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ICA Celebtrates 1st Anniversary with New Gallery and Heritage Book
Today marks Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)'s 1st anniversary since its formation. As part of the celebration, the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Wong Kan Seng, officiated the opening of ICA Gallery - Insight ICA, and the launch of ICA's Heritage Book, entitled 'Guardians of Our Homeland'.
2 By providing a glimpse into ICA's rich heritage, both the gallery and heritage book aim to preserve the histories of the departments that had preceded ICA. They are also our contribution to National Education by showcasing the wonderful visual and written accounts of ICA's roots since the early years of our nation building.
Insight ICA
3 Although ICA was only formed last April, three government agencies - the Singapore Immigration, National Registration Department (which merged in 1998 to form Singapore Immigration & Registration) and the checkpoint enforcement capabilities of the Customs & Excise Department - are the foundations of ICA. Hence, the establishment of the ICA Heritage Gallery - 'Insight ICA' - to serve as a showcase of the rich histories of the three departments and their roles in keeping Singapore safe and secure.
4 Visitors to the gallery can expect to find out more about these agencies and their significant events and milestones, which can be traced back to the early 19th century when modern Singapore was first founded and witness for themselves how the development of ICA is interwoven with Singapore's nation building.
Heritage Book: 'Guardians of Our Homeland'
5 Like Insight ICA, the Heritage Book, 'Guardians of Our Homeland', aims to capture the developments of the various departments from their early years. It also pays tribute to all the officers, past and present, who had helped develop and nurture ICA to what it has become today.
6 "The composite departments that make up today's ICA, namely Singapore Immigration, National Registration Department and Customs & Excise Department, have played key roles in nation building and their histories date back to the early pre-independence days. ICA is, what we would call a "young veteran" - someone full of youthful dynamism and drive, yet guided by the wealth of wisdom and experience amassed from our predecessors through the years", said Mr Lock Wai Han, Commissioner ICA, during the ceremony held earlier today at ICA Building.
About ICA
7 ICA is a government agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs. ICA has brought together the former Singapore Immigration & Registration (SIR) and the enforcement work performed by the former Customs & Excise Department (CED) at the various checkpoints. Operational on 1 April 2003, ICA is responsible for the security of Singapore's borders against the entry of undesirable persons and cargo through our land, air and sea checkpoints. ICA also performs immigration and registration functions such as the issuing of travel documents and identity cards to Singapore Citizens. It also issues immigration passes and permits to foreigners.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
1 Apr 2004
FACTSHEET ON:
HERITAGE BOOK - 'GUARDIANS OF OUR HOMELAND'
The ICA Heritage Book, entitled 'Guardians of our Homeland', seeks to provide insights to the historical roles, developments of the composite departments that make up today's Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) from their early years.
The 302-page book is divided into three chapters, namely, Immigration, Registration and Custom & Cargo Clearance. It chronicles the rich heritage of Singapore Immigration, National Registration Department and Customs & Excise respectively. There are many anecdotes and photographs that will give the reader an exclusive glimpse of the departments' rich histories.
With the Book, ICA also pays tribute to our officers who had served, are serving, or will serve with us to make Singapore a safe and secure home.
INSIGHT ICA
The ICA Gallery, aptly named Insight ICA, seeks to provide visitors with insights into the historical roles, current responsibilities and future technologies of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). "Insight" is also a pun for the word "inside", welcoming visitors into the gallery for a look into what makes ICA tick. The Gallery provides a good opportunity for us to reach out to our ICA and Home Team officers, as well as to members of the public, to share with them our messages and values through the display of artefacts, documents and exhibits.
The Gallery occupies 282.5 square metres of the ground floor of ICA Building and consists of a Welcome Passage, which leads to two main galleries - Securing Our Future and Reminiscing Our Past.
The Securing Our Future gallery offers an overview of what ICA does everyday to protect our nation's future. The focus is on border security work, technologies used (now and in the near future), as well as a showcase of the achievements and international awards ICA has received to date.
The Reminiscing Our Past gallery takes visitors down memory lane through the display of artefacts like contraband seized and personal documents used over the years, as well as a visual treat of old sights and scenes. Through these, the legacies of the organisations that merged to form what ICA is today will be related. This gallery also features Case Files which illustrate interesting cases handled by our officers.
To enhance the experience of the visitors, a group of ICA officers have been trained as docents to guide visitors through the Gallery. The Gallery will organise guided group tours for ICA and Home Team officers in the first few months of the opening. We will work with schools and community groups to organise group tours in the subsequent months.
2 By providing a glimpse into ICA's rich heritage, both the gallery and heritage book aim to preserve the histories of the departments that had preceded ICA. They are also our contribution to National Education by showcasing the wonderful visual and written accounts of ICA's roots since the early years of our nation building.
Insight ICA
3 Although ICA was only formed last April, three government agencies - the Singapore Immigration, National Registration Department (which merged in 1998 to form Singapore Immigration & Registration) and the checkpoint enforcement capabilities of the Customs & Excise Department - are the foundations of ICA. Hence, the establishment of the ICA Heritage Gallery - 'Insight ICA' - to serve as a showcase of the rich histories of the three departments and their roles in keeping Singapore safe and secure.
4 Visitors to the gallery can expect to find out more about these agencies and their significant events and milestones, which can be traced back to the early 19th century when modern Singapore was first founded and witness for themselves how the development of ICA is interwoven with Singapore's nation building.
Heritage Book: 'Guardians of Our Homeland'
5 Like Insight ICA, the Heritage Book, 'Guardians of Our Homeland', aims to capture the developments of the various departments from their early years. It also pays tribute to all the officers, past and present, who had helped develop and nurture ICA to what it has become today.
6 "The composite departments that make up today's ICA, namely Singapore Immigration, National Registration Department and Customs & Excise Department, have played key roles in nation building and their histories date back to the early pre-independence days. ICA is, what we would call a "young veteran" - someone full of youthful dynamism and drive, yet guided by the wealth of wisdom and experience amassed from our predecessors through the years", said Mr Lock Wai Han, Commissioner ICA, during the ceremony held earlier today at ICA Building.
About ICA
7 ICA is a government agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs. ICA has brought together the former Singapore Immigration & Registration (SIR) and the enforcement work performed by the former Customs & Excise Department (CED) at the various checkpoints. Operational on 1 April 2003, ICA is responsible for the security of Singapore's borders against the entry of undesirable persons and cargo through our land, air and sea checkpoints. ICA also performs immigration and registration functions such as the issuing of travel documents and identity cards to Singapore Citizens. It also issues immigration passes and permits to foreigners.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
1 Apr 2004
FACTSHEET ON:
HERITAGE BOOK - 'GUARDIANS OF OUR HOMELAND'
The ICA Heritage Book, entitled 'Guardians of our Homeland', seeks to provide insights to the historical roles, developments of the composite departments that make up today's Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) from their early years.
The 302-page book is divided into three chapters, namely, Immigration, Registration and Custom & Cargo Clearance. It chronicles the rich heritage of Singapore Immigration, National Registration Department and Customs & Excise respectively. There are many anecdotes and photographs that will give the reader an exclusive glimpse of the departments' rich histories.
With the Book, ICA also pays tribute to our officers who had served, are serving, or will serve with us to make Singapore a safe and secure home.
INSIGHT ICA
The ICA Gallery, aptly named Insight ICA, seeks to provide visitors with insights into the historical roles, current responsibilities and future technologies of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). "Insight" is also a pun for the word "inside", welcoming visitors into the gallery for a look into what makes ICA tick. The Gallery provides a good opportunity for us to reach out to our ICA and Home Team officers, as well as to members of the public, to share with them our messages and values through the display of artefacts, documents and exhibits.
The Gallery occupies 282.5 square metres of the ground floor of ICA Building and consists of a Welcome Passage, which leads to two main galleries - Securing Our Future and Reminiscing Our Past.
The Securing Our Future gallery offers an overview of what ICA does everyday to protect our nation's future. The focus is on border security work, technologies used (now and in the near future), as well as a showcase of the achievements and international awards ICA has received to date.
The Reminiscing Our Past gallery takes visitors down memory lane through the display of artefacts like contraband seized and personal documents used over the years, as well as a visual treat of old sights and scenes. Through these, the legacies of the organisations that merged to form what ICA is today will be related. This gallery also features Case Files which illustrate interesting cases handled by our officers.
To enhance the experience of the visitors, a group of ICA officers have been trained as docents to guide visitors through the Gallery. The Gallery will organise guided group tours for ICA and Home Team officers in the first few months of the opening. We will work with schools and community groups to organise group tours in the subsequent months.