Outward Bound Singapore (Abbreviation: OBS; ms, Pusat Bina Semangat Singapura; ; ta, சிங்கப்பூர் வெளிப்புற நடவடிக்கை), formerly called Outward Bound School of Singapore (OBSS), is part of the network of

Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...

List of Outward Bound Centers
Outward Bound International centres worldwide. Established in 1967, Outward Bound Singapore has a

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

, located on the island of

Pulau Ubin Pulau Ubin, also simply known as Ubin, is an island situated in the north east of Singapore, to the west of Pulau Tekong. The granite quarry used to be supported by a few thousand settlers on Pulau Ubin in the 1960s, but only about 38 villagers ...

History

Initially named the Outward Bound School of Singapore, it was founded by then Minister of the Interior and Defence,

Goh Keng Swee Goh Keng Swee (; 6 October 1918 – 14 May 2010), born Robert Goh Keng Swee, was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1973 and 1985. Goh is widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of Singa ...

in Singapore in 1967. OBSS was initially managed by the

People's Association The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) of the Government of Singapore that oversees neighbourhood grassroots communities and social organisations. Established in 1960, it wa ...

(PA) before the Ministry of the Interior and Defence took over to use it as a facility to prepare young men for compulsory

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

. In April 1991, OBSS was returned to the People's Association and was renamed Outward Bound Singapore. The number of participants has grown since 1991 and it is currently the largest

centre worldwide. Secondary school students are strongly encouraged to attend a week's programme at Outward Bound Singapore's Pulau Ubin centre. The programme can be conducted indoor or outdoor, depending on the weather conditions. Over the years, OBS has evolved to play a more active role in community building through its OBS AlumniOBS Alumni
, & the Leadership & Service Award.
. OBS has also partnered with overseas Outward Bound centres such as Oman & South Africa to provide more global programmes for youths. Recently announced at the Singapore Youth Conference 2014, OBS was restructured to be part of the new strengthened

National Youth Council A National Youth Council is a representative body made up of youth organizations and young people in a particular state or nation. Many were formed after the second world war to attend the World Festival of Youth and later the World Assembly of You ...

(NYC) Autonomous Agency. As one of the National Youth Developer, OBS will co-drive the national youth volunteer programme, Youth Corps Singapore with NYC.

Outward Bound Philosophy

The Outward Bound philosophy is summarised by co-founder,

Kurt Hahn Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886, Berlin – 14 December 1974, Hermannsberg) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding, among other organizations and initiatives, Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonstoun, ...

,Kurt Hahn
, Founder of Outward Bound, as "The aim of education is to impel people into value-forming experiences, to ensure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an indefatigable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self, and above all, compassion." The development-by-challenge' approach combats the Six Declines of Modern Youth to produce positive psychological and social outcomes. 6 Declines of Modern Youth Outward Bound programmes are designed to empower people with self-awareness, responsibility, perseverance, interpersonal skills, confidence, compassion and the ability to create positive impact for the community. Programmes follow the Outward Bound process model:Outward Bound Process Model
Walsh & Gollins 1976.

Key Programmes

Inverse tower at the Pulau Ubin Campus of Outward Bound Singapore - 20080910

Youth Corps Singapore As one of the National Youth Developer, OBS will co-drive the new national youth volunteer programme, Youth Corps Singapore with NYC.
Be a part of Youth Corp Singapore. Shortlisted applicants will attend a 5-day residential leadership programme at OBS for training and team bonding. The Youth Corps programme will match youth volunteers with critical community needs, and help them make sustained and meaningful contributions to society.
Youth Corp Singapore. MOE-OBS Challenge Programme Under the National Outdoor Adventure Education Masterplan, the MOE-OBS Challenge Programme seeks to develop ruggedness, resilience, and build cohesion amongst Secondary 3 students. The programme comprises a series of school-based Physical Education and Character and Citizenship Education lessons facilitated by teachers as well as a 5-day expeditionary course at Outward Bound Singapore (OBS). 21-Day Leadership & Service Award (LSA) Started in 2011, this award was created for youths aged 17 – 35 with a passion for community service. Selected individuals are awarded the LSA with a scholarship to attend the 21-day course in Pulau Ubin. Awardees participate in a multi-element leadership and service challenge programme designed to broaden their horizons while being out of their comfort zones, build resilience, and inspire them to undertake bigger endeavours to the community. Besides adventure learning, organising and planning of community service projects are also key components of the LSA programme. LSA graduates become part of the OBS Alumni upon completion of the programme. Global Adventures Global programmes are conducted with sister Outward Bound centres in various regions and combine both adventure and cultural learning. The 11-day Global Adventure Oman spans the Omani desert, trekking across the Jabel Akhder Mountain in the day and camping under the Arabian stars at night. Another global programme is the 18-day Global Adventure South Africa which includes exploring the sandstone foothills of the spectacular Drakensberg. These programmes are open to youths above 17.

OBS Alumni

Since its establishment in 2012 with the aim of giving graduates of OBS programme a platform to serve the community, the OBS Alumni has partnered several community stakeholders for various causes ranging from helping under-privileged families to environment conservation. * 1-day Nurture @ Adventure programme @ East Coast Campus for about 500 needy children & their families on Father's dayA Father's Day to Remember
''Today Online'',18 June 2012. * Partnered with Central Singapore Community Development Council to conduct the Trust Journey programme with the aim of fostering racial harmony ties between students from the Global Indian International Schools & local M.O.E school, Queensway Secondary School
, Racial harmony camp brings teans outdoors for inter –racial bonding, ''Asia One News'',21 July 2012. * Collaborated with International Coastal Clean Up to clean up the coastal shores of Pulau Ubin * Alumni volunteers at the soup kitchen, Willing Hearts where they helped prepare meals for needy Singaporeans
,''Asia One News'', 21 October 2012. * Partnered with South East Community Development Council, 'Yifon Skips for Nutritional Wellness @ South East 2013' campaign to earn 600 Yifon food products for the needy by conducting 'The Giant Team Skip'
, ''Asia One News'', 28 February 2013. * Co – organised a special outdoor camp with Central Singapore Community Development Council, Camp Include, for students from MINDS who were paired with Alumni volunteers to go thru the outdoor activities such as high rope course, tunnel cave maze etc.
,''Asia One News'', 21 March 2013. * Organised the first Merlion abseil @ Sentosa for the public to raise awareness and funds for Life Community, a children's charity
,''Asia One News'', 20 July 2013. * On 19 March 2014, the volunteers were awarded for their community efforts at the inaugural OBS Volunteers Appreciation Ceremony. Alumni mentors were also appointed to guide younger volunteers in their community impact projectsOBS Awards Youth Volunteers Community Service Efforts
''Asia One News'', 30 March 2014.

Facilities

Pulau Ubin Camp 1 & 2 When Outward Bound first started in 1967, its facilities were spartan. Currently, OBS has two campuses at Pulau Ubin. Using up approximately 9 hectares of land, some of the climbing facilities are the ''Peak Ascent Tower'', inverse and

tripod A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...

towers, Vertical Challenge Activities, The Indiana,

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

walls, and non-height activities such as the Tunnelling and Caving system. Other facilities include teaching rooms and a 25-metre swimming pool for

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

ing. The Pulau Ubin campus is located at two locations, with Camp 1 being larger than Camp 2. Depending on the course, Residential or Mobile, the campers either stay in the

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

provided on campus or in

tents A tent () is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using gu ...

on the centre's ground respectively. OBS@Coney A new OBS campus will be located on Coney Island, as part of the National Outdoor Education Masterplan. When the campus eventually opens in 2021, OBS@Coney will augment the existing facilities at Pulau Ubin, towards an annual capacity of 45,000 participants. The campus will feature new outdoor adventure education facilities, such as advanced challenge ropes courses, abseiling, rock-climbing and artificial caving systems.

References

External links

OBS Homepage
{{Education in Singapore Education in Singapore 1967 establishments in Singapore Outward Bound North-Eastern Islands Education in North-East Region, Singapore