FORT TANJONG KATONG

1. FORT TANJONG KATONG A Community Problem Solving Project By: Shona Tan, 412 Megan Quah, Gracia Lee, Sarah Giam, 413 Tjoa Shze Hui, 414 Tan Wei Qing, 415

2. AREA OF CONCERN Historical significance of Fort Tanjong Katong Recent excavation and subsequent reburial of Fort Tanjong Katong 3. Current state of Fort Tanjong Katong

3. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE • 45 residents surveyed, all living within 1.5 km vicinity of the fort.  • 64.4% of residents surveyed did not know about the fort’s existence • 35.6% of residents surveyed knew about the fort. About 2/3 of the people surveyed living around the fort do not know about its existence.

4. CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED Isolated location of excavated bastion of Fort within Katong Park 2. Derelict appearance of the excavated bastion

5. UNDERLYING PROBLEM Given that Fort Tanjong Katong is on the verge of being disregarded, how might we publicize its existence and promote its significance through tangible means, such that this valuable historical site will be more widely-known, especially among the Katong community, and will hopefully receive continued protection in the year 2008 and beyond?

6. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS • Prominent Signage (Katong Park entrance) • Interactive activities with schools • Sale of Fort Merchandise (button badges, notebooks) • Work with National Heritage Board (NHB) to spread awareness/generate interest by: a. Setting up a long-term exhibit at a local museum b. Producing and distributing information booklets that will be available to the public at local museums c. Featuring article in the newsletter(s) distributed by NHB on Fort

7. INTENDED PLAN OF ACTION • 1) Conduct preliminary research on the Fort • 2) Establish partnerships with relevant authorities • 3) Promote the Fort amongst the Katong community • 4) Set up a signage in the park

8. IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN OF ACTION • Phase 1: Preliminary Research (April – Sept 08)Research on Fort Tanjong Katong’s historical background and what had been done in recent years • - Conduct survey with residents in Katong area on their knowledge of Fort Tanjong Katong • - Interview Ms. Ang Chiean Hong, NParks Head (Bishan-Punggol), and Mr. Oh, Manager • Conduct site survey at Katong Park

9. IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN OF ACTION Phase 2: Establishing Partnerships (May – Sept ‘08)Partnerships with: - Mr Lim Biow Chuan, MP for Marine Parade GRC and Mountbatten CCC - Dr. Widodo Johannes, Assistant Professor at National University of Singapore (Architecture Department)

10. IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN OF ACTION Phase 3: Presenting Presentation Materials (Sept – Oct ‘08)-Design merchandise for sale -Prepare information booklets -Compile Presentation Materials

11. IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN OF ACTION • Phase 4: Community Outreach (Sept – Dec ‘08)- Outreach to schools around Katong area: • Tanjong Katong Secondary School • Chung Cheng High School (Main) • Kong Hwa School • Tanjong Katong Primary School • Collaboration with: • NParks • National Heritage Board (NHB)

12. IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN OF ACTION Phase 5: Continued Partnership with Organisations (Oct ‘08 – Jan ‘09) -With National Youth Council (NYC): Youth Changemakers scheme. -With National Heritage Board (NHB -With NParks and construction company:Construction and implementation of signboard -With other schools

13. IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN OF ACTION Phase 6: Measure of project’s success (Feb ‘08 – Jul ‘09) -Survey at schools visited -Survey on Website  -Repeat on-site survey

14. OBSTACLES FACED

15. OBSTACLES FACED

16. ACCOMPLISHMENTS March-Sept 2008 Conducted extensive preliminary research - including 2 site surveys of Katong Park - meetings and interviews with various authorities - door-to-door survey of nearby residential area 2) Concretised action plan based on external feedback and research

17. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Sept- Dec 2008 Designed and produced merchandise - including notebooks, badges, flyers Held outreaches at various schools - morning assembly talks, powerpoint presentations, information boards - sale of merchandise Presented project to YoungChangeMakers, part of National Youth Council and received grant Submitted signage design to NParks

18. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Dec 2008- Apr 2009 Explored possibility of online collaboration with NHB Confirmed signage design and set up signage at Katong Park

19. EVALUATING EFFECTIVENESS • School Visits/Presentations - Surveys/Feedback Forms • Merchandise/Information Booklets - Surveys/Feedback Forms • Website - Hit counter/Comments • Collaboration with authorities • Signage - Post-project survey among residents.

20. CHALLENGES FACED • - Largely ambivalent attitude of the community towards Singapore’s heritage and a lack of support for our project • Circumstances made our project’s initial objective unfeasible • - Nature of project highly dependent on liaison/ response from the authorities;project progress often slowed, beyond our control

21. REFLECTIONS • Focused too much on some aspects, instead of diverging our interests and increasing our chances of success • Good group dynamics • Overall, we believe we have made an impact on the community through encouraging them to learn about their heritage, and by providing them with the means to do so.