What does this mean and how do you achieve it at the different stages of your life?

This workshop will teach you the following:

·How to achieve financial independence

·Fun with budgeting

·Making your money stretch

·Managing debt

·Relationships and money- joint or separate expenses, accounts, assets?  What happens if things don’t work out?

You should definitely attend this workshop if you identify with these concerns:

·I have been working for 3 years and I’m kinda clueless about saving and planning for the future. What do I need to know and do?

·I am married or about to be married. Money is always a sensitive topic with my partner. How do I deal with this?

·I am worried about my aging parents, their falling sick and dying. How can I plan ahead to take care of these contingencies?

Training Date: 15 February 2012

Check back for new schedule     7pm-9pm

Money Club Dates:
22 February 2012
29 February 2012

Where:
AWARE Centre (Dover Crescent Block 5 #01-22)

How much?
Single: $50
Pair: $80

AWARE members who log in at the website and purchase will receive a 40% discount. That is just $30 for the workshop or $48 for a pair.

Register here to reserve your spot.

Please send us an e-mail to publiceducation@aware.org.sg if you have any questions.

Dr Adeline Koh and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow are co-editors of Troublesome Women, a forthcoming collection of academic essays on women, gender and sexuality in Malaysia and Singapore.

The particular experiences of Malaysia and Singapore offer valuable and often overlooked insights on the intersection between gender, modernity and globalisation. At this Roundtable Discussion, Yu-Mei will explain the genesis of this project, discuss some of the 24 book chapters which have been contributed by established and emerging scholars from around the world, as well as some of the issues they have encountered in pursuing this interdisciplinary project.

Date: Feb 16, 2012, Thursday
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: AWARE Centre (Blk 5 Dover Crescent #01-22)

Register for this event here.

Speakers

Adeline Koh is an assistant professor of literature at Richard Stockton College in the United States. Her research concentrations are in South-east Asian and African postcolonial literatures and gender studies. She has published peer review essays in journals such as Third Text and Journal of Postcolonial Writing, and co-edited a volume on third cinema titled Rethinking Third Cinema (LIT Berlin: 2009). She is currently working on a monograph called Dangerous Women: Representations of Women’s Education in Postcolonial Literature.

Her website is: http://adelinekoh.org

Yu-Mei Balasingamchow is a writer and independent scholar in Singapore. She is the co-author of Singapore: A Biography (National Museum of Singapore/Editions Didier Millet, Singapore: 2009), which was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2010 and received a gold prize at the Asia Pacific Publishers Association Awards 2010. She is also the editor of Singapore culture magazine POSKOD.SG and recently received funding from the National Arts Council to write her first novel.

Her website is: http://www.toomanythoughts.org.

However, as the primary objective of insurance is to provide for your protection, it is important that whatever insurance you already have or are going to get is tailored to your specific needs. These needs will change as you enter different stages of your life and as your personal goals evolve.

As part of our empowerment training , we are pleased to offer FACT 2 on Insurance. FACT is short for Financial Awareness & Confidence Training.

This course aims to give you a fundamental understanding of how insurance works and how you can protect yourself and your assets with the right tools. You will walk away from this programme with all the knowledge and skills you need to assess your changing insurance needs.

The course consists of 3 interactive sessions that comprise both lectures and discussions. Topics covered will include:
1)    Is insurance necessary?
2)    How does insurance work?
3)    What role does it play in my financial plan?
4)    How much insurance and what type of insurance do I need?
5)    Where and how do I get the insurance I want?

The trainer is Sim Wei Min, who has spent more than 15 years assisting people from all walks of life with their insurance needs and retirement planning.

When:
Training Date: 21 February 2012

Money Club Sessions:
28 February 2012
6 March 2012

Time: 7pm-9pm

Where: AWARE Centre

Price:
Single: $50
Pair: $80

AWARE members who log in at the website and purchase will receive a discount. That is just $30 for the workshop or $48 for a pair.

Quotes from participants:
Layman terms; insider tips.
Interactive and laid back.
Easy to understand, clear explanations.
The open communication about the topic.
It was great. Very informative for all types of insurance.
I like the case studies because it makes us think of the best policies that different individual should get.

Register here to reserve your spot.

Please send us an e-mail to publiceducation@aware.org.sg if you have any questions.

Self-defence expert Major Avi Nardia will be coming to Singapore to conduct 3 intensive seminars that will cover a whole range of self-defence techniques.

These not to be missed intensive seminars will be conducted on:
Feb 18 & 25 (Sat), 9am to 4pm : Kapap Street Defence
Feb 26 (Sun), 9am to 4pm: Kapap Knife Grappling and Kapap Street Defence

Venue:
Home team NS JOM Clubhouse in Balestier
31 Ah Hood Road
Singapore 329979

Cost: $250 per seminar for early bird sign-ups (before Feb 1) and $300 per seminar thereafter.
Email kapapasia2012c@gmail.com to sign up.

Brief description of seminars

The Kapap seminar will cover street defence tactics, techniques and universal combat principles. This seminar will unravel the science behind real self-defence, allowing people – regardless of age, size and strength – to learn to defend themselves effectively.

Biodata of instructor

Major Avi Nardia is one of the leading official instructors for the Israeli Army and Israeli Police in the field of counter-terrorism and Close Quarters Battle.

He specializes in training Special Forces, counter-terrorism units, military and law enforcement personnel all over the world in self-defence. Major Nardia is a Certified Krav Maga Instructor by the Israeli Army (IDF), a Certified Hagana Atzmit/Defensive Tactics Instructor by the Israeli Police and Certified Head International Instructor under Lt. Colonel Chaim Peer, head of the International Kapap Federation.

In Israel, he taught defensive tactics and operational behavior at the Operational Police Academy, which is charged with training the country’s entire police force. Major Nardia is the only instructor to be an official instructor for the Israeli Army, the Israeli Police, and the Israeli Counter Terror units. He also served in a special police unit as an intelligence team member and as a defensive tactics/CQB instructor. In his 24 years of service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he took part in the “Shlom Hagalil” war, serving 3 years outside of Israel’s borders.

In addition to Major Nardia’s impressive military and police experience, he has an impeccable track record in the civilian and sporting arenas – such as being a Certified Olympic fencing Instructor (Foil, Saber, Epee), Certified Coach, Certified Athletic Trainer, Certified Sport Therapist, and Certified Rappelling Instructor by Wingate Sport Institute. Under the Israeli Ministry of Sport, Major Avi is a Certified Jiujutsu Instructor, Certified Kendo Instructor, and Certified Thai Boxing Instructor by Israeli Ministry of Sport.

The National Rifle Association (US) recognises Major Nardia as a Certified Shooting Instructor (Rifle, Shotgun, Handgun) and Range Safety Officer. Finally, the Tel Aviv University also recognises Major Avi as a Certified Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. He is also a senior black belt in Traditional Martial Arts such as Kendo, Iaido, Jodo, Jiujutsu, BJJ, Muay Thai, Karate, and Kyudo.

About Durai & Saro

This film was shot in October 0f 2009, and would not have been possible without a grant from the Singapore Film Commission, an endorsement from Migrant Voices, contributions in kind from our generous sponsors and the kind assistance of the staff at HOME, during our casting.

The lead actress, Ermelinda, who plays Saro, was a resident at the HOME shelter at the time of production. It has had numerous screenings in Singapore, in 2010 and 2011. The film has screened at the 11th San Diego Asian Film Festival, the Vancouver Singapore FilmFestival, and picked up a few awards at the 8th International Tamil Film Festival in Toronto.

Running time: 27m 08s
Languages: English, Tamil, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia
Rating: PG

Synopsis:
Durai is an Indian construction worker, working in Singapore. Trying his best to make ends meet and provide for his family back home, he doubles up as a car washer atnight. While washing at his usual neighbourhood carpark one night, he meets a foreign domestic worker, Saro, and he welcomes this newfound friendship.

View the trailer:

Place your order for the DVD here.

Price of DVD: $15
Local Postage: $1
International Postage: Price to be quoted upon receipt of address.

$10 from each DVD will be contributed to H.O.M.E. $5 will go towards offsetting the design & duplication cost of the DVDs.

About HOME

The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) was registered as a society under the Societies Act on 6th September 2004 to respond to the special needs of migrant communities. The following year, the society was accepted as a member of NCSS and registered as a charity under the Charities Act of Singapore.There are some 800,000 migrant workers or more in Singapore and HOME has provided direct assistance t omore than 50,000 men and women migrants and victims of human trafficking and forced labour, who availed of their programme and services.

Find out more about HOME here.

Ice-cream

Advertising tells us that a woman’s body is made to be consumed – and what better way to examine this than through commercials that sell ice-cream? An analysis of ice-cream print ads over time reveals how the rise of the modern nuclear family, capitalism, consumerism, and changes in women’s status have affected the way ice-cream has been bought and sold. A further glance at contemporary ice-cream ads today also show us widespread societal notions about masculinity, race, and ideal gendered as well as sexualised behaviour and body types.

Alcohol

From the cultural, economic and biological perspective, men have consistently been the primary target group for alcohol advertisements over the past 60 years. But why? Themes of masculinity, femininity, sexuality and objectification of women will also be highlighted, to showcase how alcohol advertisements (to a large extent) still utilize gender stereotypes in order to attract their primary target audience – the male consumers.

McDonalds

The presentation will cover an introduction to McDonald’s and its advertising history and a sharing of the analytical findings. It will also highlight the trends in these advertisements – are they all inherently gendered in some way or another?

SPEAKERS

Kellynn Wee
Kellynn Wee is a Sociology and English Literature major at the National University of Singapore with a particular interest in gender and sexuality issues (especially pertaining to South-east Asia, religion, post-colonialism, and masculinity) as well as children’s and young adult literature.

Nur Fadilah
Nur Fadilah is currently a Year 4 NUS undergraduate majoring in Social Work. After graduation in 2012, she will be working as a social worker at a family service centre working with families and at-risk youths

Bryan Chia 
Bryan Chia is a 3rd year undergrad currently reading Sociology at the National University of Singapore. My interests in my field of study is in deconstructing processes and belief systems.

This one-day mini-conference will bring together scholars working with the representation and performance of gender and sexuality in Asian contexts.

This event is jointly organised by the School of Art Design And Media, The Wee Kim Wee School of Communications and Information, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS).

Date: January 18, 2012
Time: 9.30am to 5pm
Venue: ARI Seminar Room, Tower Block Level 10, 469A Bukit Timah Road, NUS Bukit Timah Campus

More information and registration details are available here.

PANEL 1: 10AM to 12.30PM

The Trouble With Sharing Lipstick: Excerpts from two book projects

This panel includes a sharing of material from two books in progress:
· Fang-Tse Hu, Maud Lavin & SooJin Lee eds: Lipstick Dreams: Images Of Femininites Circulating Among China, South Korea
· Yu-mei Balasinghamchow & Adeline Koh eds: Troublesome Women In Singapore & Malaysia.

Moderator/Chair: Liew Kai Khiun, Assistant Professor, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University

Opening and welcome remarks: Chua Beng Huat, Leader of the Cultural Studies in Asia Cluster, Asia Research Institute, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore

1) KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Maud Lavin: Professor, Visual and Critical Studies and Art History, Theory and Criticism, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
PAPER: “Femme Androgyny: A Western View of Coffee Prince”

2) Yu-mei Balasinghamchow: writer and independent scholar in Singapore.
Adeline Koh: Assistant Professor of Literature at Richard Stockton College in the US.
JOINT PAPER: “Troublesome Women in Asia: The Politics of Women, Gender and Sexuality in Singapore and Malaysia”

3) Fang-Tze Hsu: Digital Collection Manager of the Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong.
PAPER: “From YouTube to TV: The Emergence of Female Androgyny Idols in East Asia”

4) SooJin Lee: PhD candidate (ABD), Art History, University of Illinois at Chicago
Instructor, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
PAPER: “K-Pop Visual Culture: Masculinities and Femininities of the Idols”

RESPONDENT Lee Weng Choy: Art Critic Malaysia.

11.30 DISCUSSION

PANEL 2: 1.30PM to 5PM

Performing Gender: Public & Private Parts

Moderator/Chair: Lucy Davis, Assistant Professor, School of Art Design And Media, Nanyang Technological University

1) Daniel PS Goh: Assistant Professor, Sociology National University of Singapore
PAPER: “Elite Schools, Chineseness, and Postcolonial Masculinities in Singapore”

2) Jeremy Fernando: Jean Baudrillard Fellow at The European Graduate School, Fellow of Tembusu College at the National University of Singapore
PAPER: “When Kumar meets kathoeys; or did Ziggy play guitar?”

3) Brian Bergen-Aurand: Assistant Professor English and Film, School of Humanities and Social Sciences Nanyang Technological University
PAPER: “We ‘Other Singaporeans’”

2.30 DISCUSSION

3PM TEA BREAK

4) Liew Kai Khiun: Assistant Professor, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University
PAPER: “Long Live Cuteness”: S.H.E.’s ‘Girl Power’ and the negotiations with heteronormativity in Taiwan”

5) Adele Tan: Curator, National Art Gallery Singapore
PAPER: “Fearing the F word: Amanda Heng’s art in Singapore”

4PM DISCUSSION

4.30 PM: RESPONDENT/CLOSING REMARKS: Lee Weng Choy, independent art critic (Malaysia)

Looking for a Christmas gift for your domestic helper?

This year, give the gift that will last a lifetime. Give the gift of hope & learning to the woman who makes your life work. Give your helper the gift of an aidha education.

aidha is the world’s micro business school. We provide financial and management education to foreign domestic workers here in Singapore. Our courses in money management and business development help our helpers create brighter futures for themselves and their families back home.

Your gift of $350 will cover enrollment in our powerful foundations module. During the 18 sessions, she will build her savings, her computing skills, and her management insight.

A gift of $550 will cover enrollment in the entire programme, allowing her to complete both the foundations module and the advanced management module to earn her Certificate of Entrepreneurship.

To purchase your gift, you may:

• Pay by cheque: Send a crossed cheque made out to aidha ltd. along with your name,
  contact details, and your helper’s name to aidha at 2 Nassim Road, S258370
• Pay by credit card: Visit our website’s charitable donation portal at www.aidha.org/about/become-a-friend-of-aidha/become-a-friend-of-aidha/.

Simply ‘become a friend of aidha’ specifying your gift is in honor of your helper.

Upon receipt of payment, aidha will send you our holiday gift card to give to your helper and she can come by our schoolhouse and enroll for the world’s micro business school course that suits her schedule.

For more information please call 6732-5434 or email info@aidha.org.

Catherine of Siena Virtual College offers women’s and gender studies courses that empower women to unmask the roots of gender discrimination in their personal lives, in society and religion and to acquire the analytical competencies necessary to examine the issues that affect their lives and change the world for the better.

You can access the lessons of the course at your convenience to read and post your responses. However you will need to commit yourself to a weekly chatroom which is held towards the end of the week in the evening (for Asians) for a period of 90 minutes. In case you miss a chatroom for any reason, your can always read the transcript and respond to the discussions there. Participating in the chatroom is energizing and one of the enjoyable parts of the course, where you get to interact with your course mates. You do not need any special audio/video equipment for the chat. But having your speakers one will help you listen to the chimes and music that is played during quiet times of reflection.

Scholarships are available for students, Church workers and religious sisters.

The following are some of the courses that will be running in the January 2012 term of the Catherine of Siena Virtual College. More information is available here.

Violence Against Women: Global Realities and Responsibilities

Role Perceptions of Women in Children’s Literature

All ages and cultures have used story as a means of telling new generations about the past and educating children about desired codes of behavior. Story telling seems to have been important to human beings even before writing became a means to preserve these tales. Accordingly this course will begin by examining the oral and written narratives used by mothers to inculturate their daughters. You will learn to decipher the hidden wisdom and to discern the social conditioning implied in stories such as ”Little Red Riding Hood.” Then, once learned, these skills will be applied to modern English literature designed for children enabling women to recover their past and to better design the future.

Prophetic Spirituality of Justice

This course focuses upon the integral role that “acting justly” plays in the self-understanding promoted by the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith traditions. Guided by the feminist writing of Dr. Mary Grey, this course enables participants to rediscover the pivotal role that peace-making, doing justice, and sharing resources have with the prophetic spirituality of the Abrahamic faiths. 

Developing Gender Awareness for Empowerment

This course was developed by Virginia Saldanha of Mumbai, India.  The course explores particular issues affecting women and provides the tools for developing the critical gender analysis needed to observe, evaluate, and act. Based on the work of Indian scholar Virginia Saldhana who crafted these in offering workshops for uplifting women all over India, this course allows you to explore the images of women in the media, the dignity of women, women’s bodies, violence, widowhood, women’s spirituality and more. Because these sessions were crafted for women in India, one has the benefit of becoming aware of the joys and pains of women living within this cultural setting. The issues, however, transcend the Indian culture and bring insight and healing to Christians in their own native culture.

Women Writing, Lives Changing

Women Writing, Lives Changing is a creative writing class that supports the lives of women for whom writing is, or is becoming, an important creative and spiritual practice. This class is designed to provide a safe and supportive space for women who want to explore their writing voice. Women are encouraged to tell their stories in whatever written form they wish to pursue, whether it is fiction, poetry, journal, essay, or drama. This opportunity to write, listen and be heard among a diverse, international, and intercultural community of writers gives voice to the depth and breadth of each woman’s story.

The Sexual Abuse of Women in the Church

Dr. Marie Fortune of the Faith Trust Institute has described the sexual abuse of adults in the Church a the “next tsunami to hit the Church.”  This five-week online seminar examines clergy sexual abuse, its history and dynamics, its particular impact on adult women, as well as offering resources to aid in the work of seeking justice and healing for victims.

Does your workplace have a clear sexual harassment policy in place and provide adequate training for managers to deal with such situations? If the answer is “no”, be part of the solution. Share what you learn in this course with your company’s Human Resources department.

You don’t need to be a victim to care about making your workplace a safe environment. Many victims of sexual harassment suffer silently because they fear repercussions. And those who do speak up often have to deal with inexperienced HR personnel and managers, which makes their situation even more frustrating. But inexperience can be easily remedied with training.

Aware has offered this managers’ course on how to deal with workplace sexual harassment since 2009. The instructor is Ms Veronica Wong, a personal life coach and specialized project consultant for Human Resource Management (HRM) and Training. She has over 20 years of HRM experience and is a certified counsellor skilled in Choice Therapy, Reality Therapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Besides AWARE, she has also shared her expertise with non-profit organizations like the Kaki Bukit Prison School and the Special Needs Trust Company.

In this course, you will learn:

Quotes from previous participants:

“Very interesting. I have learned so much about sexual harassment.”

“The trainer delivered the information very well and made the class very enjoyable.”

“Everyone must have this knowledge!”

When: April 20, 2012 1pm-6pm

Where: AWARE Centre, 5 Dover Crescent

Fee: Single, S$100, pair: S$180

Reserve your spot! Register HERE.

For more information, go to Workplace Sexual Harassment microsite or e-mail publiceducation@aware.org.sg