2007 » Singapore » National section

Straits Chinese Costumes

Presenting Singapore’s Straits Chinese, through a fashion show, two talks and a demonstration of a digital library of costumes reflecting the history of Singapore. Although historical and cultural research is pertinent to a better understanding of the peoples in the South-East Asian region, few studies have been carried out to understand the people’s lifestyles and cultures. Following the successful publication of the book “Costume Through Time: The Singapore Story” in 1993, two members of the editorial committee, Dr. Gwee Yee Hean and Ms Gladys Theng, are interested to convert the materials in the book using modern tools in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for wider access and readership. Hence, in 2004, a pilot project was conceived in the development of a prototype of a digital library containing resources on the Straits Chinese, as described in the “Costume Through Time: The Singapore Story” book. The prototype using the open source Greenstone software has received favourable feedback.