No_7_November_and_December__1950 — Page 49

the hall prepared for the evening Alm show. Each presenta- tion of films, lasting one hour, was connected with the subject of the preceding talk, and in all twenty-three films were screened. Only one, a cartoon on planning, was repeated, being shown at the beginning of the first and the end of the last official presentations. These twenty-three films were obtained from the British Council, the Public Relations Department, the Army Kinematograph Corporation, the Government of India Information Service and the United States Information Service, whose officers projected the whole of these films, using their own equipment. During the exten- sion period of the exhibition, the Public Relations Department screened each evening such films as were requested by popular demand.

In order that an estimate could be gained by the organisers of the interest which the exhibition had aroused, visitors on leaving were asked to complete a questionnaire, stating what subjects or aspects of subjects they would like to see and hear about in future exhibitions, how frequently such exhibitions should be held and what comments they had to make on the present exhibition.

An immediate result of the answers to the questionnaire on the first day was that the whole of the static exhibition was translated into Chinese, Tamil, Romanised Malay and Jawi

Malay. This work was done voluntarily, without reward, by members of the public who offered their services for the benefit of their fellows who could not read English.

The details of the replies, which were received from people of every age group, every major race in Singapore and every walk of life, have not yet been considered by the authorities concerned and are therefore not available for publication. It is possible, however, to state that propositions have been put forward for the making of models by schools, for photographic competitions, for increased radio broadcasts to schools and other methods of publicising the work of the various depart- ments.

The interest taken in the exhibition by the members of the younger generation who formed so large a part of the 15,000 visitors emphasises the slowly awakening social con- science of the people of Singapore, With this awakening is coming a clearer understanding that a town consists essentially of people and a deeper appreciation of the working of each social unit, which, from the small community group to the large town, reflects the degree of development of the concep- tion of the home.

As Sir George Pepler said in concluding his address:—

"I hope at least that what I have said has made clear that the home is the root of the town. Not a root that will flourish in any soil, but one which must be planted with forethought and care and be nourished by hard work and high endeavour."

Examining the sketch design for the Singapore waterfront are, right to left, Mr. A. C. Kayanan, Chief Planner to the Philippines, Mr. G. E. Magnay and Mr. Koren, Officers of the S.I.T., who organised the Exhibition, and Mr. P. G. Peralta, Assistant Public Relations Officer.

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