As the Country Celebrates its Golden Year, Singaporeans Turn Nostalgic on the Internet · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Start of the jubilee weekend. Photo from the Facebook page of Singapore50
Singapore was a poor island when it became an independent nation in 1965. But in the past five decades, it transformed itself into a prosperous global city. This is the story many people all over the world will celebrate as the country marks its 50th founding year on August 9.
In recent weeks, Singaporeans have been participating in various initiatives that memorialize the achievements they have witnessed as a nation. Some of these online projects have made many people nostalgic — especially those that evoke memories of old Singapore.
For example, a 3D visualization studio has created several videos that showed old buildings and icons that no longer exist today. Meanwhile, the Twitter hashtag #GrowingUpSingaporean inspired netizens to share their childhood memories.
“The New Good Old Days”
Using computer graphics and visual effects, Sixtrees uploaded videos that “restored” famous icons and buildings that the young today can no longer see in the streets of Singapore.
The main objective is to relive memories for the earlier generation and introduce these to the younger ones for a deeper appreciation of the Lion City’s rich history and rise to success.
For Singaporeans, the videos can be used as creative learning tools to teach children about the history of their community. For non-Singaporeans, the videos are impressive examples of using new technologies to render a realistic portrayal of vanished landmarks of a particular place.
Below are some videos of the ‘new good old days’ of Singapore:
1. The National Theater of Singapore. The theater was demolished in the early 1980s
2. Merdeka Bridge Lions. The iconic lions guarding the bridge in the 1950s are now placed in a military institute
3. Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. Opened in 1932, the station was closed in 2011.
#GrowingUpSingaporean
The Twitter hashtag #GrowingUpSingaporean trended after Singaporean netizens actively shared their memories of growing up in the country. Many of the tweets are interesting stories about life in old Singapore which are no longer familiar to many children today. Below are some of the tweets using the hashtag:
#GrowingUpSingaporean Buying these erasers, poking staples inside, and spinning like beyblade pic.twitter.com/ZkxrzKz9pR
— iÅmai™ (@i4mai) August 3, 2015
We don't call TV shows by their name we call them by timings like “the 7 o'clock show” “the 9 o'clock show” 😂 #growingupsingaporean
— HAppY BiRthDay SHawN (@L0WKEYSARAH) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpSingaporean Only 90s kids knows.. pic.twitter.com/GG47invjaw
— Zaidi Zaid (@ZackAmina) July 21, 2015
#GrowingUpSingaporean Our first ciggarette stick 😂 pic.twitter.com/sshEsJfdoN
— -you- (@sxrxzanaaa) July 21, 2015