The Mother Tongue Languages Symposium (MTLS) is an annual flagship event organized by the Ministry of Education in Singapore and the Mother Tongue Language Learning and Promotion Committees. Its aim is to connect parents and educators with language education experts, giving new insights on motivating students to learn their ‘mother tongues’.
For its 10th anniversary in 2021, ‘Our Mother Tongues as Living Languages’ was the theme as the event went hybrid for the second time, deepening its connection with the community.
The team led the full event production and on-site management at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, with areas of responsibility including the live opening ceremony, award ceremony, panel discussions, sharing sessions and workshops. Throughout, the team ensured a stringent application of all relevant COVID-19 measures:
- Visitor attendance limited to 50 persons
- Temperature screening at all entrances and registration booths
- Hand sanitisers available in all areas
- Equipping each crew member with travel-sized hand sanitiser and two masks at all times
- Floor markings to aid social distancing
- Disinfecting and wipe-down after each session
As an expression of the event’s theme, the team conceptualised four MTLS mascots – ‘explorers of the heartlands’ – to symbolise the multiple languages spoken in multiracial, multicultural Singapore.
During the event, participants could use the digital platform to access more than 30 recorded and live e-sharing sessions. For Gen Alpha visitors between the ages of four and nine, the team created a gamified ‘online quest mode’ in the form of a story-based interactive digital game. Featuring a 360-degree panorama of Singapore’s ‘heartland’ neighbourhoods, it could be played in a choice of available languages, with a voiceover enabling players to learn by listening.
Another notable component of the online platform was a digital exhibition. Serving as a community learning resource, it featured more than 40 e-posters on the MOE integrated curriculum, pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, and community partners.