Today's Debate

Proposition	Opposition
Shang Fa Enough arts/culture venues - In S’pore, we already have arts venues like Esplanade - > 7000 arts/culture activities last year - Erosion of own traditional cultures - No limit to culture, true. We already have more than enough avenues. Roadshows, museums.	Han Cong Repository for Past - Safekeep past, history and tradition - Promote culture, heritage, sense of identity - Relevance; no limit to culture - Learning from past mistakes; not just experiential. If cultures die, museum is the last place for us to remember. - SG is small and unique - Treasure our own culture and status - Need to emphasise SG culture - Man without culture = body without soul - Roots - As we continue to grow, land depleted. Heritage contents need to be preserved in a museum. Deepens understanding of others - Erosion: Museum promotes understanding of other countries. Caters to wide variety of interests - Museums for stamps, coins, army. Good egs. Widen perspectives of particular interests.
Wei Jie Economy - More job opportunities; museum does bring jobs, but theme park has more - Eg. Ticket sales, food. Museum = curator, guides, security - Museums = Longer and more stable jobs, but museums give much less jobs. Feed more people; giving more people a source of income. Saves more people. - Economic growth - Museum may be education; education fundamentally for economy - Man w/o culture = man w/o soul: In SG, we already have textbooks. Textbooks = soul. Museum = another soul. - Mass appeal: People interested in arts and culture a minority - Museums need funds	Jolene Tourism development - Museum: Tourism development - Travel agencies rather bring groups to museums Lack of Theme Park expertise - Theme parks require specialists / engineering expertise - Theme park competition; S’pore less likely to excel - Educational; people also learn culture and heritage - Visit SG for theme park or culture? Escape Theme Park or culture icons? Culture needs to be experienced - Not just internet: Culture is EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING. - Museums not easily replaced. Theme park is a significance of country’s wealth; museum = status and respect for a country. Lack of land - Themes parks are the same everywhere – Limited land area in Singapore. Tourists will go to better ones overseas. - Museum is a place for remembrance
Yi Fang Not enough culture to need a museum - Young country; only little culture here - Museum focuses only on SEA culture, rather than SG itself - We only have Jap Occupation history; not very significant - TP: more capital, more tourists - E.g. reasons for IR Experiential Learning of Culture does not need Ms - Festivals – experience culture. No need to have museums. - Museum not = experience of arts and culture. Try time machine. Or festivals. Accessibility - Theme Parks are for everyone. Museums have age restrictions. - Museum not as accessible as textbooks or internet.	Alvin Museums are a form of Entertainment too - Entertainment for the elderly - Museums for everyone; all ages from zero to elderly, unlike theme parks(?!) Relate to Globalisation - Globalisation: Our small culture needs to be preserved; need for uniqueness. Resist globalisation’s force of homogenisation.
Serene Importance of Entertainment - Both have entertainment value, but TP provides more - Museum only for interested people - If people are interested, they won’t need a museum. Textbooks, internet are sources of info	Rachel - Shang Fa said we have more than enough: There’s no limit to culture - Wei Jie: Job opportunities. But not stable income. Mostly part time - Yi Fang: SG is multiracial, SEA’s culture is ours. We have a mix. - Tourists come for our culture and food, don’t go just for theme parks.