index 2004-2005 for the first time
- Crea©tive – Reinvent Your Future, an annual clustering of high profile events led by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) to celebrate and promote the creative industries comprising the arts, design and media inaugurated
- President’s Design Awards officially launched by President SR Nathan
- First bi-annual Singapore Design Festival held
- Inaugural Singapore Season in London
- Inaugural ‘Beyond 2005: The Global Summit for Creative Industries’
|
|
| 2006 |
- Dr Vivian Balakrishnan appointed Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts
- Memories at Old Ford Factory opened
- Singapore commemorated 25 years of infocomm. Singapore 's 10-year masterplan, Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) launched. Next Generation National Infocomm Infrastructure (Next Gen NII) announced
- Library 2010 (L2010) plan for the next five years announced
- Singapore hosted the 2006 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank under the auspices of Singapore 2006 (S2006)
- First Singapore Biennale, an international biennale of contemporary arts held in conjunction with S2006
- Interactive and Digital Media (IDM) identified as key strategic research and development area by National Research Foundation
- National Library at Stamford Road officially re-opened by President S R Nathan
- Formation of National Marketing Action Committee (NMAC)
- Agreement on cultural cooperation covering the Creative Industries signed between Singapore and China.
- Inaugural Creative Industries Scholarships Awards Ceremony
- Creative Industries Manpower, Skills and Training Council formed
- Inaugural Creative Community Singapore Greenfield Festival
|
|
|
|