Blue dragon childrens foundation

SINGAPORE: About 1,300 eligible pre-school children from low income families will receive more financial aid under a top-up programme. From November, eligible children will receive a S$250 top-up to their Child Development Account (CDA) each year for up to three years, said the Ministry of Education (MOE), EtonHouse Community Fund (ECF) and the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) in a joint media release on Thursday (Oct 8). ECF and CFS will contribute nearly S$1 million to the programme over the next three years, the release said. The Government will provide dollar-for-dollar matching contributions for the top-ups, up to the child’s eligible contribution cap. This means eligible children can receive S$500 each in their CDA this year and up to S$1,500 each over three years. “These funds can be used by their parents/guardians to defray child-raising expenses such as pre-school fees and medical bills at Baby Bonus Approved Institutions,” said the joint media release. … [Read more...] about About 1,300 pre-school children from low income families to receive more financial aid

First it was Crazy Rich Asians, a Hollywood movie featuring an Asian American cast steeped in Chinese culture and filmed in Southeast Asia’s city-state, Singapore. Now, Disney, the content leader of everyone’s formative childhood, has provided a follow-up with Raya and the Last Dragon, the first Disney animated film about Southeast Asia, led by a Southeast Asian actress. Yes, that’s a lot of first that comes with several caveats, in that Mulan was the first Disney animated film with an Asian lead, but while Mulan was voiced by Chinese American actress Ming Na-Wen, of Star Wars and Marvel Comics fame, Raya is played by fellow Star Wars alum and Vietnamese American actress, Kelly Marie Tran. Speaking at a press conference that Geek Culture attended, Tran recognised the significance of her casting, and shared how having female heroes that look like you is empowering for young children. “It’s a big deal. I grew up with the sort of narrow perception of what a hero looks like, or … [Read more...] about Raya and the Last Dragon cast on empowering childhoods and making the film

The last dragon isn’t the best dragon. Disney’s stunning new animated movie Raya and the Last Dragon has a new trailer, revealing more of its story as well as the titular dragon. The movie is set in a fictional fantasy land called Kumandra, which incorporates different aspects of Southeast Asian culture. It also features an Asian American cast - minus Alan Tudyk, who voices Raya’s animal companion Tuk Tuk. Watch the trailer below: The trailer begins with Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) entering a lively city and encountering a lost baby. This baby turns out to be a con baby who steals all her stuff, beats her up and runs away. That’s a harsh blow against the ol’ ego. The ‘last dragon’ is also revealed later on, a bright blue creature named Sisu (Awkwafina), who also has a human form. When Raya asks her for help, Sisu warns her that she’s not, “the best dragon,” which isn’t exactly ideal for Raya’s world-saving plans. Kumandra was once a place where humans and dragons lived … [Read more...] about The new Raya and the Last Dragon trailer teases epic adventure and a con baby

In the early 1980s, Silvio Berlusconi was starting to take hold of Italian television. His bombastic Mediaset channels were on air for more hours each day than the public broadcaster RAI. They had virtually none of RAI’s educational programmes or news bulletins. Instead, they specialised in quiz shows, soap operas and imported cartoons, while exceeding the legal limits for advertising slots. But Mediaset’s transmitters covered only about half of Italy’s population. So three decades later, a team of academics could track how Berlusconi’s channels had shaped a generation of Italians. They found that boys from areas with Mediaset coverage were more likely to be exempted from national service later in life because they performed poorly on the military’s psychometric tests. Adult numeracy and literacy tests also revealed that Italians with access to Mediaset before they turned 10 had worse cognitive skills than those who did not – by the equivalent of about three to four IQ … [Read more...] about More Peppa Pig? How much TV should your children be watching right now?

DELHI: In the past few weeks, Delhi has experienced what it has not breathed and seen in years: Cleaner air and blue skies. It is something that had “seemed impossible to achieve”, according to Tamseel Hussain, co-founder of Let Me Breathe, India’s largest online platform dedicated to pollution-related stories. He has the COVID-19 lockdown on the city to thank for his lungs feeling “lighter”. The reduced noise pollution from traffic also allows him to hear the chirping of birds. “Apart from this, many parts of India have reported witnessing mountain ranges that weren’t visible previously,” he told CNA Insider over WhatsApp. Before this lockdown began on March 23, he had spoken to CNA about his city’s toxic air instead, on the programme Undercover Asia. ( Watch the episode here. ) Just in November, the air in the world’s most polluted major city had turned deadly again: Air quality was in the hazardous range for nine days straight. But now, Delhi is having its … [Read more...] about Blue skies during lockdown, but can India’s respite from its pollution woes last?