Date : 3 May 2010
What does the Community Engagement Programme (CEP) mean to young people? And do they treasure communal harmony, and see emergency preparedness and resilience as something they must be equipped with?
Three students from the New Town Secondary School penned down their thoughts after taking part in the National CEP Dialogue 2010, sharing with everyone their experience and what they have taken away from the event.
“The National CEP Dialogue gave me a chance to learn of security challenges Singapore faces. There is a need during peacetime for us to prepare ourselves to handle emergencies in case a crisis takes place. We must be steadfast in believing in ourselves and not panic in time of crises.
As the saying goes, ‘prevention is better than cure’, we should be vigilant against potential threats so that we can prevent tragedies from happening. Through the sharing by community leaders at the Dialogue, I recognised a constant need to promote religious and racial harmony in Singapore.
Personally, I feel that my friends, as well as all other participants who attended the Dialogue, have a role to play in bringing the CEP messages to our peers.”
“I learnt of how the CEP is important in the face of terrorism threats and other crises. It is crucial for Singaporeans to understand and take part in the CEP, and to start building networks of trust to bond us together united as one to withstand any crisis, and enable us to live in harmony.
The internet has the power to influence people’s minds. Propaganda on the internet may trigger self-radicalisation and influence users to support extreme ideologies. We have to stay alert and fight this war against internet self-radicalisation.”
“Being able to attend the National CEP Dialogue was a fantastic experience. Apart from listening to cabinet ministers sharing their views and perspectives on issues related to the CEP and security, I also had the opportunity to find out how other fellow Singaporeans react to CEP-related issues and their take on the some of the challenges Singapore faces.”