Sweat, Stress and Togetherness

by Dominique Goh and Shereen Ng (River Valley High School), SG United Journalists

WARM hellos and friendly handshakes. That was how many of the community leaders participating in the National Community Engagement Programme (CEP) Seminar last Saturday greeted each other and caught up with fellow CEP practitioners.

As they settled into their seats, they viewed a flashback of the activities of the past year, and listened intently to the keynote speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Mr Wong Kan Seng. They heard the briefing by Dr Rohan Gunaratna, of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, on the importance of community engagement in countering extremism. Then, after tea reception, when they viewed the exhibition, the seminar participants were briefed by the CEP cluster leads on developments and future plans.

What the participants did not see, were the sweat and hard work that went into the preparation of the annual seminar.

"After 18 Apr, we've all probably read news reports regarding the event itself, yet how many know the detailed work of what really went on behind the scenes?" said Ms Wendy Woo, Assistant Director (Community Relations), and a lead member of the team that organised the seminar.

Planning of the seminar began months earlier. What participants saw at the seminar started off with simple ideas and concepts brainstormed and discussed.

An immense amount of coordination was involved - working with the vendors, the venue and facility provider, checking that information was given in good time so that work could be done on the exhibition panels; checking and backing up files in laptops and ensuring that presentations were given on time. And there was the drawing up of contingency plans and having back-ups, whether it was the projector or the laptops.

Then it was preparation for the dry run the day before the national seminar. Everyone was there, rolling up their sleeves to get things done. The running of the videos, the synchronisation of script and sounds - all were repeatedly practised. Even the alert system for the master of ceremony to announce the arrival of the Guest-of-Honour was rehearsed a number of times.

Busy bees: MHA's staff assistants formed "factory lines" in order to put together hundreds of sets of seminar kits in the shortest time possible.

The big day was like judgement day. Would all the planning go right? Or would all the hard work go down the drain? Members of the organising team kept their fingers crossed.

On 18 Apr, the cars flowed into the car park smoothly. Registration went well, despite the heat of the day. For it was one of the hottest days, at 35 degrees Celsius. The seminar proceeded smoothly, with frank discussions.

Before they knew it, the national seminar was over!

"One group of people I would like to specially thank are our staff assistants," said Ms Woo. The staff assistants worked hard in packing the seminar kit, checking that things were in place, and ready to pass the cordless mikes to participants during dialogue time.

The reporting team from SG United Journalists' Club spoke to Ms Wendy Woo and Mr Lam Wai Kit, Assistant Director (Community Engagement), to find out their thoughts on the seminar.

Question: How long did the planning take? Was it tiring?

Wendy: We first started work planning for the seminar in Sep last year with intensive preparations starting about one and a half months prior to the actual day. As expected, preparations were more tiring closer to the seminar date when many details and loose ends had to be tied up and close coordination was crucial at all levels. There were also last-minute changes and inputs which had to be taken into consideration.

Wai Kit: Planning an event of this scale was inevitably tiring but the challenge itself was a form of powerful fuel that kept us going.

Question: Which part of the seminar are you personally happy about? Why?

Wendy: The fact that last-minute changes did not faze us and that we took them in our stride.

Wai Kit: I am proud of everyone in the organising team who came together and put their hearts and soul into the preparation which ensured the success of the seminar.

Question: How do you think youths can be further made aware of the CEP besides the current measures?

Wendy: While we can organise outreach programmes to the youths, ultimately, it is the youths
themselves who have to understand the importance of the CEP to the people around them, including their peers, and be more active in this area. As suggested during the dialogue session, we need youths to come forward and actively engage the people around them.

Wai Kit: There is already National Education in the schools which is a good start. However, classes and textbooks alone do not constitute theresults. Only when youths sincerely open their hearts to look at and examine the issues of religious and racial harmony, will they achieve real understanding and knowledge. They can start by following the news and getting to know what is going on around the world and on this island; also, know what is going on around you, in your school and in your neighbourhood. Next, open your hearts and minds, eyes and ears to understand and accept the differences of everyone. All the above form the essential foundation to facilitate understanding, discussion and learning.