Challenge March – April 2009 by Challenge Online

PEOPLE • PE RSPEC TIVES • POSSI B I LITIES

W W W.CH A LL ENGE.GOV.SG

MARCH-APRIL 2009

VIRTUAL REALITY PUTTING NEW MEDIA TO WORK

WHILE THE CLOCK TICKS EFFECTIVE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

MANHUNT! BUILDING UP THE TALENT POOL

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Contents

MarApr2009 01

Foreword 25 POKEY THINGS

Random pursuits in the virtual world.

Short Takes

Cover Story

JIMMY YAP HAS THROWN A SHEEP AT YOU

There is no shortage of eager young graduates in the Civil Service who are adept at tweeting.

I Say

What would you like to do differently in 2009? Check out the ideas public ofﬁcers hope to see being implemented in the ofﬁce this year.

Opinion

Finance HEALTH INSURANCE

Examining CPF-based schemes vis-a-vis private health insurance policies.

Training RECIPES FOR E-LEARNING

E-learning in the corporate world is a mixture of ﬁnely-tuned educational resources.

Face2Face UNCHARTERED TERRITORY

MICA’s Chan Yeng Kit talks about Singapore’s baby steps into the world of new media.

Public Service news and happenings at a glance.

PUBLIC AGENCIES GET IN YOUR FACE(BOOK)

Putting new media to work to enhance public outreach and communications. Cover Story MAKING TELEVISION HISTORY

An insider account of National Heritage Board’s foray into DIY TV.

Feature RAMPING UP THE TALENT SEARCH

The public sector is seizing the opportunity to build up its talent pool.

Just For Laughs FACEBOOK SPOOF

What would it be like if the Public Service had an online social network of its own?

BUILDING BREADTH AND DEPTH

The Civil Service College is focused on building new capabilities across the public sector.

TALK CHOC

Lifestyle A WALK TO REMEMBER

Some things in life are still free, as several public ofﬁcers have discovered.

WHILE THE CLOCK TICKS

Backstage

Food

Chocolate concoctions to pander to your sweet tooth.

Feature

Building trust through effective crisis communications.

THE LAST PAGE

PEOPLE • PE RSPEC TIVES • POSS I B I LITIES

Trivia Quiz WEB-O-METER

How Web (2.0) savvy are you?

W W W.CH A LL ENGE.GOV.SG

MARCH-APRIL 2009

VIRTUAL REALITY PUTTING NEW MEDIA TO WORK

WHILE THE CLOCK TICKS EFFECTIVE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

MANHUNT! BUILDING UP THE TALENT POOL

COVER PERICRAFT

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Foreword

25PokeyThings IN THIS AGE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING AND COLLABORATION WHERE INFORMATION IS PASSED FROM MANY TO MANY, CAN WE AS THE GOVERNMENT AFFORD TO IGNORE

PHOTO: WINSTON CHUNG

NEW MEDIA?

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OK, ‘FESS UP. How many of you got your fingers dirty and succumbed to listing “25 Random Things” about yourself in the latest phenomenon to sweep the Facebook community? I first knew about it when I got “tagged in a note” by my friend. That was confusing at first, because I thought I was written about in that note, a bit like how one gets tagged in photos. But I scoured up and down my friend’s list and there was…nothing about me. Eventually, I realised that I was meant to write my own list of 25 random things about myself, post it, and tag other people. Ah…after two long days of resisting, and a few other subsequent taggings, I caved in to the temptation and listed out my own. My No. 23 reads “I’ve never had cable in my life till I moved”, and No. 24 says “I consider my Hubstation one of the best purchases I’ve made”. Yes, you really wanted to know that. If you are part of the “25 Random Things” phenomenon, you’re not the only one. A Time story dated Feb 5, 2009 reported that an estimated 5 million of these notes, or 125 million random facts, appeared on Facebook within the past week. Assuming it takes someone 10 minutes to come up with their list, this amounts to roughly 800,000 hours spent on this around the globe. And if you’re still not clued in, go ahead and Google “25 Random Things” and be awed at what you find. As for me, having something else to fill my Facebook time was good, considering I

have long moved on from throwing chickens and sending mojitos. That is the power and speed of new media today, and Challenge brings you several of the “whats” and “hows” of new media today. A few of our agencies have engaged more in it, some less, some not at all. But in this age of social networking and collaboration where information is passed from many to many, can we as the Government afford to ignore it? We have seen updates, videos and photos provide breaking news much quicker than conventional media. The Internet has also been instrumental in swaying opinions, inﬂuencing elections and facilitating the explosion of online information sent by ordinary people like you and I. What is our response as the Public Service, if indeed our desire is to not just keep up with the times but to be ahead of it as well? More than just getting past learning new media terms like tag clouds, folksonomies (ok, I admit, I don’t know what’s a folksonomy yet, need to Wiki that) and Twitter, we need to fundamentally understand the mindset shift of collaboration, facilitation and multiple-participation. And the implications these virtual rules have in our real world. Jimmy Yap also shares his views in the opinion feature on new media. Enough of the serious stuff. Our lifestyle section brings you walks in parks that won’t cost you and ﬁne chocolates that you can still surprise your dates with way past Valentine’s Day. Enjoy your read and stay tuned for our next special May/June issue on Public Service Week!

Tay Li Shing EDITOR

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PEOPLE • PERSPECTIVES • POSSIBILITIES ⁄ WWW.CHALLENGE.GOV.SG⁄ MARCH-APRIL 2009

PUBLISHER

PS21 Ofﬁce, Prime Minister’s Ofﬁce (Public Service Division)

The Treasury, 100 High Street #02-03 Singapore 179434 Tel: 6332-7251 Fax: 6333-4010 E-mail: psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg Website: www.challenge.gov.sg EDITOR

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO

Tay Li Shing ASSISTANT EDITORS

DIFFERENTLY IN 2009? DO YOU HAVE AN

Wendy Goh and Edmund Soo EDITORIAL ADVISOR

IDEA YOU WOULD LIKE TO IMPLEMENT IN

Calvin Phua PS21 OFFICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Joann Lau, Ng Shu Zheng and Amy Sum

THE OFFICE? TELL US WHAT AND WHY.

For enquiries or feedback on Challenge, Please write to the Editor at PS21 Ofﬁce, The Treasury, 100 High Street, #02-03, Singapore 179434. Tel: 6332-7251 Fax: 6333-4010 E-mail: psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg

LETTER OF THE MONTH

AResilienceWall

PUBLISHING AGENT

SPH Magazines Pte Ltd MANAGING DIRECTOR

Dennis Pua GENER AL MANAGER

Christopher Tay GROUP EDITOR

Joanna Lee-Miller SENIOR EDITOR

Azreen Noor CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Tan Ee Sze WRITER

Foo Yong Han EXECUTIVE SUB-EDITOR

Esther Lew ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Alex Goh ART DIRECTOR

Ginny Gay MANAGER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Sharon Chan ASSISTANT MANAGER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Diana Li SENIOR EXECUTIVE, PUBLISHING SERVICES

Mustapha Mohamed

I would like to set up a “Resilience Wall” in the office. It could be a nicely decorated soft board or white board or even a plain wall, located in a highly visible place where staff can place notes of encouragement and words of gratitude to fellow colleagues. An occasional joke can also be shared here. Having an informal outlet where fellow colleagues can show their concern or gratitude can bring the working relationship up a notch. You would know that Jack can help fix a computer glitch in the office after seeing that “thank you” note Peter left for him. Or who would have guessed that Betty has a great sense of humour despite wearing a poker face on most days? Given these gloomy times, colleagues can help boost morale and mental resilience with these gestures. Sometimes, all you need is a pen and paper to make someone’s day.

CONTRIBUTORS

Lee Khum Thong

Singapore Prison Service

A former journalist with The Straits Times, Tan Ee Sze has extensive experience in developing and managing publications. She is also the author of several commemorative books and children’s publications.

A journalist and wordsmith, Melissa Heng has worked for The Straits Times, The Bus Times and TODAY. She was also a senior editor with Marshall Cavendish International Asia, previously known as Times Publishing Group.

A J Leow has been involved in various aspects of editorial work from print to broadcast, having started as a writer for The Business Times before becoming the editor at AFX-News, Smart Investor, Money Mind and various ﬁnancial planning portals.

Anna Yap has been using the Internet since she was given a copy of the ﬁrst browser – Mosaic – in 1993. Since then, she has been writing about IT and Internetrelated topics. She’s also held the position of senior associate with a leading PR agency.

LEE KHUM THONG WINS A PHILIPS LIVING COLORS MINI WORTH $99. ALL OTHER PUBLISHED ARTICLES WIN SHOPPING VOUCHERS WORTH $30 EACH.

Stephanie Gwee, Lianne Tan, Ye Dejing Challenge is published bimonthly by SPH Magazines Pte Ltd (Registration No: 196900476M) for PS21 Offi ce, Prime Minister’s Office (Public Service Division). Copyright of the materials contained in this magazine belongs to PS21 Office. Nothing in here shall be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written consent of PS21 Office. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of PS21 Offi ce nor SPH Magazines Pte Ltd and no liabilities shall be attached thereto. All rights reserved. Editorial enquiries should be directed to the Editor, PS21 Office, The Treasury, 100 High Street, #02-03, Singapore 179434. Tel: +65-6332-7251, Fax: +65-6333-4010, E-mail: psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg Unsolicited material will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed envelope and suffi cient return postage. While every reasonable care will be taken by the Editor, no responsibility is assumed for the return of unsolicited material. All information correct at time of printing. Printed in Singapore by Times Printers (Registration No: 196700328H).

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I Say

ReuseAndRecycle

FitnessCorner

As my job is intimately tied to acting for the environment, it would be great to have an exchange corner in the pantry to promote reusing and reycling. This designated corner can contain pre-loved or new items from staff who no longer need them. The items can then be given or balloted to other staff who may have some use for them. For bulky items, perhaps the staff can write the details on a slip of paper and pin it to the board. There is also a possibility that some items will be left over. If they are still usable, we can donate these to a charity like the Salvation Army, or send them to the karung guni.

I believe that we need to encourage our public officers to be fit. I would like to propose the following: 1. To have a Nintendo Wii located in the tea area together with a Wii Balance board. Staff could be encouraged to keep fit during lunch or tea breaks, or before and after work. The Wii Fit programme is an excellent tool for staff to start getting fit. 2. A treadmill or similar device in the common area that will allow staff to walk away the pounds.

Yan Chui Ping

National Environment Agency

SaveTheEnvironment The government sector should take the lead in getting people to pay more attention to how we can play our part in saving the environment. We could: • Digitise documents instead of keeping hard copies • When possible, provide downloadable copies instead of hard copies • Share files using file sharing sites, instead of passing around files in CD-ROMs • Donate or recycle old giveaways or freebies, or old paper collaterals • Hold a contest that gets public officers to come up with ideas on how they can contribute to the green movement in their respective ministries/statutory boards. I don't think we are all doing enough right now...

RejuvenateBar It’s very easy for us to reach for biscuits, candies or mindless online surfing when we feel cold, tired or listless while working. I would like to designate a “Rejuvenate Bar” in my office where there are healthy snacks (eg fruits, muesli bars, water, juices, etc) and perhaps even a yoga mat, dumbbells or Osim’s U-Zap for a quick wake-up call! This promotes health and fitness for all of my colleagues and it will improve productivity as well.

Dr Wayne Lee Forday

Ngee Ann Polytechnic Ron Tan

Ministry of Education

Selene Ng

Singapore Tourism Board

SafeHarbour I hope to build a “Safe Harbour” in my ministry, a little corner in the organisation where everyone and anyone can make a pit stop to ﬁnd solace and refuge; to share their woes and anxieties, happiness and sadness, comfort and fears. This will be a place where we can talk and share, building stronger relationships and characters. It will also be a place where good ideas can be harvested. It will be a safe harbour that we can call a second home. Peter Lee

Ministry of Health

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“Look out for our special Public Service Week issue of I Say, where we will feature winning entries on the topic ‘My Three Wishes for a Better Public Service’. To celebrate Public Service Week, our winner gets a 2D 1N weekend stay at Siloso Beach Resort, Sentosa. All other featured entries win Shopping Vouchers worth $50 each.”

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ShortTakes

SLA

GISDevelopment Award The Singapore Land Authority’s Land Information Network (LandNet) system has won the GIS (Geographical Information System) Development Geospatial Excellence Award for Best Applications at the recent Map World Forum in Hyderabad. The awards commemorate excellence in geospatial technology applications. LandNet was launched on June 1, 2007 after a successful Proof-of-Concept experimentation with several public agencies and leading industry partners to find the best way of sharing spatial data online among public agencies. The system is the first in Asia Pacific to harness Enterprise GRID technology to facilitate online and up-to-date data sharing using a high-speed government network. It contains more than 120 layers of information that can be searched, manipulated and buffered by users online. Since its inception, 15 public agencies have signed on to share and access the spatial information.

ICA AND MOE

NRICRegistration From the start of this year, Singaporean students who turn 15 during the year can register for their National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) at their own schools instead of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Building. Under a joint initiative by ICA and the Ministry of Education (MOE), ICA will dispatch its mobile registration teams to MOE-registered secondary schools that had made prior bookings to conduct NRIC registration for eligible Singaporean students. With the registration exercise conducted in schools, the time needed for NRIC registration for each student is reduced to less than ﬁve minutes. In all, more than 48,000 students from 167 schools will beneﬁt from this joint initiative.

MINDEF

MOF

TotalDefence

UniqueEntityNumber

Singapore marked 25 years of Total Defence with a commemoration event, TD25 Day, on Feb 15, 2009. Held at the Suntec City Tropics Atrium, the event featured an original musical revue titled Five Pillars, One Roof, which brought together talents from various sectors of Singapore, and an award ceremony for the popular national animation competition, N.E.mation! III. The guest of honour for the event was Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean. TD25 Day also featured many interactive games and activities such as jigsaw puzzles and giant boardgames that tested participants on their understanding of Total Defence. One of the highlights was a montage wall where members of the public could post their personal responses to the question “What will you defend?” on specially designed ZoCards.

On Jan 1, 2009, the Singapore Government implemented the Unique Entity Number (UEN) as a standardised identification number that uniquely identifies all entities such as businesses, companies, societies, representative offices, health care institutions and trade unions that are registered in Singapore. The UEN project is a whole-of-government initiative led by MOF and ACRA, in collaboration with more than 20 public agencies. Fifty-two government agencies have started using UEN to interact with entities for over-the-counter and online interactions. All other government agencies will use UEN from July 1, 2009. With UEN, 385,000 entities will enjoy the convenience of having a single identification number for interaction with the Government. Government agencies and the public can also have a standardised means of identifying and verifying all the entities through the UEN website www.uen.gov.sg.

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Cover Story

P an utti d c ng om ne mu w m nic ed ati ia t on o s. wo By rk St to ep en ha ha nie nc Gw e p ee ubli co utr ea ch

ILLUSTRATION: PERICRAFT

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Cover Story

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IMAGINE GETTING THE LATEST UPDATES ABOUT SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT AGENCIES VIA FACEBOOK OR FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT THEIR LATEST OFFICIAL CAMPAIGNS ON YOUTUBE. Social networking and new media sites such as YouTube and Facebook are among the most popular in Singapore, ranking 4th and 5th respectively in the December 2008 list of top 20 websites compiled by online intelligence service Hitwise. The potential of these platforms is not lost on public agencies, which are increasingly making use of them for public outreach and communication purposes. Youths are an obvious demographic that sits well with this new communications channel. In 2006, the portal Youth.SG was launched, creating an unprecedented virtual space for young Singaporeans to exchange views on issues that affect them and access a comprehensive directory of links to resources that are relevant to them. Over the years, a plethora of new media initiatives has been rolled out by other public agencies. They range from vodcasts on crime prevention and counter-terrorism (Home Team) to YouTube videos on Singapore’s smoking ban (National Environment Agency) and even a simulation game entitled If I Were The Finance Minister (Ministry of Finance). “We encourage ministries and agencies to experiment with – and use – appropriate new media and web 2.0 tools in their communications with the public and with various stakeholders,” says Mr Koh Kew Soon, Deputy Director of the New Media Unit, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA). “New media can be useful not just to build a better understanding of government policies and programmes and to put across key messages, but also for public education and to encourage community interest and participation in campaigns and events.”

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Extending REACH The New Media Unit promotes and encourages the use of new media for public communications on a whole-ofgovernment level. Since the start of 2006, many agencies have been heeding this call. The public feedback agency REACH (www.reach.gov.sg), in particular, has been using Facebook to obtain feedback and opinions from the man on the street. REACH was revamped in 2006 as the lead agency for engaging and connecting with Singapore citizens. According to Dr Amy Khor, Member of Parliament, Mayor of Singapore’s Southwest District and Chairman of REACH, the agency decided to use Facebook as a means to “reach out and connect with the youth, including young professionals who are active in this network”. By leveraging on platforms popular with youths as well as using a virtual network that transcends geographical borders, the agency also hopes to connect with overseas Singaporeans to help them stay rooted to the country. Ms Amy Khor The main aim of having REACH on Facebook is to obtain feedback from netizens. Staff will actively follow the discussion postings and surface all feedback to the relevant ministries for their response. Dr Khor added that they will also request relevant agencies to look into and reply to speciﬁc requests. “We welcome the public to engage us and give us their feedback and views whether via new media channels such as web chats and Facebook or through more conventional platforms such as faceto-face dialogue sessions where they can contribute their ideas on issues and policies of interest to them,” says Dr Khor.

Going forward, REACH will be the key online platform for e-engagement on Government policies and issues. In its report on Engaging New Media, the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMS) had recommended that the Government engages voices outside of its current platforms. However, the Government noted that a huge amount of resources would be required for e-engagement on a multitude of online platforms, and this would not be realistic or efﬁcient. “In view of these concerns, the Government has decided to channel its resources to the dedicated REACH portal for e-engagement,” it said. In addition, the Government will also respond to letters in the online forum letter pages of local mainstream media. However, it noted that this was a start, and that the Government would increasingly adapt to the use of new media as it gains experience over time.

IDA: From users, for users Besides REACH, other agencies have also been making use of new media to reach out to their target audiences, with different objectives in mind. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), for example, has incorporated new media tools in its Infocomm123.sg portal (www. infocomm123.sg), which is aimed at encouraging Singaporeans to adopt an infocomm-enabled lifestyle by providing them with information, tips and guides on the use of new technologies. Infocomm123.sg encourages user participation and the contribution of user-generated content through the “iAsk. iAnswer” section of the portal, where users can post and answer questions on infocomm. It also enables users to keep tabs on the latest updates and activities of the portal with features like widgets and RSS feeds. Along with that, the IDA has introduced contests and games via the portal to encourage the public to use new media. One of these is the Silver Blog Contest, which encouraged senior citizens to go online and try their hands at blogging. To help the participants along, a step-by-step user guide to blogging was introduced on the portal.

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NHB: The future of heritage The National Heritage Board (NHB), too, has been an active advocate of the use of new media. The agency is currently on Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Youtube and Flickr. “These platforms were chosen because of their versatility and ability to reach out to a diverse group of people. We saw potential tapping into these platforms to extend our reach to the general public – the young and social media savvy in particular – and spark off their interest and appreciation of our unique culture, heritage and art,” says Mr Walter Lim, Director of NHB’s Corporate Communications and Industry Promotion division. “We also wanted to change the perception that museums and heritage attractions are old and musty. On the contrary, our museums are contemporary, chic hangouts for people of all ages. Social media provides a means for us to connect with them in a fun, informal and engaging way.”

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The agency’s Yesterday.sg blog – Singapore’s first heritage and museums blog – underwent a major transformation in February this year with the introduction of a quirky new Web-based Heritage TV channel. NHB has also launched a competition for young online game designers to develop heritage-related games for their peers. Termed Mission DarkStar, the campaign looks at hosting these games on Yesterday.sg and using them to foster a connection between the young and Singapore heritage. Another initiative which the Board is hatching, named Young Envoys for Art and Heritage (YEAH!), seeks to nominate and appoint young adult advocates who are active online and offline to spread the heritage message to their respective communities. Since its launch in March 2006, Yesterday.sg has seen an overall increase in Web traffic. It now averages 30,000 page views and 15,000 unique visitors a

month. “To date, we have 1,650 weblog entries, garnering an average of 300 reads per post; 1,448 comments made; and we have 2,430 registered members.” What’s heartening is that the group of now 30 volunteer editors for the blog – The Friends of Yesterday – have stayed on throughout the blog’s three-year existence. In the pipeline are plans for NHB to weave in more social media platforms like Twitter, Plurk, and possibly Wikipedia into its various online outreach platforms. It will also integrate new social networking tools and widgets like poll engines, forums and shout boxes and tagging into its new platforms. “Our goal is to spread the love for heritage and museums in an organic and natural fashion using available social networking tools and platforms,” says Mr Lim. Mr Walter Lim

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Cover Story

NLB: Going where the users are Like NHB, the National Library Board (NLB), has been adopting various new media tools such as blogs, podcasts, vodcasts and popular new media platforms such as YouTube and Flickr. “We began exploring the use of new media tools as early as 2005,” says Mr Wan Wee Pin, Manager, Programmes & Exhibitions, NLB. “Essentially, we want to go where our users and potential users are. Increasingly, with the pervasiveness of the Internet and people’s preference to go online for their information and knowledge needs, this has led to initiatives to provide our services online.” NLB currently has more than 10 active blogs as additional channels of communication to the public. “The main advantage of blogs is that it is a relatively simple, convenient and cost-effective way to connect with the online community,” says Mr Wan. The agency also uses Flickr as a platform for contributing, sharing and discussing photographs of Singapore (ﬂickr.com/photos/snaps.sg). Then there is YouTube. NLB has put the video-sharing site to use to raise awareness of its library programmes. At present, over 300 videos on or related to NLB are on YouTube. Most of these are also viewable on the NLB GoMedia microsite (gomedia. nlb.gov.sg). “New media allows greater levels of immediacy, Mr Wan Wee Pin

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interactivity and accessibility and tends to have more viral effectiveness than traditional promotional methods such as printed ﬂyers, print advertisements, and posters,” says Mr Wan. “Also, new media extends publicity messages at lower costs outside the walls of our physical libraries to users wherever they are, be it at home, in the ofﬁce or in school.”

MICA: Building capabilities One of the New Media Unit’s main challenges going forward is to work with ministries and agencies to build up new media capabilities at organisational and individual levels. Besides getting ministries and agencies to commit more time and resources (such as hardware), there is also a need to develop the human “software” – helping public servants gain the requisite knowledge or skills needed at different levels and catering to different requirements, says Mr Koh. To achieve this, the New Media Unit, together with MICA’s Public Relations Academy, is working with the Civil Service College to enhance and develop training programmes on new media communications. To start the ball rolling on informal sharing and exchanges, a “New Media Work Group” has also been set up for public servants to share experiences while also learning from the industry, media and academia. “While we have already made signiﬁcant progress, government agencies can still do more to take advantage of the many opportunities that new media presents,” says Mr Koh.

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NASA (NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION) IS SENDING OUT TWEETS; Estonia has a virtual embassy in Second Life; and Facebook is being used to recruit all kinds of talent from intelligence agents to ﬁreﬁghters. Yes, new media has arrived in the public sector. In the United States, Facebook seems to be a popular media of choice when it comes to liaising and communicating with citizens. Since late 2006, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been tapping into the social networking site to attract new blood into its service. That

NEW MEDIA FOR NEWBIES

Lopata, one of United Kingdom’s leading business networking strategists, to comment: “With the creation of the new brand pages on Facebook, this creates a great opportunity for larger organisations to appeal to a key demographic group in their own backyard.” Besides Facebook, many public agencies are also setting up a presence in Second Life. In 2007, Estonia joined Sweden in the virtual world of Second

VirtualForaysAcrossTheRealWorld foray into the social media scene is the ﬁrst time the agency went above and beyond its traditional media advertisements to lure new employees. Just by providing an overview of what the agency is looking for in a recruit, along with a 30-second promotional YouTube video aimed at potential college-aged applicants, the agency received close to 500 people signing up as a member of their group just a week after its debut. Countries like Northern Ireland have also jumped onto the Facebook bandwagon in attempts to reach out to their citizens who may have left in their teens to study in Scottish and English universities and who have never returned. Such governmental embracing of Facebook has prompted Mr Andy

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Life when it became the second country to have its own embassy there. The Ontario Public Service is another agency that has an active presence on Second Life. It has created an interactive career experience to showcase the range of jobs available, allowing users to fight virtual fires, analyse traffic patterns using live video feeds from throughout the Canadian province of Ontario and to virtually test water samples. For a more out-of-this-world experience, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has founded Explorer Island in Second Life, where real NASA terrain data has been used to model the surface of Mars and many of the spacecraft models are life-size (relative to your avatar). If you are looking for updates on the real Mars, however, you can also try Twitter. In June 2008, the agency made a historical announcement through the following tweet – “Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!”

AVATAR – A character that represents the user when he interacts with other users or plays games online. BLOG – Derived from “web log”. An online journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies. FACEBOOK – A social networking website where users create proﬁles, exchange private or public messages, and join groups of friends. FLICKR – An example of a website that allows users to share photographs and videos. NEW MEDIA – A catch-all term for electronic communications that include streaming video and audio, interactive user interfaces, online communities or live Internet broadcasting. PODCAST – Audio or video ﬁles distributed over the Internet by syndicated download to portable media players and computers. SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE – A website that focuses on building online communities of people who share the same interests and/or activities. RSS (REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION) – A format for delivering regularly changing Web content such as news headlines and notices. TWITTER – A social networking and microblogging service that allows a user to update friends by sending short text messages called “tweets”. VODCAST – The online delivery of video clips through Web feeds. WEB 2.0 – The “next phase” of the Internet, where the Web is increasingly being used for collaboration, information sharing and social networking. WIDGETS – A small specialised application that provides easy access to frequently used functions such as the time, weather and calculator. YOUTUBE – A video-sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips.

3/2/09 2:18:29 PM

Cover Story

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WHEN I FIRST SUGGESTED COMING UP WITH HERITAGE TV (HTV) FOR THE NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD’S REVAMPED INTERNET PORTAL (HTTP://YESTERDAY.SG), the idea sounded simple enough – produce three-minute video clips focusing on different aspects of Singapore’s art, history, culture and heritage. We would keep it very YouTube-like – raw, edgy and, well…home-made (not to mention cheap). Now how hard could that be, right? But the devil, as they say, is in the details. The first trial run on the Singapore Stone at the National Museum of Singapore was to be done on the fly without a script and with just a vague idea of how we envisioned it to flow. And since we had no equipment at all, we had to rely on ourselves to pull it off. I contributed an old, dusty camera

and some blank tapes I remembered I had lying around the home. Kimberly Shen, the conscripted host and my coconspirator in crime, gamely offered her well-worn tripod and swiped the family’s sole surviving karaoke microphone when no one was looking. The cable was ridiculously short but we had to make do. Our paper microphone cone proudly proclaiming HTV to the world was made at home by Kim who has a background in the ﬁne arts, which I assumed meant she’s quite deft with a blunt pair of scissors. The cone, which looked professional enough on TV, was actually clinging to life with love and a lot of sticky tape, but it served us well. As a test, the Singapore Stone episode was uploaded onto YouTube and in a couple of weeks, it chalked up a few hundred views (cool!) but garnered just one miserable comment. “Very Hot Host!” said someone who signed off as ZuluDelta217. Sigh … isn’t that always the

MAKINGTELEVISIONHISTORY An insider account of National Heritage Board’s foray into DIY TV. By David Miller

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case – it’s always the pretty faces in front of the camera that get all the applause. Everyone tends to forget guys like me – the sweaty geniuses behind the lens. Looking back at the raw footage, I was actually quite impressed that we could pull it off. There was of course, much room for improvement. We were amateurs after all, and this was our first foray into the brave new world of Internet television. I learnt many things about Kim – most of them good. But she had some unusual idiosyncrasies. For instance, she loves to preface her sentences with “Actually…” or more intriguingly, “In actual fact…” even though these were not in the script. But personal quirks aside, she’s been a great sport taking all my ribbing and nagging in her stride. And to be fair, I’ve had my share of goof-ups as well. Like the time I discovered the joys of playing with the zoom function and the end result was something out of the Blair Witch Project, which gave us all a headache watching the raw footage. Then there was the incident when I forgot to test that the microphone was connected properly and we ended up with a closing scene that offered nothing but deafening silence. In the weeks that followed, filming of HTV got better. We had learnt our lessons well. We realised the importance of having a proper script complete with large fonts as it can also double up as our off-camera cue card. We planned camera angles, cut-aways, reverse shots, fillers and voice-overs. Yeah, we were even starting to throw in some TV jargon just to get into the spirit of things! Filming just one episode takes about two hours or more even with careful preparation. Says Kim: “Having to remember to stand up straight, smile on cue, speak slowly, gesture at the right time, move my head ever so slightly so no one realises I’m really trying to squint and read the script held beside the camera … and doing all this with my producer’s eyes

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Harried producer and hot host: Mr David Miller (left) with Ms Kimberly Shen

bearing down on me … that’s a lot to ask.” Our trusty paper bag of equipment now includes a new High Definition camera, spare batteries and tapes, Kim’s super heavy-duty eye-liner pencil (plus a spare for emergencies), a bottle of water (filming is hot work), tissue paper and the official HTV fan made up of old scripts (to keep the host cool ‘cos she’s forbidden to sweat on camera). The post-production editing, like everything else associated with HTV, is done in-house by Kim and her trusty Mac which has seen better days. “When I’m editing, it’s really weird seeing yourself in just about every clip. Then it’s David’s voice in the background encouraging me along: ‘Great job, Kim, but let’s do it one more time!’ Sigh. The idea behind HTV is to motivate Singaporeans to take a greater interest in our museums and heritage. We’ll seek out interesting places, people and exhibitions. In just three minutes or so, we hope to provide just a little peek of what’s on offer and present it in a light-hearted and unassuming manner which we hope will resonate with the general public.

Along the way, Kim and I learnt a lot about Singapore’s heritage. I didn’t know that the tombstone of Agnes Joaquim, the woman who created our national flower Vanda Miss Joaquim, lay in the ground of the Armenian Church just a stone’s throw away from NHB’s office in Hill Street. Before we visited the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research located within the grounds of the National University of Singapore, I had never heard that Singapore was once home to the Indo-Chinese leopard and some of its smaller cousins could still be around today lurking in the shadows of our forest reserves. Wow – talk about rediscovering our natural heritage! And that is really the whole point of Heritage TV – to educate, inform, inspire and intrigue Singaporeans on all things heritage-related. To view HTV, log on to (http://yesterday.sg). The writer, a former correspondent with The Straits Times, is currently Assistant Director of Corporate Communications at the National Heritage Board.

3/2/09 3:11:34 PM

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Jimmy Yap has spent 14 years in the media industry in Singapore, during which he pioneered the Internet beat for The Straits Times. He was also the founding editor of CNET Asia.

WHY BOTHER WITH NEW MEDIA? CONSIDER THIS. When US Airways Flight 1549 landed on the Hudson River in New York in January, the very ﬁrst picture of the event was published by someone who took the picture with his iPhone and posted it to a service called Twitter. Within minutes, that dramatic picture was distributed around the Internet and the next day, it was on the front page of major newspapers around the world. Such is the power of Twitter, which is a service that encourages users to post updates about themselves in 140 characters or less. How about this example? In early February, William Cox, the mayor of a small town in the American state of Kentucky, used his Facebook account to communicate information to the people in his town who were affected by a severe winter storm. He used his mobile phone to update his Facebook account to put out messages like: “Will asks people with frozen water meters to PLEASE not use a torch or build a ﬁre inside the meter box. This WILL damage the cutoff and meter!”

and provide a way to quickly reach a large audience. If this is the new way people communicate, then public servants will need to learn to speak this language if they wish to reach people. Still not convinced? Here’s a quick story about the power of new media, with a Singapore angle. I own an iPhone and being an enthusiast, I started a small blog called The Singapore iPhone Guide. One day in late January, I wrote about Lim Ding Wen, a nine-year-old boy from Singapore who had written a free iPhone application called Doodle Kids. Within a week, Ding Wen was making headlines around the world. The story was covered in the newspapers and on television everywhere. This Primary 4 student received a staggering amount of publicity, all thanks to a tiny little post on a tiny little blog, read by, on average, a few hundred people a day. (It’s at theiphoneinsingapore. blogspot.com if you are curious.) This

JimmyYapHasThrownA And you know that blogs have come of age when at his ﬁrst press conference, US President Barack Obama called upon a reporter from a blog, the Hufﬁngton Post, and bypassed reporters from Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Time and Newsweek. What all these examples demonstrate is the reach, and thus importance, of new media. YouTube reported just over 100 million viewers in December alone. Facebook has over 160 million users. Services like Facebook and Twitter allow people to transmit information in seconds

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incident brought home to me, in a very personal way, the remarkable reach of new media, and the way it can amplify the voice of a single individual. While I am a believer in new media, I don’t honestly expect senior civil servants to enthusiastically update their Facebook status regularly. They don’t have to. They just have to know that it is a vital communications channel today. And as for deploying it to reach the public, I’m sure there is no shortage of eager young graduates in the Civil Service who are as adept at tweeting as they are at wielding a PowerPoint presentation. If anyone should be throwing sheep, it should be them.

2/3/09 14:09:14

Face 2 Face

Singapore is readying herself for a big leap into the world of new media. Challenge speaks to Permanent Secretary Chan Yeng Kit from the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts to ďŹ nd out what he thinks of information transfer, the knowledge economy and censorship. By Melissa Heng

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You have had an interesting and somewhat unconventional career in the public sector. What has your journey been like so far?

I have indeed had quite a few interesting and un-Civil-Service-like postings in my 20 years with the Service. The first seven years of my career was outside of the mainstream. My first job was in the nowdefunct Social Integration Management Services, a special division set up to help new immigrants settle into Singapore. We helped them look for homes, schools for their kids, and connect with the local community. On occasion, I even had to give briefings in Cantonese! After that, I was seconded to the NTUC. It was an eye-opener to sit with union leaders on the “other side” of the table, negotiating collective agreements with company executives. I was also roped into special projects that the late DPM Ong (Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong) initiated, such as the Suzhou Industrial Park development. As a result, when the Suzhou project was given the go-ahead, I moved over – on loan from the Civil Service – to the consortium led by Keppel Corporation to help kick-start the development. My first “conventional” Civil Service posting came only in 1996, when I joined the Ministry of Trade and Industry as Director (Industry). After that, I did a stint as Director (Manpower) in the Ministry of Defence, then Deputy Secretary (Policy) at the Ministry of Education, before taking over as Chief Executive Officer at Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and now Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA). I enjoyed all my postings. The diverse experiences have helped reinforce the importance of always taking a whole-ofgovernment (WOG) – indeed whole-ofnation (WON) – perspective on issues. MICA has a broad range of businesses under its watch. What are some of the common threads that run through these businesses?

The ultimate common thread that runs across all ministries is the goal of making Singapore a better home in every way possible. At MICA, we cover the economic and social aspects of this goal.

In the economic and social spheres, I believe MICA has a signiﬁcant role in lifting our nation to the next level of development. Economically, whether our future is in the “Knowledge Economy” or a “Creative Economy”, the key drivers of IT, content and creativity are a core part of MICA’s portfolio. But being a First World economy is not enough. We would have failed as a nation if Singapore is just another soulless place for making money. Our society should also aspire to be First World – whether in our social graces, or an appreciation for the arts, our culture and our heritage. We can be a more gracious society, where kindness and graciousness is a way of life and not just another government campaign. What are your views on censorship?

What I came to realise after I joined MICA, is that Singaporean society is still fairly conservative. Let me give you an example: Last year, Channel 5 broadcast a home decoration series acquired from overseas. Quite an innocuous and “safe” topic, you would think. One particular episode showcased a designer who had been engaged to decorate a baby’s room. At the end of the hour-long episode, the designer introduced the happy “parents”, who happened to be a couple of gay men. Singaporeans wrote in letters of complaint. One such letter was published in The Straits Times Forum, and an MP raised the issue in Parliament. Our take on censorship is simple. Our censorship guidelines should reflect society’s values and what the community in general is ready to accept. When the community is ready to open up, our guidelines will correspondingly reflect that. Indeed, over the years, our censorship framework has been gradually liberalised and fine-tuned. Ten years ago, cinemas could not have screened films like Brokeback Mountain or Lust Caution uncut.

citizens has changed, and so have their expectations. As Singaporeans become more educated and more afﬂuent, they will expect more from the Government. They will be more demanding of the Public Service. There will also be greater diversity of views and the propensity to express them. The Public Service must be prepared for wider consultations and deeper engagements. There’s also a greater diversity of media now. New media – as opposed to traditional media – is an area that is no longer just hype or fringe, but real and here. Whether traditional or new media, the Public Service will have to learn to be more communication-savvy, tailoring the message to the channel to get our message across. What’s MICA’s position on engaging the new media? How do you feel about engaging an increasingly informed, educated and vocal public via the new media?

New media will play an increasing role in public communications. But it need not be all challenges. There are opportunities as well. New media offers the potential to reach out directly to our stakeholders in an interactive way that is not possible with traditional media. But it is new and unfamiliar territory for many. That is why MICA has been ramping up recruitment, to build up capacity so that we can support the other ministries. Still, it’s not realistic or practical for us to engage every online netizen on every blog and every forum. There are thousands of websites and blogs out there. Just as we don’t police or intrude into coffee-shop chatter in the real world, we don’t intend to intrude willy-nilly into online chatter in the new media. The Government has decided to focus its online engagement efforts using the REACH portal. We are also prepared to respond to online letters on the websites of the mainstream media. Over time as we build up resources and expertise, we may consider engaging on other websites that are similarly objective and accountable.

What challenges do you foresee in public communication?

MICA’s challenges will continue to evolve as society grows and changes. For example, the demographic proﬁle of our

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3/3/09 3:18:22 PM

Feature

Despite the current economic climate, the public sector has stepped up recruitment efforts with the aim of expanding its talent pool. By Ye Dejing

WHILE THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN THAT USHERED IN 2009 HAS CONTRIBUTED TO A QUIETER SPENDING MOOD AND JOBS REMAIN A KEY CONCERN FOR MANY SINGAPOREANS, NOT ALL IS DOOM AND GLOOM AS THE PUBLIC SECTOR SEIZES THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD UP ITS TALENT POOL AND BOOST ECONOMIC ACTIVITY. The new year started with the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) announcement that there would be 7,500 new jobs projected for the education sector. Three thousand and ﬁve hundred of these new jobs are offered by MOE schools and headquarters whilst the other 4,000 are in the Institutes of Higher Learning, the Institute of Technical Education and the kindergarten sector. It is expected that applicants would include individuals looking for a career switch as well as fresh graduates. “During MOE’s teacher recruitment drive held at Rafﬂes Place in December last year, we received overwhelming interest from some 1,200 candidates,” says Recruitment Marketing Manager Gladys Chew. “Given the current weaker employment outlook, MOE will step up

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recruitment efforts so that we can bring forward our manpower build-up plans.” Ms Chew explains that the recruitment of about 3,500 new employees as teachers and allied educators, including school counsellors and special-needs ofﬁcers, was a substantial increase from its recruitment of about 2,200 teachers and 70 allied educators a year. The Public Service Division (PSD) also organised an additional “Green Harvesting” recruitment drive in January 2009. This recruitment exercise is normally held once a year in September or October, and targets fresh graduates or graduating students from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU). According to PSD, the period between October and December 2008 saw an increase of 50 per cent to 100 per cent in response to public sector recruitment drives conducted through newspapers and the Civil Service online portal VOG (www. vog.gov.sg). For example, for an Organisational Development Executive position, the number of applications received increased from an average of about 40 to over 90. PSD’s Management Associates Programme and Administrative Services have also experienced an

increase in the number of applications from mid-career professionals. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) also conducted a mid-January recruitment drive at the BCA Academy. This was to satisfy the expected higher demand for construction manpower over the next few years, and to support its drive to train specialists for a “greencollar workforce”. “It is a norm that people tend to look at jobs in the public sector when the economy is not doing well as government jobs are deemed to be an ‘iron rice bowl’ and there are less private sector jobs,” says Mrs Elizabeth Ho, Director, Corporate Services, PSD. Public sector jobs also provide opportunities for ofﬁcers such as those recruited into the Management Executive Scheme, who are able to apply for crosspostings and transfers to other ministries after a few years. “People today tend to see government jobs as providing good development opportunities and having the chance to be rotated to other government agencies,” says Mrs Ho. In the following pages, four ofﬁcers speak to Challenge about their transition to public sector life.

PHOTO: FRENCHESCAR LIM

RampingUpTheTalentSearch

3/6/09 11:04:24

2 Being mindful of the wider impact 1 A fast-paced but balanced career

I wanted to see how I could contribute and be a part of this team,” she says. She notes that a key difference between the public and private sectors is the impact of HR decisions in the public sector. “In the public sector, such decisions have farreaching impact not only on the ofﬁcers but also on the private sector as our practices are often used as references,” says Ms Wong. “Hence, when we make a decision, we always have to be mindful of its impact on a larger population.”

PHOTO: FRENCHESCAR LIM

Ms Jaslyn Lim’s (LEFT) experience with the Public Service began with an internship at the Central Narcotics Bureau in 2006. After that stint, she began considering Public Service as a career option. When she graduated in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore in September 2008, she joined PSD as a Compensation Analyst. “Contrary to what I expected, it is very fast-paced at PSD. I would be attending internal meetings, or meeting external parties, drafting submissions and meeting deadlines in a typical day,” says Ms Lim. Her experience however is not all work and no play. “Work-life balance is emphasised, so there are many activities organised for the ofﬁcers to relax and mingle with each other,” she says.

Ms Wong Shyr Yng (RIGHT), who was previously with a public transport company, joined PSD in August last year as a Senior Assistant Director with the Management Information team that oversees the central Human Resource (HR) management system for the Civil Service. “I have always been impressed at the far-sightedness that has built the Public Service, which is today renowned for its effectiveness.

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3/3/09 3:49:04 PM

Feature

“PEOPLE ASK WHY I JOIN THE PUBLIC SERVICE; I SAY I JOINED BECAUSE OF FUTURES GROUP. NOT MANY OTHER AREAS WITHIN THE PUBLIC SERVICE ARE A GOOD FIT FOR ME AND VICE VERSA.” Mr Jason Loe, Strategist for the Futures Group at Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Economic and Strategy Division

4 From entrepreneur to public sector strategist 3 Game for a challenge

For Ms Charlene Han (LEFT), a graduate from Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Wee Kim Wee School of Communications and Information, the decision to join the Public Service was made even before she finished school. “While I was still schooling, PSD got in touch with the Career Office of NTU and I received a tea invitation to learn more about a career in the Public Service.” Ms Han joined the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts under the Management Associate scheme in May 2007 as Executive (Information Policy). “I came in with an open mind, with no expectations except to have a challenging job. My experience has been nothing less than fulfilling. In my job, I am not pigeonholed into a certain type of work, but I am able to learn and try my hand at a host of issues, under my department’s purview,” she says.

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Prior to joining the Public Service in August 2007, Mr Jason Loe (RIGHT) was behind two start-ups – Noon Communications, a wireless services company and Ice Cube Interactive, an Audioline services provider. As a Strategist for the Futures Group at Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Economic and Strategy Division, the Futures Group is tasked with flagging out future economic opportunities for Singapore. Mr Loe says: “I find the work I do very rewarding. High impact in shaping Singapore’s future; and great colleagues with high aptitude and attitude. People ask why I join the Public Service; I say I joined because of Futures Group. Not many other areas within the Public Service are a good fit for me and vice versa.” He adds: “Where I hope to add value to my team is in trying to inject a sense of realism by applying actual businesses to the new industries that we have identified. When I first joined, I found myself trying to bridge leaps of logic of new industries and businesses that may sound good on paper, but not in reality. This is where I hope my main value proposition is.” Having now worked on both sides, Mr Loe observes that talent flows in Singapore are largely uni-directional and

more often than not, go from the public to the private sector. “The public sector can benefit greatly from having more private sector talent crossover. If this flow was more seamless in both directions, both sides benefit. Greater two-way flow of talent between the private and public sectors will lead to better network flow, which in turn leads to better policies, more shared resources and less wastage. In the end, Singapore benefits!” “I see much value in being a conduit that straddles the public and private sectors. Before, my perspectives were that of an SME. My eyes are open to both sides now,” Mr Loe says. “SMEs and start-ups can benefit so much from public sector research if they knew where to look and who to engage. Also, the public sector is a rich pool of super talents that SMEs can tap into to grow their businesses.”

2/3/09 15:41:03

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2/3/09 15:41:19

Feature

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3/2/09 2:53:50 PM

Building trust through effective crisis communications. By Anna Yap

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A CRISIS STRIKES. THERE IS NO TIME TO PONDER “HOW” IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED, OR WHO IS TO BLAME. “Swing into action immediately. The clock is ticking,” says Mr Robert Conceicao, Managing Director of public relations company Majic Communications. Crisis events are unpredictable, yet they should not be unexpected. And when a crisis occurs, stakeholders, including the public and the media, require a quick response from the organisations involved. Therefore, each organisation should have in place a crisis management plan that would be triggered in the event of a crisis. “Many companies and organisations do not think of potential crises, there is no crisis team in place and there are no prepared crisis response mechanisms,” says Mr Yap Boh Tiong, founder and Managing Director of public relations company Mileage Communications, which has handled over 40 crises including high-proﬁle cases involving Slim 10, AIA’s Critical Year Option, the Rafﬂes Town Club saga and the sinking of car carrier Hyundai 105 off Sentosa. “They assume that should a crisis occur, the CEO will take charge and call his deputies together. But sometimes the CEO and deputies are also not mentally prepared to handle the crisis. Without a formal crisis management strategy, many precious hours are lost contacting and assembling key

management to come together to address the crisis,” he adds. According to Mr Yap, each organisation should first of all do an audit on its state of preparedness and list out potential crises. Next, the organisation should select key individuals to form the crisis team, as well as identify and train a spokesperson. A communications plan can then be drawn up to identify and communicate with stakeholders and the media. All this has to be done fast, and the communication channels have to be kept open. “The media and the public aren’t going to be happy when they are kept in the dark just because an organisation is gathering and clearing information internally,” says Mr Conceicao. “They will turn to unofficial, and sometimes, unreliable sources, just to get some news. Thus, a regular flow of updates is critical.” Mr Conceicao advises organisations to speak only the truth and should they not be at liberty to divulge sensitive or privileged information, to explain the reasons why. “Do not hide behind a ‘no comment’,” he says. “It’s important to explain the reasons behind your ‘silence’ in some instances.” In this article, Challenge talks to various agencies to find out more about their crisis communications strategies and how other agencies can learn from their baptisms of fire.

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Feature

Ms Karen Tan

Ministry of Health

Lessons from SARS The SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) crisis was a deﬁning moment for crisis communications at the Ministry of Health (MOH). “When the SARS outbreak occurred, Singapore had had little experience in crisis communications though we had been struck by several outbreaks of infectious diseases previously,” says Ms Karen Tan, Director of Corporate Communications and Press Secretary to the Minister for Health at the MOH. In 1999, MOH had to handle an outbreak of Nipah virus encephalitis, and in 2000 it was the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. “And since then, we’ve had to live with the constant threat of the H5N1 avian

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inﬂuenza virus triggering a ﬂu pandemic,” says Ms Tan. MOH has also had to handle various public relations crises and scandals involving corporate governance in charity organisations such as the old National Kidney Foundation and Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre. The recent organ trading controversy also required active media engagement by the MOH. Understanding the nature of each crisis is important to the adaptation of MOH’s communications strategy. According to Ms Tan, a crisis can be extensive and prolonged, or limited and episodic. “ For SARS, I remember the almost daily press conferences for six weeks. SARS was a prolonged crisis, and communicating well was certainly not a one-off effort,” says Ms Tan. “The greatest challenge then was that we did not have the full facts and we were unsure how much we should share.” But what prevailed was the belief that the public should have access to as much accurate, honest and up-to-date information as possible. This has helped to secure good international image for Singapore. Ms Tan has shared Singapore’s SARS communications experiences at many international meetings, and has been invited by the

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World Health Organisation to participate in workshops to develop a template for outbreak communications. The sharing of dilemmas and constraints continues to be an important aspect of MOH’s communications efforts. So is managing public expectations. “During a crisis ... the fundamentals of good communications stay the same,” says Ms Tan. “Communications must be grounded on ﬁrst principles such as transparency, openness and meaningful involvement of stakeholders. Share information openly – share with the public what you already know, and what you don’t.” MOH’s familiarity with handling crises over the years translates into good advice for all agencies. “Show you care. Express empathy; acknowledge fears. Build trust for your organisation by demonstrating your competence and expertise,” says Ms Tan. “Be honest and open. Being available to answer media queries is important. The media will appreciate this as they need not resort to writing articles based on speculation and rumours. Be timely in information. Remember – too little, too late, will dent the credibility of your organisation. “It is also important not to ‘overreassure’,” says Ms Tan. “We must also acknowledge uncertainty. People do have a great capacity to cope with bad news and will act rationally.”

Temporary tents at Tan Tock Seng’s Accident and Emergency ward to cope with the increasing numbers of suspected SARS cases. Dengue prevention by scattering abate (pesticide-coated sand granules) onto water that has collected under water tanks on the rooftop of a HDB ﬂat.

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Assisting Singaporeans abroad Natural disasters like the Boxing Day tsunami in Aceh, the tragic dragon boat incident in Cambodia, and the hostage situation involving a Singaporean in Mumbai – these are a few examples of crises the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has had to deal with in recent years involving Singaporeans overseas. In such crises, MFA’s key role is to provide assistance to Singaporeans in distress in the foreign country. There are SOPs in place but MFA’s response to any incident is never static. It is a dynamic process and takes into account various factors, including situational awareness and conditions on the ground. The consular assistance provided usually involves, at the start, with the contacting of the next-of-kin of affected

Singaporeans when they are in emergency situations, and ends with the facilitating of their safe return to Singapore. The process would involve coordination with the relevant authorities in the foreign country as well as with our own agencies. “Whenever a crisis emerges and Singaporeans are affected, our ﬁrst course of action would be to get in touch with the affected Singaporeans or their next-of-kin, as well as to provide timely, factual and regular updates directly to their next-of-kin,” says Mr Jai S Sohan, Director of Consular at the MFA. Public communications is also an important aspect for MFA when dealing with a crisis. The public is kept informed through press statements, and, when necessary, press conferences. The key tenets of MFA’s communications strategy are accuracy, timeliness and responsibility.

Obtaining accurate official information is however not always easy in crisis situations. “There is a need to understand that many factors are not within our control when we are dealing with cases of Singaporeans in distress overseas,” says Mr Sohan. “We therefore do not compete with the media when releasing information. We have a responsibility to the next-of-kin, the foreign government concerned and ourselves, to ensure that only offi cially verifi ed information is released. In this way, the privacy and security of affected Singaporeans are not compromised, and our national interests are not impinged upon. “We must get the facts right. We don’t release incomplete information or information that cannot be substantiated. We must also consider the sensitivities involved and the potential impact of the information that is released,” says Mr Sohan.

“WE MUST GET THE FACTS RIGHT. WE DON’T RELEASE INCOMPLETE INFORMATION OR INFORMATION THAT CANNOT BE SUBSTANTIATED. WE MUST ALSO CONSIDER THE SENSITIVITIES INVOLVED AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE INFORMATION THAT IS RELEASED.” Mr Jai S Sohan

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Rescue operations for the tsunami disaster in Meulaboh, Indonesia.

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Feature

Ms Alethea Nah

Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority

On the Melamine Trail The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has seen its share of crises over the years – the bird flu problem and the melamine scandal being just two of them. By acting swiftly and decisively, and keeping in constant communication with stakeholders, the AVA has been able to allay consumer fears and thus maintain public confidence in Singapore’s food safety system. “Lack of knowledge causes a high level of public concern and anxiety,” says Ms Alethea Nah, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, AVA. “Therefore, we disseminate lots of information through various mediums depending on the severity of the crisis.” The melamine scare started with reports in September 2008 that infants in China had developed kidney stones after drinking the Sanlu brand of infant formula. AVA immediately checked its import records and confirmed with retail outlets that there was no import of any infant

formula from China into Singapore. As a result of AVA’s reassurance, public concern at this point was low. However, as reports alerted AVA to the widening extent of melamine contamination of milk and milk products, AVA initiated immediate checks on such products imported from China. When test results found that similar products in Singapore were contaminated with melamine, a recall was instituted immediately. “AVA took the unprecedented step of imposing a suspension on the import and sale of all milk and milk products from China as a precautionary measure,” says Ms Nah. “Retailers were instructed to remove such products from shelves, and local food manufacturers were instructed to stop the use of such products.” Consumer alarm and fear rose in tandem with the escalation of the melamine problem. In actual fact, public health risk was low due to the low levels of melamine that were detected in the affected products. But to allay public anxiety, AVA informed the public about product recalls and provided advisories on actions to take through press releases. A hotline number was provided and about 1,000 phone calls and 500 e-mails were fielded by AVA officers in the first two weeks of the crisis. AVA also held a press conference where experts from the medical field were present to provide explanations and reassurance. AVA used a variety of ways to reach out to other stakeholders. Importers and retailers were informed through phone calls and written notifications, and a dialogue was held with the industry to

The AVA conducted a bird ﬂu exercise to test their emergency preparedness.

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facilitate understanding and to seek their cooperation. Notiﬁcations were also posted on the TradeExchange website. “Crisis communications involves a twoway exchange of information with relevant stakeholders – from decision makers to risk managers to consumers,” says Ms Nah. “The main aim is to protect the public through the dissemination of appropriate messages and information, and in that process, build trust.”

While the clock ticks... DO: • Carry out an audit on your state of preparedness. • Make a list of potential crises. • Put together a crisis team. • Identify and train a spokesperson. • Swing into action immediately. • Have a regular ﬂow of updates. • Speak only the truth. • Share with the public what you know, and what you don’t. DON’T: • Waste time apportioning blame. • Hide behind a “no comment”. • Be defensive. • Over-reassure. • Forget to reach out to all stakeholders, not just the media. • Get the facts wrong. • Release incomplete or unsubstantiated information.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has suspended the import and sale of all milk and milk products from China following the scandal of milk products being tainted with melamine.

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The Civil Service College is focused on building new capabilities across the public sector. By Melissa Heng

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TRAINING NEEDS TO KEEP GOING. “Training is often seen as an important activity, but not necessarily as an urgent one. When people get caught up in work, it becomes a challenge to convince them that training and development should be given priority,” observes Mr Lionel Yeo, Dean and Chief Executive Ofﬁcer of the Civil Service College (CSC). “However, our public sector leadership ﬁrmly believes in investing in capabilities and this has

Communications Backstage

Beyond skills, the CSC also aims to build shared perspectives and a sense of common identity and purpose across the public sector. The intent is to provide ofﬁcers across the Service with a shared understanding of the challenges facing Singapore. This will contribute to a

BuildingBreadthAndDepth been a source of competitive advantage for our Public Service.” The CSC is building greater breadth and depth into its offerings as it consolidates its role as the central agency for building capabilities across the public sector. “We are in the business of developing service-wide capacity. While individual agencies can and should be responsible for capabilities speciﬁc to their areas of work, there are common sets of skills and competencies that cut across the entire Public Service and this is where we come in,” explains Mr Yeo.

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whole-of-government mindset in solving problems and delivering solutions. Among the newer areas of curriculum that have been identified for further development are capabilities for dealing with complex environments and skills for international engagement. Public officers need to be better equipped to deal with a world that is rapidly changing and more unpredictable and where the relationship between cause and effect are complex. Decisionmaking under such conditions requires different tools and mindsets from those developed for a more rational and predictable world. The emphasis on international engagement reflects the current reality that all public sector agencies must have the capacity to advance and protect Singapore’s interests in the international arena. “In this day and age, it is neither practical nor ideal to deflect all

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international engagements to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” says Mr Yeo. “Issues like health care and the environment might have been seen as domestic matters in the past, but the threat of pandemics and the challenge of climate change has brought home the point very sharply that even officers working in ‘domestic’ agencies must have the capacity to deal internationally.” Focus areas for curriculum development are identified through a variety of sources. Mr Yeo says: “The College gets inputs from Head, Civil Service and other public sector leaders on the kinds of skill sets that will be needed by public officers in order to be ready for the future. We also maintain a close dialogue with the training departments in all ministries. In addition, CSC conducts its own environmental scanning of global trends in public policy and public administration, and engages with thought leaders to bring new thinking and ideas to our Service.” Besides developing content, CSC is looking at innovative ways of delivering training and development to public officers. It has an established e-learning platform, where selected training modules are made available online, so that officers could learn at their own pace within a set structure. CSC is also experimenting with other platforms made possible by info-communications technologies. Training need not start and end with a visit to the 31 North Buona Vista Road campus. CSC wants training to be less transactional and more integrated with other development pathways in an officer’s career. “CSC wants to be the career-long partner in training and development for all public officers,” says Mr Yeo.

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“TRAINING IS OFTEN SEEN AS AN IMPORTANT ACTIVITY, BUT NOT NECESSARILY AS AN URGENT ONE. WHEN PEOPLE GET CAUGHT UP IN WORK, PHOTO: D6 STUDIO

Communications Backstage

IT BECOMES A CHALLENGE TO CONVINCE THEM THAT TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE GIVEN PRIORITY.”

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Communications

Making it happen The CSC has embarked on a number of key initiatives to build a more dynamic curriculum; strengthen leadership development; distill lessons and invest in policy-oriented research. Challenge talks to the ofﬁcers involved in these efforts.

Strengthening leadership development Ms Ng Ee Ling, Senior Consultant, Civil Service College Consultants “Looking at the world within which leaders operate, we realised that leaders have to grapple with far more complex challenges in an increasingly uncertain and unpredictable environment. This is compounded by increasing public expectations for greater level of engagement, responsiveness and quality of service. New capabilities and competencies will be required to thrive in this environment, and the College will need to strengthen and deepen our leadership development efforts to ensure that we have a pipeline of leaders with the right capabilities, values and passion. We are currently reviewing our approach to leadership development. Our vision is that leadership development will become more holistic, integrated and pervasive. By that I mean that leadership development will go beyond teaching new ideas, theories, concepts, or even skills, but it would engage the total person to reﬂect on how he leads and for him to be challenged and motivated to develop himself for greater leadership impact. We intend to bring the workplace into the classroom, and to take the classroom into the workplace, because we now know that leadership is best learnt through realworld experiences.”

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Investing in policyoriented research and distilling lessons Mr Yee Ping Yi, Director, Centre for Governance and Leadership (concurrently Director, Strategic Policy Office in PSD) “There is a need to document key policy evolution and public administration experiences, so that we can ‘hand down’ key lessons to future generations of leaders. We hope to promote a culture within the Public Service where we value the importance of reflecting on our past experiences, so as to put us in a better position to face the future. As an example of how we do this, we are planning a book to codify the thinking behind Singapore’s innovative policies and practices. This book will provide a valuable perspective of policy decisions and the lessons within. The College also publishes Ethos, a biannual publication that reaches out to the policy-making community to generate insights, stimulate discussion and push the envelope in thinking on a wide range of issues relating to governance and public policy. The Public Service Division’s (PSD) Strategic Policy Office takes a complementary perspective in helping the Public Service to engage in strategic conversations about future challenges. Both units share the common objective of sharpening our thinking about the business and challenges of government.”

Building a more dynamic curriculum Ms Ngiam Su Wei, Assistant Director, Institute of Public Administration and Management “We are developing competency frameworks and training roadmaps at the College and this will provide a more structured basis to design and develop new programmes and to review existing programmes to better meet public sector needs. The training courses will prepare public ofﬁcers not just to go about their work competently, but also to prepare them for the future. We want to develop public sector capabilities across all agencies and ministries, such that there is a common understanding of what is expected, for example, in human resource, communications or ﬁnance. To achieve this, we will work hand in hand with lead agencies such as PSD, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts or Ministry of Finance to roll out relevant programmes.”

3/2/09 2:17:15 PM

Finance

Examining CPF-based schemes vis-a-vis private health insurance policies. By AJ Leow

HealthInsurance GIVEN THE FACT THAT MOST SINGAPOREANS WITH A CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND (CPF) ACCOUNT ARE COVERED BY MEDISHIELD, is there a need for you to look at private health insurance policies? CPF schemes like Medishield often cover policyholders beyond the age of 75, unlike most private schemes, which will cover you only till you are 60 or 65. This being the case, it may be advisable to have a private scheme to draw upon, so that Medishield can be “conserved” for medical claims after retirement. There are other advantages to having a private health insurance policy. For instance, private schemes may help to cover major illnesses that require both hospitalisation and follow-up treatment, which may exceed the beneﬁt limits for Medishield. Many also provide broader worldwide coverage, including the cost of medical evacuation. According to some ﬁnancial planners, the types of health insurance policy you may want to purchase, in terms of priority, are: 1. CPF SCHEME SUCH AS MEDISHIELD OR INCOMESHIELD 2. CRITICAL ILLNESS POLICY 3. HOSPITAL AND SURGICAL POLICY 4. HOSPITAL INCOME POLICY

The types of policies to purchase to supplement your Medishield-type plans will very much depend on individual needs and budgetary constraints.

Types of Health Plans Critical illness policy Critical illness policies fall into the category of lump sum plans, which offer the best flexibility in that you are not subjected to specific limits on the type of treatment or classes of hospital ward you can opt for. You are paid a lump sum based on the sum assured upon diagnosis of any major illness like cancer and stroke, or an accident that requires hospitalisation and follow-up medical treatment. One advantage of critical illness policies is that the annual premium stays the same, so it pays to take up such a plan at an earlier age. Annual policy renewal is also guaranteed. Hospital and surgical policy Such schemes are usually reimbursement plans under which you will be reimbursed according to the expenses incurred, with the benefits paid out according to predetermined limits for a hospital stay, cost of surgery, medication and diagnostic services and other medical expenses such as doctors’ fees, pre-hospitalisation and specialist consultant fees. Depending on how comprehensive you want your coverage to be, these benefits may include other categories such as costs arising from organ transplants, home nursing care or dental costs arising from accidents or wisdom tooth extraction. The premium you pay will depend largely on your age group and the sub-limits you opt for, for example, your choice of the class of the wards, and the maximum claim limit for a surgical operation.

With most private plans, there is usually no co-insurance though you can opt for deductibles if you want to lower your annual premium. This is especially so if you are already covered by your company’s medical plan. Some H&S plans also come with a small lump sum element payable, for example, upon diagnosis of a critical illness such as cancer. Do note, however, that while most H&S plans cover medical expenses incurred overseas, your reimbursement will be based on equivalent charges for a similar treatment available at a government hospital in Singapore. Some policies will become invalid if you stay overseas for more than 180 days, unless you top up the premium. So do check with your insurer. Hospital income policy Such plans usually have no deductibles or co-insurance components and are more useful for those who are self-employed and whose income flows are likely to be disrupted as a result of being hospitalised. Under such schemes, the insured party can use the cash benefits for any pupose. They need not be medical-related expenses. The cost will depend very much on the extent of the coverage and benefits, for example, whether it is for $200 or $400 per day of hospitalisation. The writer was formerly an editor of a financial planning portal.

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By Peter Kokkinos

RecipesFor E-Learning THE PERFECT MEAL CAN BE DEFINED IN SO MANY WAYS DEPENDING ON THE INGREDIENTS, THE PERSON MAKING THE DISH, and the person who eats the meal. In the same vein, elearning in the corporate world is a mixture of finely-tuned educational resources, and depending on the person accessing the material, the way it is used and applied and the learner’s active participation, the final objective is similar – enhancing the learning and development experience of the user. As an organisation embarks on its e-learning journey, one of the first considerations is to ensure that its online training needs are aligned with its business objectives. It also has to find a way to qualify and quantify the results of its online training programmes, because it is through these measurements that a company can gauge the success of the learning programme as a whole and how it measures up against strategic corporate goals. The flexibility, fast delivery and fluidity of e-learning, together with the capability to track, report and measure learning results, creates educational opportunities for all generations of the work force. E-learning

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Training

programmes can be tailored to the needs of a wide range of employees, whether they are Baby Boomers or members of Generation Y. Like a restaurant menu that is constantly updated in response to customer feedback, e-learning addresses the ever-changing needs of its customers by delivering learning resources in ways that provide maximum value at the point of demand. It allows the learners to pick and choose how they want to learn and affords them the flexibility to do so at their convenience. There are many aspects of the learning programme that need to be addressed in order to increase the success rate of online training initiatives within the organisation. These include programme design; establishing the programme objectives and strategy; defining its success criteria; curriculum design; course selection and the deployment strategy. Finding the right e-learning partner is also crucial. A growing number of public agencies such as the Public Service Division, Elections Department, Ministry of Education and the Singapore Prisons Service are embarking on – and discovering the benefits of – e-learning. Changes in the global marketplace and workforce demographics are accentuating the need to leverage human capital as a decisive and competitive differentiator. With elearning, an organisation can influence and tailor informal learning to meet the needs of your biggest asset – your human capital. Peter Kokkinos is Director, Asia, SkillSoft Asia Pacific. For more information on public sector e-learning programmes, please contact Civil Service College, IPAM Open Academy, at cscollege_oa@cscollege.gov.sg.

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Food

Chocolate Fondue All Swensen’s outlets Price: $20.40

This amalgamation of chocolate profiteroles, crunchy fan wafers, fruits and five ice cream flavours – Sticky Chewy Chocolate, Thin Mint, Mocha Almond Fudge, Strawberry and Cookies ‘N’ Cream – is best enjoyed with its main draw, Swensen’s warm, fullbodied home-made chocolate sauce. Be sure to coat your profiterole or ice cream with a thick layer of the sauce for an earth-moving experience.

They are a pleasure to the palate and manifest themselves in a delicious array of forms. Challenge suggests a selection of chocolate concoctions to pander to your sweet tooth. By Foo Yong Han

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Hazelnut Gianduja Chocolate Research Facility, 9 Rafﬂes Boulevard #01-30, Millenia Walk Singapore 039596 Price: $10

PHOTO: DEREK KWEE

A bewitching blend of hazelnut gianduja paste, sugar and cocoa mass and vanillin, this chocolate bar is not just a trippy trip through the taste spectrum; it is creatively designed as well. The bar is lovingly delineated into four sizes – small, medium, large and extra large – so that you prolong the appreciation of the chocolate by scrupulously nicking off the right chunk size from the main block.

Lindt Excellence Bar Cold Storage, NTUC Fairprice, NTUC, Giant, Sheng Siong Price: $1.95 (35g), $5.65 (100g), $12.12 (125g)

Crafted by the Maîtres Chocolatiers of Lindt from Switzerland whose chocolatemaking expertise spans 160 years, it comes in thin squares that allow you to slowly savour the subtlety of its ﬂavours, which include Dark Cocoa, Extra Creamy, Intense Mint, Coffee Intense and Intense Orange.

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Black Forest Cake Laurent’s Café and Chocolate Bar @ The Pier, 80 Mohammad Sultan Road, #01 – 11, Singapore 239013 Price: $7.80++ (per slice), $78++ (whole cake, takeaway)

Relish the multitude of ﬂavours and subtle aftertastes of this traditional favourite. Consisting of different layers of Guanaja chocolate mousse, cherries, sacher sponge and vanilla mousse and encrusted with chocolate shaving, it is absolute heaven.

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Lifestyle

Fort Canning Fort Canning is the most historic part of Singapore. Once known as “Bukit Larangan” (“Forbidden Hill” in Malay), Fort Canning was the seat of royalty for Singapore’s early Malay rulers 700 years ago. Then, in the 19th century, Singapore’s colonial leaders made their residences at Fort Canning, and it even became an important military base during World War II. Free, guided walks are available on the last Saturday of every month. You can choose to go on the Guided Nature Walk, an hour-long educational tour of the Spice Garden, or take the two-hour Heritage walk that provides insights into the history and natural beauty of the park. Both walks start at 4pm.

AWalkTo Remember From historical gardens in the city centre to picturesque nature rambles, our national parks offer something for everyone. Challenge checks out two great walks and ﬁnds out that some things in life are free. By Lianne Tan

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Mesmerising! “Our guide shared with us the colourful history of Fort Canning; then showed us a few of the key historical sites like the old Fort Gate and the site of Raffles’ residence at Raffles Terrace. Throughout the tour, we were immersed in nature, from the sweet scents of the flowers and rustling leaves to the brilliant greenery. The walk was enlightening, therapeutic and best of all, completely free! For me, one of the most captivating attractions of the Walk was the brilliantly coloured “Flame of the Forest” tree. We were fortunate to catch the tree when its flowers were in full bloom. According to the guide, it blooms just four times a year. I was totally mesmerised by the tree’s flamboyant red flowers in a sea of green!” – Ms Lim Li Qin, (far right) Corporate Communications Executive, Ministry of National Development, went on the Guided Heritage walk.

Did you know? 1. The tombstone of Singapore’s ﬁrst government architect, George D. Coleman, still sits in the old Christian cemetery here. 2. Some people believe that the Keramat (shrine) located near the Spice Garden is the resting place of Sultan Iskandar Shah, one of the early Malay kings in 14th century Singapore. 3. Located 9m underground, the Battle Box was the largest military operations complex in Singapore and was part of the Malaya Command Headquarters during World War II.

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Pyrrosia piloselloides, commonly known as Dragonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Scales, is a native fern.

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Lifestyle

Did you know?

Tillandisia usneoides (Air Plant or Spanish Moss), hangs from a Rain Tree.

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1. At 36m, the Henderson Waves is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. 2. The HortPark is the ďŹ rst one-stop centre for gardening-related and retail activities in Southeast Asia. 3. Kent Ridge Park was once home to an opium-processing factory till 1910. 4. Telok Blangah Hill Park was originally known as Mount Washington. 5. Somewhere near the foot of Mount Faber Park is a 2m tombstone where a Japanese Naval OfďŹ cer is said to have been buried.

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The Southern Ridges

Cryptanthus bivittatus, also known as Pink Earthstar, is a member of the Bromeliad (pineapple) family.

The Southern Ridges comprise 9km of green, open spaces spanning the hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park before ending at West Coast Park. They are linked by a series of easy-to-walk trails such as the Marang Trail; the Forest Walk, a stepfree 1.3km elevated walkway; and the Canopy Walk, which takes you through lush secondary forest. Not to be missed are two important bridges – Henderson Waves that connects Mount Faber Park to Telok Blangah Hill Park, and Alexandra Arch, which resembles an opened leaf reaching across Alexandra Road. Located at the base of Alexandra Arch is the 23ha HortPark, a one-stop centre for gardening-related recreational, educational, research and retail activities. Recently, a group of officers from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) walked from Mount Faber Park to HortPark, taking about 1.5 hours to complete the route. Nature in abundance “I’m always impressed by the abundance of trees, shrubs, flowers and plants that we get to see on the trails. The steel elevated walkways through the trails make it a very pleasant, comfortable and easy walk.” – Mr Daniel Tan, Manager, (right) International Communications, STB. A fantastic view “For me, the key highlight was the Henderson Waves bridge. The design is so unique and the view from it is fantastic! I’ve heard that the bridge is even more beautiful when it’s lit up, so I’ll definitely come back again at night to see it.” – Ms Chio Shuyu, Manager, (middle) International Communications, STB. Therapeutic “It was invigorating and therapeutic to be so close to nature. Walking along the elevated walkways with the trees beneath made me feel as if I was floating among them.” – Ms Mephine Ong, (left) Management Executive, International Communications, STB.

Lianne Tan is a freelance writer and licensed tour guide.

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What's Real?

Discovering Our Heartlands and Our People Our foreign visitors to the Civil Service College often complain that they don't see the real Singapore, only our building and the classrooms and Orchard Road. So I designed a 'Discover the Heartlands' trail for them, to see where and how Singaporeans live, commute and play. Visitors go away better appreciating how our work impacts the lives of ordinary citizens. Embracing change at work means that I take the initiative to explore new ideas to improve the status quo. Not every idea is a good one, but if we don't even try, how would we know? BE THE CHANGE Ms Iva Aminuddin Manager, South Asia & ASEAN Desk Civil Service College

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Web-OMeter HOW WEB (2.0) SAVVY ARE YOU?

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1. Which virtual world allows users to create and trade virtual property and even travel around the world? A) Virtual Life B) First Life C) Second Life D) It’s My Life

2. What does RSS stand for? A) Really Simple Syndication B) Really Smart Syndication C) Research of Singapore Services D) Research of Simple Services

3. You would usually download a podcast to _______ . A) Check your e-mail securely B) Surf the Internet C) Create spreadsheets and presentations D) Listen to audio ﬁles

Send in your answers today! Online: www.challenge.gov.sg E-mail: psd_challenge@psd.gov.sg Fax: 6333-4010 Post: PS21 Ofﬁce, The Treasury, 100 High Street, #02-03, Singapore 179434 Include your name, e-mail, agency and telephone number. All winners will be informed via e-mail. Deadline for submission: April 17, 2009

4. Which of the following is not a social networking website? A) Friendster.com B) Microsoft.com C) Myspace.com D) Twitter.com

5. Which of the following government agencies can you ﬁnd in Facebook? A) Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee B) Singapore Civil Defence Force C) REACH D) All of the above

6. What videos did the National Environment Agency upload onto YouTube in December 2008? A) Highlights of the National Day Parade 2008 B) Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games C) Past episodes of CrimeWatch D) Television commercials on the Smoking Ban Extension

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Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Health

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ministry of Community Development, Youths and Sports

Ministry of Home Affairs

Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts

Ministry of Trade and Industry

Ministry of Manpower

Ministry of Transport

Ministry of Law Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources

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Journeying Together COMING SOON!

Public Service Week 6 - 12 MAY 2009