Singapore Kindness Movement fosters human connection with anthology series

The Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) has launched an anthology series as part of its annual “Be greater” campaign, celebrating the power of human connection.

This follows SKM’s “Graciousness survey 2024”, which found that more than four in five respondents reported encountering some form of barrier to interacting with their neighbours.

Also known as “Shorts³”, the series is part of the annual campaign, as SKM is committed to encouraging Singaporeans to adopt and practice the values to be kinder neighbours, recognising the oftentimes “unseen” members of the community, according to the release.

Originally ideated by SKM and locally produced, the series includes three short films titled “The curious case of Claire Charles”, “Kari (Curry, 咖喱, கறி)” and “Bubur cha cha”. The films feature Singaporean talents such as Benjamin Kheng, Shye, Farah Lola, Ebi Shankara, Bridget Fernandez, and Tommy Wong. 

Available on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, the series highlights pro-social norms such as mutual aid, appreciation, and gracious living in the neighborhoods, emphasising the importance of cultivating neighbourly relationships and demonstrating a kinder, more connected community within audiences’ reach.

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Ahead of the release, SKM also teased the series with a social media stunt featuring the "launch" of a pair of shorts. This stunt aims to leverage wordplay to spark conversations and draw attention to SKM's social media channels, where the prank was revealed to unveil the actual trilogy of short films.

Its Instagram post features a pair of shorts designed by local artist Teratai Mokhzan. The design was inspired by the short film "Kari" and are adorned with prints of curry ingredients artfully splashed across the front and back on a bright yellow base. The yellow symbolises the gerbera daisy, SKM’s adopted symbol of appreciation, while the pink of the waistband symbolises love, an evergreen facet of kindness.

Apart from the films, SKM has partnered with local brand Cruddy to unveil an out-of-home (OOH) campaign featuring imaginative artwork at the Bugis Downtown-East West Line MRT walkway. Running until 27 November, this collaboration aims to harness Cruddy's playful signature style and utilise negative space to evoke a sense of community among Singaporeans.

The year-long campaign has expanded into the heartlands through Project heARTlands 24. A collaborative partnership with the Housing and Development Board (HDB) that aims to infuse the heartlands with art and kindness, Project heArtlands 24 will offer an experiential and immersive experience this year, designed as an “Escape Room” concept. It will be unveiled on 2 December 2024 and run through till 18 February 2025. It will be hosted at HDB Hub, Northshore Plaza, Kampung Admiralty, and Heartbeat@Bedok on various dates which will be released on SKM’s social media platforms.

Michelle Tay, executive director, SKM, said: “Our annual ‘Be greater’ campaign presents our continued efforts to spread and inspire kindness in Singapore. [...] Through the creativity and storytelling of these three short films, I hope it broadens the mindsets of people that we all can be kinder as neighbours, as we aspire for a caring and considerate community. It is a call to Singaporeans to engage meaningfully, respect our multiculturalism, and inspire others to foster greater connections with our neighbours. We are proud to have worked with amazing local filmmakers and talents who have brought our ideas to life.” 

“The ‘Be greater’ campaign is about inspiring Singaporeans to be a greater version of themselves. We’re delighted to partner with local brand, Cruddy, and the continued support from our partner HDB amplifies the values of appreciation, mutual aid and gracious living across the island. While we’ve had fun bringing this campaign to life, I hope it will evoke change and spark meaningful conversations that eventually create a kinder and more gracious Singapore,” Tay added.

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