Ground-Up Initiatives by Youths Take the Lead for Total Defence 2023

Director (Community Engagement), Nexus Senior Lieutenant Colonel Psalm Lew giving a media brief at the Total Defence Sandbox Unveiling

Singapore, 10 February 2023 - Ahead of Total Defence Day 2023 on 15 February, four ground-up initiatives to strengthen Total Defence by youths were unveiled today. These initiatives were amongst 77 others that were submitted to the Total Defence Sandbox (TD Sandbox) since it was launched in February 2022.

The TD Sandbox encourages the public to share ideas on strengthening Total Defence and have their ideas brought to life through implementation in the community. By seeking ground-up ideas and proposals that put Total Defence into action, the TD Sandbox encapsulates how everyone has a part to play in Total Defence to keep Singapore strong, while highlighting the continued relevance of Total Defence in dealing with crises and disruptions.

The four initiatives, selected based on community impact, innovativeness, and alignment to Total Defence values, demonstrate how Total Defence can be manifested to foster thinking, engagement and conversations on threats and challenges that affect our everyday life. The selected initiatives are:

• Total Defence Murder Mystery Role Play Game: Created by a pair of university students, it is an immersive social deduction game involving up to seven players, fashioned as a murder mystery exploring themes of evolving security threats which Singapore faces, such as terrorism and climate change.

• Total Defence Trail 2.0: Designed by a team of Singapore Management University (SMU) students, the new Total Defence Trail 2.0 takes the public to Singapore's eastern areas to explore sites related to Total Defence, such as the NEwater Visitor Gallery and the Changi Chapel and Museum. Participants will also find out more about current topics such as water sustainability. The trail was launched in January 2023, under the GameOn NILA campaign in the ActiveSG mobile application.

• Total Defence Tower Defence Game: Currently in the prototype stage, the game is designed and coded by a group of NUS High School of Math and Science students. It adds a Total Defence-themed twist to the classic tower defence game, a popular sub-genre of strategy games where players allocate resources to build towers to defend their territories against enemy attacks. The game will be launched at a later date.

• Community Table-Top Exercise: The table-top exercise (TTX) developed by a group of SMU students was adapted by Nexus for the upcoming Total Defence Day Commemoration Event 2023. The TTX aims to discuss the impact of pertinent contemporaneous issues affecting Singapore, and get individuals, communities and business owners to play their part during crises and disruptions through the development of community drawer plans. Co-organised by Nexus, MINDEF and the grassroots organisations of Chua Chu Kang, Bricklands, Keat Hong, Gombak, and Hong Kah North, the TTX will be held across two days on 13th and 15th February at Chua Chu Kang Community Club as part of the Total Defence Day Commemoration Event 2023.

On the public response to the TD Sandbox since its launch, Director Nexus, Colonel Goh Jerica said, "We are heartened by the active participation and warm response towards the TD Sandbox. The Total Defence 2023 campaign will spotlight four ground-up initiatives by youths submitted to the TD Sandbox. Through the implementation of these ground-up initiatives by Singaporeans for Singaporeans, we seek to emphasise the relevance of Total Defence in our daily lives. We hope that more Singaporeans will be inspired to think of how they can play their part to keep Singapore strong against crises and disruptions. We look forward to receiving more submissions to the TD Sandbox with ideas on how Singaporeans can put Total Defence into action."

The public can continue to submit ideas to the Total Defence Sandbox. The next call for ideas will run from 9 Feb to 11 May 2023, with the selection of ideas and implementation phase taking place from 11 May to Jul 2023 and Jul to Dec 2023 respectively.

Participants trying out the Total Defence Murder Mystery Role Play Game, an immersive social deduction game.

The Total Defence Murder Mystery Role Play Game in action.

More Resources

Fact Sheet: Total Defence Day 2023 Activities Public Can Participate In