{"id":47907,"date":"2026-04-28T00:06:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T16:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=47907"},"modified":"2026-04-28T00:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T16:06:40","slug":"young-people-take-spotlight-at-tamil-language-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=47907","title":{"rendered":"Young people take spotlight at Tamil Language Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013 <!-- -->A month of vibrant cultural showcases, literary debates and community programmes celebrating the Tamil language was brought to a close on April 26.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">To round off <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/tamil-language-festival-marks-20-years-with-push-for-greater-engagement?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">Tamil Language Festival (TLF) 2026,<\/span><\/a> which featured more than 40 events, the newspaper Tamil Murasu organised Murasu 360, a wrap-up event highlighting the festival\u2019s key milestones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The 90-minute session at the Civil Service Club @ Tessensohn gave a comprehensive overview of the festival, while putting the spotlight on the young people driving the Tamil language forward. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Senior Minister of State for Law and Transport Murali Pillai, who was the guest of honour, highlighted the festival\u2019s evolution from its humble beginnings 20 years ago into a vital community movement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWe are seeing a generation of youth who are learning Tamil not just because they have to, but because they want to. They are finding innovative ways to weave the Tamil language into the modern world,\u201d said Mr Murali.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He urged the community to bring the energy of the festival into homes, schools and workplaces to ensure that the language continues to thrive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Dr Hamid Razak, an MP for West Coast-Jurong West GRC, and Nominated MP Haresh Singaraju also attended the event. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">A central focus of the evening was the extensive involvement of 15 <!-- -->student journalists<!-- -->, who had covered the range of events during the festival. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Before the festival, the students underwent two training sessions that covered newswriting, interviewing and video production.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">At the wrap-up event, they presented their work, which included video summaries of their on-the-ground experiences. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Among them was Tamil Murasu intern Kamadchi Chandrasekar, 19, who said that interacting with people from all walks of life was the most memorable part of her experience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cIt gave me a platform to be a voice for the community and highlight issues that truly matter to me, such as mental health,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Tamil Murasu editor T. Raja Segar noted that TLF previously did not have a closing event. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWe felt it was important to host an event that encompasses TLF \u2013 to share the festival\u2019s highlights, evaluate our reach and assess whether we achieved our intended impact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Tamil Language Council chairman Naseer Ghani commended the young reporters for their digital savviness, noting that their video productions helped broadcast the festival\u2019s message across multiple platforms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Singapore Indian Development Association chief executive officer Anbarasu Rajendran said that such youth-centric initiatives will ensure that the Tamil language thrives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThese young journalists carried themselves with immense confidence. They have a clear vision of how to bring the Tamil language forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Beyond the student presentations, the evening featured a live, podcast-style interview with Mr Naseer on stage, as well as a skit by local artists including <!-- -->Vadi PVSS<!-- -->.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Student journalist<!-- --> Kumaravelu<!-- --> Kamalasivaani, 16, from St Andrew\u2019s Junior College, admitted that the fast-paced nature of the assignments was initially daunting. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cHowever, attending the events pushed me out of my comfort zone to converse with new people and it opened my eyes to Singapore\u2019s deep passion for the Tamil language,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"landscape inline-media-wrapper\" data-testid=\"inline-media-test-id\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col items-start relative w-fit\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8a190175930fd11a329ae1e133d518158d5a38d926128c48ca0b2d246a8cf36b?w=480\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 720px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8a190175930fd11a329ae1e133d518158d5a38d926128c48ca0b2d246a8cf36b?w=720\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 721px and max-width: 3999px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8a190175930fd11a329ae1e133d518158d5a38d926128c48ca0b2d246a8cf36b?w=900\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 4000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8a190175930fd11a329ae1e133d518158d5a38d926128c48ca0b2d246a8cf36b\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/8a190175930fd11a329ae1e133d518158d5a38d926128c48ca0b2d246a8cf36b\" alt=\"\" class=\"aspect-landscape flex items-start shrink-0 object-cover landscape article-landscape mobile:w-auto tablet:w-auto\" data-testid=\"image-test-id\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"mobile:mx-16 tablet:mx-00 flex flex-col gap-08 py-16 desktop:pb-24\">\n<p class=\"font-eyebrow-baseline-regular text-secondary\" data-testid=\"inline-media-caption-test-id\">The 90-minute session at the Civil Service Club gave a comprehensive overview of the festival, while putting the spotlight on the young people driving the Tamil language forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-eyebrow-baseline-regular text-placeholder\" data-testid=\"inline-media-credit-test-id\">PHOTO: TAMIL MURASU<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The hands-on experience honed her writing, time management and social media skills \u2013 competencies that are vital in today\u2019s digital age, she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ms Gopikka Narasa Lakshmi Narayanan, 24, assistant secretary of the Singapore Tamil Society, praised the event\u2019s comprehensive overview, saying it was a great way to distil the many festival events into digestible snippets for the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She also highlighted that Murasu 360 effectively passed down industry skills while giving youth a voice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cHaving youth identify the challenges surrounding the Tamil language and actively propose solutions is a fantastic step forward,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/young-people-take-spotlight-as-murasu-360-celebrates-milestones-of-tamil-language-festival\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 A month of vibrant cultural showcases, literary debates and community programmes celebrating the Tamil language was brought to a close on April 26&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}