Emergency simulation stimulates ideas for Total Defence competition
In the event of a terror attack, how would resources be managed and messages communicated to the public?
Fourteen students were asked to walk through this scenario as part of an exercise with the Nee Soon South Emergency Preparedness Centre (NSSEPC) on Monday.
They were taking part in N.E.mation! 12, an annual inter-school digital animation competition organised by Nexus, the Ministry of Defence department responsible for Total Defence and National Education.
Divided into different groups - operations, media, resources, logistics, planning secretariat and emergency organisational structure - they were asked to come up with action plans for the community.
They were also taught how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The NSSEPC equips the community with the right skills to cope with emergency situations.
It also plays a key role in planning, coordinating and monitoring emergency response activities during a crisis, said Nexus director of engagement Clara Tan.
"(It also) serves as a key communication network between the grassroots and the emergency authorities... This is what makes us more resilient as a society, ready to recover and bounce back regardless of the challenges ahead," she added.
For the students, the simulation was helpful in generating ideas.
This year, there were 1,272 entries from 350 teams from secondary schools, junior colleges and centralised institutes.
Tanglin Secondary student Tng Jun Hao, 15, said his group is now keen to reflect a message on racial and religious harmony in the storyline for their animation, which revolves around a child who is moved to help after seeing a TV ad for blood donation.
Singapore Chinese Girls' student Pydi Jahnavi, 13, said: "Now that I have seen what happens in an emergency, I realise that terrorism can occur in Singapore no matter how protected we are."
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