Learn more about migrant workers in Singapore this weekend

In recent years, Singapore’s migrant workers have been in the spotlight. Their rights are a major talking point, they’ve appeared on our Facebook feeds sharing bittersweet stories about life in Singapore and they’ve been the focus of a number of community-initiated projects. Organized by NUS and Yale-NUS College, the pioneering Migrant Workers Awareness Week is one such project that helps to bridge gaps between migrant workers and locals. The 2017 edition is on now until Mar 19.

This year’s event features dormitory tours, film screenings, a pop-up exhibit where you get to experience the cramped living quarters of a migrant worker, and an open-air carnival with games, food and yoga.

Highlights this weekend include a screening of the film Remittance (Mar 19, National Gallery Singapore) which tells the story of Marie, a Filipino domestic worker who struggles to find a balance between her work, personal life and family. There’s also Dialogue in the Dark (Mar 19, Yale-NUS College), an opportunity to engage in conversations in the dark with migrant workers from a variety of trades including domestic helpers and sex workers. And if you’re interested in finding out more about the legal rights of migrant workers, there’s a lunch workshop (Mar 18, Yale-NUS College) you can attend.