SG-UK Partnership ‘House of Memories’ Dementia Awareness Programme to be developed by the British Council, National Heritage Board and National Museums Liverpool
Singapore, 29 April 2019 – The British High Commission, Singapore is pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), between The British Council, National Heritage Board (NHB) and National Museums Liverpool on 29 April 2019, to develop House of Memories, a museum-led dementia awareness training programme, in Singapore.
This will result in the adaptation of National Museums Liverpool’s award-winning UK programme to the Singapore context by developing a Singapore version of the My House of Memories digital app using artefacts in the National Collection managed by NHB.
The My House of Memories app is a digital resource developed by National Museums Liverpool in the UK to share tools and techniques from the training, based on the power of objects to elicit deeply held memories. The app provides access to hundreds of social history objects from museum collections. In consultation with people living with dementia and their carers as well as healthcare professionals, the app was co-created to be intuitive, easy to use, and accessible. It uses multi-media and multi-sensory approaches to stimulate conversation and interactions between people living with dementia and their caregivers.
More than 12,000 health and social care professionals and family carers have already accessed the House of Memories training programme across the UK and internationally. In advance of the MOU signing, Mei-kwei Barker, Director of the British Council said: “We are pleased to sign this MOU with the National Heritage Board and National Museums Liverpool, affirming the strong cultural ties between Singapore and UK governments and our shared commitment to enhancing wellbeing and access to arts and heritage. We look forward to supporting the wider reach of the innovative House of Memories programme.”
HE Scott Wightman, British High Commissioner to Singapore said: “The UK is a strong supporter of inclusivity in arts and heritage. This collaboration is a great example of the SG-UK Partnership for the Future, launched in January by the UK Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt and Singapore’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan.”
Carol Rogers, Director of Engagement at National Museums Liverpool said: “We are immensely proud to be working with The British Council and the National Heritage Board to develop House of Memories in Singapore. Building on the success of House of Memories internationally, this will enable heritage institutions in Singapore to support local communities through person-centred care, which is at the heart of our training. Museums can be fantastic resources to help unlock memories, improve communication and understanding, and enrich the lives of those living with dementia. We’re excited to see how House of Memories will help people living with dementia in Singapore and their caregivers to connect and share memories together.”
House of Memories programme in Singapore
NHB plans to introduce the House of Memories programme in Singapore as part of its Silver Hubs initiative at the heritage institutions1. Since 2018, the Silver Hubs initiative at the heritage institutions has been introducing a suite of age-friendly programmes to appeal to diverse groups of seniors.
The Singapore version of the My House of Memories digital app will feature a curated selection of objects from the National Collection. These objects will be selected in consultation with a group of people living with dementia and their carers, as well as health and social care organisations to ensure that they resonate with the target group. The app will first be developed in English, and its second phase will see the translation into Singapore’s official languages.
The app will be complemented by training for health and social care professionals, family, friends and care partners of persons with dementia. Through the training, they will learn to use the Singapore version of the My House of Memories app to improve the care experiences for themselves and for persons with dementia. The programme will also be complemented by the other Silver Hubs programmes at the heritage institutions, including visits to the institutions.
Chang Hwee Nee, Chief Executive Officer of NHB, said: “NHB believes that participation in, and contribution to, the arts and heritage are beneficial to one’s wellbeing, especially that of our silver community. Under Singapore’s first master plan for the heritage and museum sector – Our SG Heritage Plan, NHB is working on making our museums and heritage more accessible to the underserved communities, including seniors and persons with dementia. Programmes such as House of Memories can help us achieve this as it allows more to tap into and enjoy our National Collection, even using the pieces within as conversation starters for reminiscence, sharing and bonding.”
Event Details:
‘House of Memories’ MOU Signing with The British Council, National Heritage Board and National Museums Liverpool
Date and Time: 29 April 2019 at 2.00 p.m. for registration
Location: Eden Hall, 28 Nassim Road Singapore 258403
Dress code: Business
For media inquiries and interviews, please contact Catrina Cortes (British High Commission) or Joanne Tay (British Council)
British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. Using the UK’s cultural resources, we make a positive contribution to the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust. We work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Each year we reach over 20 million people face-to-face and more than 500 million people online, via broadcasts and publications.
www.britishcouncil.sg
About the British High Commission, Singapore
The British High Commission in Singapore works to develop and sustain the important and longstanding relationship between the UK and Singapore. We do this to build our prosperity, to safeguard our national security, to champion British values and to support British nationals overseas.
About the Singapore-UK Partnership for the Future:
PM Lee and PM May first agreed to launch the SG-UK Partnership for the Future at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in April 2018. It is a commitment from both governments to deepen our ties across the breadth of our work in the areas of:
- Digital economy
- Sustainable business and innovation
- Security and defence
- Education, culture and youth
2019 is a significant year for both Singapore and the United Kingdom, marking the Bicentennial of the founding of modern Singapore and the beginning of a new era for the UK. The SG-UK Partnership for the Future builds on our historical links by celebrating all that our nations are already achieving together and looks to the future by launching new collaboration initiatives.
On 4 January, the Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and his counterpart, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, met to launch the SG-UK Partnership for the Future and the joint statement is published on Gov.uk and MFA.gov.sg. If you have an activity or event that you wish to be part of it please send details to UKinSG or direct people to the campaign’s comms lead, Nandini Prashad.
About House of Memories
House of Memories is National Museums Liverpool’s museum-led dementia awareness training programme. It offers training, resources and activities to enable caregivers to provide person-centred care for people to live well with dementia.
National Museums Liverpool has been running House of Memories at the Museum of Liverpool since 2012, working with people in the health and social care sector and training more than 12,000 caregivers across the UK and internationally to date. Part of the programme includes the award-winning My House of Memories app; a digital app designed in consultation with people living with dementia and their caregivers, and the first of its kind in the world, which was launched at the House of Commons in 2014.
The programme has won multiple awards, most recently the Exceptional Achievement Award, Museums Association in 2018.
www.houseofmemories.co.uk
About National Museums Liverpool
National Museums Liverpool comprises eight venues, including some of the most visited museums in England outside of London. Our collections are among the most important and varied in Europe and contain everything from Impressionist paintings and rare beetles to a lifejacket from the Titanic. We attracted more than 4 million visitors in 2018. Our venues are the Museum of Liverpool, World Museum, the Walker Art Gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum, International Slavery Museum, Border Force National Museum, Sudley House and the Lady Lever Art Gallery. National Museums Liverpool is regulated by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Museums and galleries regulated by DCMS are exempt charities under Schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011. Registered Office: World Museum, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EN.
www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
About the National Heritage Board, Singapore
The National Heritage Board (NHB) was formed on 1 August 1993. As the custodian of Singapore’s heritage, NHB is responsible for telling the Singapore story, sharing the Singaporean experience and imparting our Singapore spirit. NHB’s mission is to preserve and celebrate the shared heritage of our diverse communities, for the purpose of education, nation-building and cultural understanding. It manages the national museums and heritage institutions, and sets policies relating to heritage sites, monuments and the National Collection.
Through the National Collection, NHB curates heritage programmes and presents exhibitions to connect the past, present and future generations of Singaporeans. NHB is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Please visit www.nhb.gov.sg for more information.