The Community Engagement Programme brings together people from various communities to strengthen inter-communal bonds, and put in place response plans to help deal with potential communal tensions after a crisis.

Understand the need for the Community Engagement Programme

- We cannot take our positive state of communal relations for granted. In a crisis, our social fabric may be strained. It could also be difficult for communities to remain calm and avoid knee-jerk reactions after a crisis - We thus need to know what to expect and how to respond in a crisis. Please start here to find out more on what the Community Engagement Programme is about. Give us your suggestions and feedback.

	Live, work, play and study together in racial and religious harmony, while enjoying the diversity and richness of individual races and religions
	- We need to build trust within and between communities. Do make an effort to get to know your neighbours at home, colleagues at work, friends at school and at play - Let's get to know and understand the beliefs and cultures of the various ethnic and religious groups in Singapore - We suggest to start here for information on the major religions in Singapore.

Get trained to cope with crises and emergencies

- Readiness can help us lower our vulnerabilities. At the individual level, we must be prepared to cope with emergencies. Get trained, so that you know how to respond - Here are some examples on how you can help your loved ones and help others :-   Why not take part in your constituency’s Emergency Preparedness Day? You can find out about such events and how to get involved here There is a wide range of programmes in essential civil defence skills and knowledge. These include exercises, distribution of educational materials, training tools and community events. The SCDF website has a range of community programmes. Why not sign up and get involved NOW

Be resilient and ready

- During a crisis, we need to remain calm and ensure that our way of living can return to normalcy in the shortest possible time. - Resilience is a state of mind, and can be manifested in our level of readiness. - At the individual level, we can ensure that we are ready by putting in place an "emergency plan" for ourselves and our loved ones. When we are prepared and have a plan, we will not panic. Such a plan can take many forms, for example,   Keeping ready items which would come in useful in an emergency, for example, a torchlight, radio, essential contact numbers, medication, copies of important documents and a medical card listing the allergies (if any) and pre-existing medical conditions. All these can go into a "Ready Bag" which you can "grab & go" in an emergency. A sample is shown here

Our survival as a nation depends on all of us. Let us Get Ready and Stay Ready, for a Singapore United. (Please click on the picture above to watch a video introducing the Community Engagement Programme)

Mr Miel Prudencio Rosales Jr, Senior Executive Artist, Straits Times, March 2007

"It was one of those times when I thought: I want to do something for the community and translate what the CEP was about in a manner more people will understand. So I came up with the cartoon and sent it in this month."

Miel designed a cartoon poster on the CEP and the masthead of the Singapore United web portal. The masthead is now used as a Singapore United logo. The posters have been displayed at noticeboards of Residents' Committees, Home Team and cluster leads' establishments.

Mr Melvin Singh, Executive News Editor, The New Paper; Ms Tan Siew Ping, then Chief Editor of Mediacorp Radio; Ms Teo Hwee Nak, then News Editor of TODAY

The web portal was given the working title of "CEP website". When the name was tested with the media, they unanimously gave the feedback that it sounded bureaucratic and would turn off the public. The media gave various ideas. From these, came the eventual name of "Singapore United" which encapsulates the essence of the Community Engagement Programme - to have a united Singapore in a crisis.

Ms Bharati Jagdish, the Morning Show "FRESH", FM93.8

Ms Bharati was the master-of-ceremony for the National Seminar in March 2007, and also helped to facilitate at the CEP Workshop for DJs in October 2007.