Our modern world is becoming increasingly diverse and complex, each one of our identities being a rich mosaic of experiences, expressed by what music we listen to, what languages we speak and the religions we follow. In London alone, the census data in 2021 showed that over 300 languages were spoken at home with 22% of Londoners being bilingual. And nowhere is the blending of cultures more celebrated than on the small island country of Singapore.
Singapore's storied past of recent independence and freedom has caused it to become an epicentre of multiculturalism, making it viewed as the picture-perfect image of what the diverse future will look like globally. With four national languages, Malay, Tamil, Chinese and English, it is described by many to be the melting pot of Asia, which is best expressed through the variety in its cuisine.
If you step into a local hawker centre in Singapore, the first thing you would notice is the endless and overwhelming menu, each dish honed until perfection and then handed down to the next generation, whose responsibility is to pass on the tradition by teaching it to their own children. Picture this: a million dishes are at your fingertips, should you order: the Michelin-starred Hainanese chicken rice, the locally revered Laksa or be brave and order the famous chilli crab, nevertheless, what you order is assured to have you both impressed and bewildered by the explosion of flavours. This explosion of culture represented by cuisine is what best defines Singapore.
But what makes a country's culture diverse, and how has Singapore managed to become so culturally unique? A country is classified as diverse when a mixture of different people are residents. The mixture of people can be categorised into religion, ethnicity, age, sexuality etc.
The reason Singapore has managed so well at creating a peaceful mix of cultures is because of its early immigration from countries such as India, Malaysia and China who, for generations, interacted harmoniously and have integrated seamlessly. A term which you may not have heard of before is amalgamation, which is a term which refers to the merging of cultures rather than the elimination of one or the other, and this is exactly what Singapore has striven to achieve and is the reason why it should be considered as a role model for the future.
In conclusion, the emerging mixture of cultures resulting in people identifying from multiple countries is something which should be celebrated and praised, as ultimately, it creates a vibrant and unique background.
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