Singapore will submit a nomination for its hawker culture to be listed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity by the end of this month.

Speaking in Parliament on 8 March, Singapore’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Grace Fu said that the outcome is expected to be announced at the end of 2020.

“Hawker culture represents an integral part of our way of life (and) a successful inclusion will not only showcase our multi-cultural heritage to the world but also our pride in our hawkers and hawker culture,” she said.

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The selection of hawker culture was made after a series of public engagements and focus group discussions. Singapore is also compiling a list of its own ICH with the help of local communities, academics and experts. Its first list comprising 50 cultural elements include hawker culture, Malay weddings, Indian classical dance and Xinyao songs.

The rise of Singapore’s hawker culture is followed by a decline in home cooking and cooking skills. Unless a household cooks for three or more people, it is cheaper and more convenient to eat at a hawker centre. 

A survey by consumer research services provider Nielsen last August found that 24 percent of Singaporeans eat out daily while 55 percent do so on a weekly basis. The survey of 202 people found that more people eat out compared to 2015 when the survey was last held, with Nielsen attributing the rise to mobile device proliferation, busy lifestyles and challenging working hours.

As fewer Singaporeans cook, traditional home culinary skills are in danger of fading away. Ironically, even the hawker trade may vanish as younger Singaporeans lack the skill to join the aging trade where the median age is 59 years

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