Journey of Possibilities

The jury panels comprise members from the Rail Corridor Consultation Group and representatives from the public and private sectors.

I attended "Journey of Possibilities - Ideas Competition on 'The Rail Corridor' for Youth Challenge at the URA Centre after reading my friend Jerome Lim's blog "President Tony Tan Keng Yam visits the Journey of Possibilities".

As I preferred to visit the exhibition on my own on a quiet afternoon, to avoid peak periods for visitors and for my fear of "crowd phobia", I went to watch the public exhibition in peace at my own pace.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is Singapore’s national land use planning and conservation authority. URA’s mission is “to make Singapore a great city to live, work and play in”. We strive to create a vibrant and sustainable city of distinction by planning and facilitating Singapore’s physical development in partnership with the community.

The URA launched the Ideas Competition on 30 November 2011 to draw innovative and fresh new ideas from the public in addressing some of the key challenges and issues in planning for the future use of the Rail Corridor.

Joint First Prize - "Youth Challenge":

1st Prize: "Minimum Time, Maximum Experience"

Shauna Woo Jia Qian; Mary Lisa Chua; Elizabeth Lim; Lim Ci Hui; Christiane Tan (Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary)

Jury Citation

This polished presentation was well thought out, thoroughly researched, and impressive in the breadth and novelty of the ideas displayed. Each re-reading of the poster reveals an additional layer of considered detail and interesting concepts. The balance between professional touches, comprehensive planning, and ambitious ideals made this a unanimous choice for the jury.  The submissions shown here ". (Source: URA)

1st Prize: "Spiral Treetop Walk"

Ho Yu Ning; Jamie Lim Si Min; Jean Lim Le Hui; Jeanette Tham Mei Yu; Karina Lalchand Sheri (Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School)

Jury Citation

The jury were captivated by the youthful vibrancy of this proposal that was not only imaginative, but clearly addressed the needs of many different groups of people. The expressive graphite drawings, the level of detail, and the exuberance of the ideas captured the spirit of what the Rail Corridor could be. (Source: URA)

The award-winning ideas were presented clearly, simple, no-fuss drawings in black-and-white, no complicated, complex technical terms which an ordinary person like me with no formal training in arts and design could understand.

The "rail corridor" is another public park in Singapore,  for the relationship between the Earth's ecosystem to maintain the balance of  Nature with green environment for recreation, jogging, brisk walk, lanes for bicycles, lanes for the elders to stroll safely,.

There is a growing awareness of Singaporeans in "citizen ownership" - this land is mine and belongs to all Singaporeans to share.  The public parks are not prohibited landed properties exclusively for the owners.

Wonderful !  Our students in the schools with their creative, innovative ideas in an international competition to win their best imaginations, their dreams on a journey of possibilities to change a plot of land which was recently only a railway track linking Singapore to Malaysia.

The educational system in Singapore augurs well for the future of our young students to face the youth challenge in a competitive world.  The students of today in a global city, open society with useful, constructive and positive ideas for the benefit in society.

The "Y Generation" in Singapore and all over the world who are exposed to Facebook, Internet and international news easily available, they are no longer the proverbial "frogs in a well" with parochial views. 
As Jack Neo's film "I Not Stupid " mixing in moral messages with some humour and a good dose of drama to depict the funny side of life in Singapore.

Their ideas were translated from these artists'  masterpiece, using an blank canvas into a  place “to make Singapore a great city to live, work and play in.  A vibrant place for all Singaporeans and everyone in a land of opportuntities, prosperity, peace and harmony.  Once not too long ago, the idea of an "Integrated Resort" in Singapore was only a blank canvas too...

It is my pleasure to blog to express to share my photojournal experience on my enjoyable visit to the Singapore City Gallery at URA.

The following is a photo of a 3-D model display of  the urban renewal of development in Singapore now and the journey of possibilities in the near future, including the "rail corridor" to be developed to change the face of Singapore.

These are development plans by URA, building developers and contractors, consultants and commercial agencies to bring these ideas and concepts, land resettlement, land reclamation for many people to work together for the benefits of  Singapore to bring dreams to reality.  "Rome wasn't built in one day" !


Photo Credit:  Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore

The black-and-white photos below were found on the Internet.  The powerful German military officers poring over a map to change the lives of the countries they wanted to capture.  Under the leadership of  Adolf Hitler.  "Lebensraum" which means living space in German. Hitler wanted raw materials, and land.

They were planning with military strategies in a War Room to capture and destroy.

These are the great men with great ideas using human brains for different ideas and different motives.

Same, same (for the use of maps as shown in the different sets of  photos) but different!  The difference between  peace and war!

Today Germany is the European Union's most populous nation. The German Empire (das Kaiserreich, das deutsche Reich) reached its zenith under Kaiser Wilhelm II just prior to the start of World War I (der Erste Weltkrieg) in 1914. After the "War to end all wars" Germany attempted to become a democratic republic, but the Weimar Republic proved to be only a short-lived prelude to the rise of Hitler and the dictatorial "Third Reich" of the Nazis.

But it was not until August 1961 that a wall physically split the two Germanys. The Berlin Wall (die Mauer) and the barbed wire fence that lined the entire border between East and West Germany became a major symbol of the Cold War. By the time the Wall fell in November 1989, Germans had lived two separate national lives for four decades. (Source: Germany Today - Facts)

From the lessons of history of all countries in the world...war-torn countries  in the past, on-going or future with threats of nuclear war with powerful military weapons to blow up our world,  Man's main concern is a peaceful world with freedom from fear and threats as a nation.