On Saturday, Singaporeans from all walks of life gathered in Hong Lim Park to commemorate a decade of work to affirm the dignity of LGBTQ friends and family in a positive outlook for a hopeful future here.
Earlier this month, the organization launched their inaugural PinkFest, to enable more than just Singaporeans and Permanent Residents to participate. While the actual rally remained limited to Singaporean citizens and permanent residents, PinkFest was open to anyone and everyone and ran for two weekends prior to the event.
Close to a dozen businesses, groups and individuals — from the LGBTQ community and straight allies — sponsored a variety of LGBT-themed events that saw hundreds of attendees coming together for greater engagement in the Singaporean community.
As for the rally itself on Saturday, Pink Dot representatives aren’t able to confirm the official attendance figures, but the number is in the thousands so far.
The evening culminated in the onstage unveiling of the 10 Declarations for Equality, a list of changes the LGBTQ community and their allies are ready for. Each declaration was read by a different member of the community or one of PinkDot’s ambassadors, and began with the refrain “We Are Ready”.
“We mark our tenth edition with hope and optimism for the future, but are also mindful that plenty more still remains to be done for Singapore to fully embrace the tenets of inclusion, diversity, and equality,” said Pink Dot SG spokesperson Paerin Choa.
“We are ready to stand by our friends and family members who are LGBTQ – so that none of them will ever feel the need to hide who they are,” said actress Patricia Mok, kicking off the list.
“We are ready to start difficult conversations – with people who don’t agree with the values that we stand for,” said TV presenter Anita Kapoor. “We need to keep sharing our stories and build better understanding.”
If you missed the event but still want to experience the joy and hope of the inspirational declarations, check out the festival’s official video above. If you want to go further than that, there’s a letter template that you can edit, fill up and send to people in power that urges them to endorse the message of support for the local LGBTQ community.
