In 1978 Wynne Spiegel arrived in Singapore. As a former docent in the United States, she was keen to volunteer her services to the Singapore National Museum and was disappointed to discover there were no public tours. She offered her services and was accepted by the director of the Museum. Three others soon joined her--Anne Tofield, Sally Houseman and Fran Hamlin. They in turn contacted their friends and neighbours, and FOM was launched.

Much of the knowledge to set up the framework of the organisation came from the Bangkok (Thailand) Friends of the Museums, which had been established five years previously. The two groups have remained in close touch ever since.

In their first year, FOM provided the Singapore National Museum with guided tours, a lecture series, and workshops for three hundred and fifty schoolchildren.

Many FOM members live only briefly in Singapore but the knowledge which they gain here has led, for some, to international acclaim through their own professional careers and activities. Some have taken the FOM concept to other parts of the world. Nancy Le Baron revitalised the volunteer group for Kew Gardens in London and June Davey took the principles of the docent training programme to Hong Kong. What goes around comes around, it seems, and docents trained in Bangkok and Hong Kong have come to Singapore and taken similar roles here.

FOM JOINS WFFM

FOM in Singapore does not exist in a vacuum. It is a member of the World Federation of Friends of Museums (WFFM). This international organiation with federations and associations of Friends in over thirty countries represents more than two million volunteers. WFFM was officially established with its first international congress in 1972. Its objectives are to encourage and support the establishment of Friends groups and to facilitte the exchange of information through yearly assemblies and triennial congresses.

In 1985 FOM joined WFFM as an associate member and benefitted from the opportunities to learn from other Friends groups around the world.

In 1999 a shift was made from being a passive recipient of information to a more active role on the international scene, particularly under the leadership of former FOM(S) presidents Margaret White and Kay Anand-Sobti. They attended the 10th WFFM world congress held in Sydney, where Margaret presented a paper on New Friends - New Future and Kay made contact with Syed Mohamad Albukhary, director of the Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur.

Inspired by the Congress, it was decided to hold a meeting of Friends Across Asia in Kuala Lumpur in 2000. Delegates from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam attended.

This proved to be an exciting start to our efforts to do more in Asia and gave us the opportunity to network not only with museum volunteers throughout the region, but also to strengthen our ties with our colleagues in the National Heritage Board and other museum professionals.

The success of this meeting led to a second Sharing the Spirit meeting in Singapore in 2001, the International Year of the Volunteer.

In 1998 we were elected to the council of WFFM for a six-year term. From 2000, Julia Oh, FOM past president and advisor, attended meetings in Prague, Oporto, Bruges and Oslo as our delegate. In 2002 the Coucil elected Julia Oh as WFFM Secretary General for a three-year term with responsibility to coordinate and communicate with the global membership.

Such opportunities to act on a wider scale than Singapore have had many benefits, not only in raising our profile internationally, but also in contributing significantly to strengthening WFFM and encouraging the expansion of Friends' groups. Closer ties have been forged with our colleague museums throughout the world through the International Committee of Museums.

FOM(S) now has a significant role in a world-wide body. We have a membership with representatives from more than 40 countries and we are proud of our achievements and our influence as pathfinders and contributors to community service in Singapore and the world.

In 2007, when the WFFM met in Singapore, Carla Vossi Comelli, President of the WFFM, said "The WFFM's annual General Assembly and Council Meeting is an opportunity for the lay person, the non-specialist, and the ordinary members of the public to share their views and bring about change in our museums. It brings museums closer to the people and people closer to the museums."

Michael Koh, CEO of Singapore's National Heritage Board, added, "We are happy to host these stalwarts of the heritage cause from around the world. . . . Cultural volunteerism is part and parcel of the social fabric in western nations. The selection of Singapore as a venue for this global gathering is an endorsement of our progress in cultural volunteerism."

The growth of FOM in the past 30 years has been significant. We continue to build on the opportunities to explore the many international avenues which are opening up to us so that we can continue to promote the work of Friends in support of museums.

The future holds many possible volunteer opportunities for FOM members, not only with the museums, but with other institutions as well. The vision of the National Heritage Board is to make "heritage an enriching part of everyone's life". The Friends of the Museums (Singapore), through our programmes and activities, helps this vision become reality.

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