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RAS holds the inaugural LOO Awards 2009
On
2nd December, the 15 recipients
of the inaugural LOO (Let’s Observe Ourselves) Awards received their
awards from Guest-of-Honour, Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive Officer of the
National Environment Agency (NEA), during a networking dinner session at
the World Toilet Summit & Expo (WTSE). The 15 recipients comprised of
three private-sector organisations, two public-sector organisations, three
educational institutions, a cleaning contractor, a restroom cleaner, two
public-sector individuals, a youth, our Star Certified Eco-Assessor and
Star volunteer.
On
19th November, in conjunction with World Toilet Day, the 15
recipients’ names were announced at a media conference held in a Koufu’s coffeeshop
– Ang Mo Kio VariNice Eating House - for
the first time. Koufu is also one of the award
recipients having the first foodcourt toilet to
be awarded 5-stars and the first coffeeshop
toilet in the Central Singapore district
to be awarded 4-stars. Nominations for the  awards
were opened from 18th June to 31st October. A total
of 24 nominations were received for all the categories. Nominations for the
awards were opened from 13th June and closed on 31st
October. A total of 24 nominations were received for all the categories.
The LOO Awards is initiated to acknowledge organisations and individuals
who have contributed to help Singapore achieve a world
recognised standard of toilet cleanliness.
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RAS plays its
part as a local partner of the World Toilet Summit & Expo (WTSE) 2009
The
WTSE organised by the World Toilet Organization (WTO) and MP International,
opened its doors to local and foreign delegates and guests from 2nd
to 4th Dec at Suntec Singapore. As a local partner
of the WTSE and a founding member of the WTO, RAS had been working closely
with the organisers for the past few months to showcase and share its
programmes with the visiting delegates and guests. Apart from hosting the
LOO Awards ceremony, RAS also set up a mobile exhibition – RAS
Learning Pavilion – on Singapore’s sanitation to
showcase the achievements and future development plans. The pavilion is
positioned as a platform to showcase the different  facets
of sanitation development in Singapore since the 1960s. It
presents an enriching and educational journey for the visitors to
understand the significance of sanitation and its social, cultural and
environmental impact on the city of Singapore. The pavilion will
reach out to the community at large via roadshows
and events next year.
During
the three-day exhibition, projects and work from the students of Si Ling
Primary School were displayed and the teachers and students volunteered
their time to share their efforts with the delegates and guests visiting
our pavilion. At a break-out session on 3rd December, RAS also
shared its expertise on school sanitation to the visiting delegates,
touching on the objectives, approaches and processes of its school outreach
programmes such as its Happy Toilet School Education (HTSE) and
Appreciating Clean Toilets In Our Neighbourhood & School
(A.C.T.I.O.N.S) programmes. The first World Toilet Summit, now known as the
World Toilet Summit & Expo (WTSE), was inaugurated in Singapore in 2001 by the WTO.
RAS is pleased to see this signature event returning to Singapore this year and is
proud to be the local partner.
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RAS President
honoured for her contributions at the Hall of Fame award ceremony
After
receiving the Eco-Friend
Award from the National Environment Agency (NEA) on 10th
July, our President was conferred another award being inducted to the Hall
of Fame by the WTO during the closing ceremony of the WTSE on 4th
December, for her distinguished contributions to advocating clean restrooms
for everyone in Singapore. She has been volunteering with RAS since 2003
and was appointed  President
in 2007. She is also the Chairman for the Inter-Agencies Working Committee
on Public Toilets. She spearheaded many of our milestone initiatives such
as the Happy Toilet School Education programmes for schools (HTSE) and
Preschools (HTSEP), the Certified (CEA) and Volunteer Eco-Assessor (VEA)
programmes, the LOO Campaign and the LOO Awards.
Our
President hopes that the day will come when people all around the world
will be provided with basic sanitation. She believes in taking social
responsibility to educate and create awareness about good sanitation so as
to provide a sustainable living environment for all. The other two
laureates of the WTO's Hall of Fame Award 2009 are Dr Clara Greed and
Minister Datuk Robert Lau. Some of the past
distinguished recipients of the Hall of Fame were Dr Bindeshwar
Pathak, Prof Koo Ue, Dr
Kamal Kar, Dr Arno Rosemarin and Dr Joe Madiath.
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RAS showcases
its exhibits at the Clean and Green Singapore (CGS) 2010 Carnival
RAS
was invited by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to set up a display
booth from 30th October to 1st November at the CGS
2010 Carnival held at HortPark. The CGS 2010 was
successfully launched by Guest-of-Honour, Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong, on 30th
October. At the launch, many individuals and communities also received the
CGS Awards, to recognise their outstanding efforts to maintain and improve
our living environment. Among them were some restroom cleaners of five-star
Happy Toilets  who
received awards for the Best Cleaners category. Going beyond the normal
practice, RAS took the innovative step to distribute complimentary hand
sanitizers sponsored by the Initial Hygiene and shared with the visitors,
both young and old, about good toilet etiquette which included a
hand-washing exercise. The three-day event saw a good turnout of 22,000
people from all walks of life.
Since
its inception in 1990, CGS 2010 is the 20th Clean & Green campaign and
this year also marks the 40th year of Singapore’s Clean and
Green journey. The highlight of the event was the exhibition on Singapore's
40-year Clean and Green journey, where the multi-faceted effort in creating
a clean and green environment was showcased. The three-day event was
organised by the NEA and South West Community Development Council, with
support from the National Parks Board and PUB. It aims to inspire the
public to protect and take greater ownership of our living environment.
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RAS participates
actively in other CGS community events
With
the successful launch of CGS 2010 on 30th October, RAS continued
its active participation in other CGS events for three weekends in
November. On 8 November, RAS was one of the main partners at the North West
CGS Carnival, to support the launch of Green Living @ North West which was
held at the Republic Polytechnic. On 15 November, RAS was invited by the Tampines Changkat Citizens'  Consultative
Committee to set up a booth at their annual CGS event held at their
Residents' Community
Garden. Following the
successful run at the CGS 2010 Carnival from 30th October to 1st
November, RAS continued its joint initiative with the Initial Hygiene to
share good toilet etiquette tips with the visitors for the two events.
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RAS
injected more life into their booth at the North East Challenge Walk in
Celebration of Singapore 2010 held at White Sands Open Field from 28th
to 29th November. Visitors to our booth were not only briefed on
good toilet etiquette tips but were also invited to pen down their toilet
wishes for 2010 or good toilet etiquette tips next to our LOO Pledge. On 29th
November, Guest-of-Honour, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, also visited our booth after making his speech
and presenting the CGS Awards.
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RAS works with youths of ChangeMakers Conference (YCMC) to educate primary students
On 18th
and 19th November, students from the College section of Hwa
Chong Institution (HCI) conducted toilet-related games, activities and an
exhibition at Yew
Tee Primary
School. Their efforts tied in with their
commitment to the YCMC
held on 18th and 19th July. These students spent many
hours planning and executing different activities at the school and were
successful in achieving their objectives.
After an assembly
talk was conducted by RAS on 5th November for Yew Tee’s Primary 3
pupils, HCI students went down to conduct interesting games and educational
activities for each of the primary three classes. At the exhibition area at
the canteen, pupils were invited to see the displays and also  answered quiz
questions to get attractive prizes. RAS recognises and commends our HCI
youths for taking the time to be good Big Brothers and Sisters and praises
them for their community involvement. We look forward to inviting more
youth groups to follow suit and initiate similar programmes with us.
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RAS reaches out to schools
For
the past three consecutive years, RAS had been invited to the Clean and
Green Singapore (CGS) Schools’ Carnival to showcase its school
outreach programmes and conduct fun-filled and educational activities that
promote good toilet etiquette. From 10th to 11th
November this year, at a section of the carnival - Wonderland – that
was specially set aside just for preschoolers, RAS held the  LOO
quest game, a toilet-etiquette version of snakes and ladders, for the
preschoolers to pick up good habits and tips on how to be a responsible
toilet user. The two-day event was organised by NEA together with
co-organising schools and partners. The event held at the Anchor Green
Primary School saw over 210
participating schools, from preschool to pre-tertiary levels, as compared
to the 190 participating schools the previous year at Suntec City.
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For the first time, RAS was involved in the Enviro-Life Sciences Symposium 2009 organised by the Dunman
Secondary School on
14th November. RAS helped to reach out to more students with its
educational programmes and projects which students can embark and research
on. This event, which was held for the third year for both primary and
secondary schools, aimed to inculcate investigative research skills and
self-development as well as interest in the field of environmental and/or
life sciences. The theme for this year’s symposium is
"Celebrating Possibilities in Life Sciences and the Environment".
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Photos]
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