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National Family Council Now Named Families for Life – Continued Conversations on Resilience in Relationships

By dadsforlifetoolbox on February 10, 2014 • ( 0 )

New Name, Lively Logo

Families for Life Council Chairman Mr Ching Wei Hong giving his welcome address

7 Feb 2014 –National Family Council (NFC) was renamed Families for Life (FFL), with a new “speech bubble” logo , to represent its renewed focus on connecting with Singapore families. Dynamically positioned, the simple yet bold and graphic logo, cleverly forms the letter ‘F’ for ‘Family’, and embodies an open, curious, and friendly personality.

“With 2014 marking the 20^th anniversary of the International Year of the Family, it is an opportunity for the Council to evolve its approach as it seeks to deepen conversations on family with families,” said Mr Ching Wei Hong, FFL Council Chairman, at FFL’s media launch.

“We believe that this continuous engagement is key to our goal of building strong and resilient families in society. This builds on the solid foundation laid by previous Council members, and we are grateful for that.”

Community-driven Identity

Since 2006, NFC has been championing the cause for resilient families, engaging stakeholders to provide feedback on pertinent issues and family-life education, as well as supporting programmes that enhance family bonds. The new name, FFL, better reflects the organisation’s current community-driven identity.

Going forward, the work under Marriage Central and Dads for Life workgroups will be consolidated under FFL.

FFL is working with partners to organise a series of major events, namely the Marriage Convention from 20 to 23 March, National Family Celebrations, and the Singapore Parenting Congress. This year’s Convention, focuses on building marriage foundations.

In the lead up to the Convention, fans of the airwaves will catch a series of informative radio capsules on Marriage, across 10 stations starting 7 February.

Besides major events to engage the community, FFL will engage Singaporeans on conversations about the family across numerous touch points through its 365 Days programme.

Enhanced Online Engagement

Click to watch!

Online, FFL is stepping up efforts to inspire two-way communication through Family First! on Facebook and Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. This is to provide platforms for Singaporeans to share ideas, advice and experiences on family matters.

Since its launch over the 2014 Chinese New Year, FFL’s Reunion Dinner video has garnered over 1,000 views in just one week. Told through a taxi driver, the video depicts reunion dinners of Singaporeans from all walks of life.

Subsequently, FFL’s Facebook contest saw posts from Singaporeans on their reunion dinners. One winning entry said: “If Chinese New Year was meant to celebrate the coming of the new year, Reunion Dinner would signify the celebration of family.”

Upcoming social media plans include ‘live’ online chats and an Instagram competition for National Family Celebrations.

Families for Life Council Member Mr Brian Liu (extreme right) answering queries from the media

FFL Council Member Mr Brian Liu looks forward to the intensified efforts to engage online . “I hope to interact and collaborate with Singaporeans on our social media platforms, especially young Singaporeans, to exchange views and ideas on how to create positive experiences to build stronger families.”

“It is my personal conviction that we must encourage Singaporeans to talk about family issues especially when this isn’t so easy in our cultural context. It is only through such dialogue that we can identify issues that families face and then we can work on solutions together,” said Mr Liu.

Family First! Dads in FFL

Meet some of our Families for Life Council (from left to right) – Ms Anita Fam (Council Member), Mrs Claire Nazar (Council Member), Mr Ching Wei Hong (Council Chairman), Mrs Sarojini Padmanathan (Council Member), Dr Thang Leng Leng (Council Member), Mr Brian Liu (Council Member), Mr Ling Kin Huat (Council Member)

Dads among the FFL Council Members include Chairman, Mr Ching, who is married with two children. He is Chief Operating Officer, OCBC Bank, and served on the Businesses for Families Council from June 2011 to July 2013.

Mr Chinnu Palanivelu, who is married with two children, age 3 and 6, said: “I am very happy and excited to be member of FFL Council. It is because a successful and happy family is a stepping stone for nation building. Nation does not exist without family. Hence, I would like to contribute in relation pro-family initiatives which will enable Singaporeans to build happy and successful family units.”

Mr Chinnu, is Senior Audit Manager at BDO LLP, and an active grassroots leader. He received the Lifelong Learner Award in 2008.

On what is inspires him, FFL Council Member Mr Effendi Ibrahim said: “My wife and four kids are the reasons I wake up every morning to make the best of my day, at work and at home –you could say they are my big bosses! Raising a family in today’s context certainly poses a different challenge to working professionals and the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” has never rung more true.”

Mr Effendi is a member of the Media Literacy Council, as well as Yayasan Mendaki’s Board of Directors. In addition, he is Director, Commercial Segment & Channel Marketing, APJ, Symantec.

“Many working parents often face a dilemma in trying to strike a fair balance between work and spending more time with the family, especially during the growing years of their children that just seems to zoom past.”

“Through my contribution in the FFL Council, I hope to be a voice for these parents and push for family-first policies and programs that promote quality bonding time with the family without necessarily compromising on their careers.”