????NDP 2025 EXCO Workshop Facilitation ????

It is not everyday that Skillseed receives a personalized plaque from a Commander from the Singapore Armed Forces, let alone one from Dexian Cai , the Chairman EXCO, of the National Day Parade (NDP) 2025.

Designing and conducting the NDP 25 EXCO Workshop for over 70 EXCO members from both the public and private sectors was an honor, and not just because next year’s NDP is especially significant, given that it will be Singapore’s 60th. Being part of this workshop was profoundly meaningful because its spirit was very much aligned with what we believe in at Skillseed - how citizens and communities can have a greater voice, and play a bigger part in initiatives that are typically government-led. In fact, the very act of inviting us to co-create the workshop with NDP 25 EXCO was a clear, and resounding signal of the intentionality of the EXCO team.?

Now, Chairman EXCO’s ask was simple - He wanted us to help EXCO members consider the following:

???? Extend: How could we further enhance the outreach of NDP celebrations to reach every single Singaporean - from the ones watching the Parade to the folks at home watching on screen, and to even Singaporeans abroad?

???? Elevate: How could we increase the emotional impact of all Singaporeans during the celebrations, even for the citizens in the heartlands??

???? Engage and Empower: How could we further increase the inclusivity of NDP to all groups of people in Singapore, and to also invite fellow citizens to co-create wherever possible and appropriate??

Simple, but not simplistic. It would have been much easier to just replicate tried and tested approaches as well as? to work with aspects and people? the team was already familiar with. After all, many who were present had decades of experience planning and running NDPs of yesteryears.?

But the heart of the EXCO members was apparent. They came ready to listen, to contribute and challenge their assumptions. Participants were not just present, but fully immersed in the experience - from gamely (pardon the pun) participating in our co-creation game (we designed a rather diabolical one involving participants being ingredients and needing to work together with their Guest Diners, representing citizens, to “ plate” themselves physically) to openly sharing their opinions in a self-driven and co-curated reflection exercise, and finally, pushing boundaries in a blue-sky activity to co-create what could be possible for their specific NDP workgroups. We also challenged the participants to consider their personal identities and spheres of influences beyond their professional roles - as parents, caregivers, volunteers, members of interest groups and more. In addition, the EXCO pored over initial sentiments and feedback collected from citizens, reminding the group to continue to create spaces for citizens to be heard and included.?

The sense of community at the end of the workshop was palpable. Many reflected that they would cherish the relationships they have started to build, even as the work gets more demanding.?

We, at Skillseed, are so grateful to witness the hard, and the heartwork behind the scenes by the NDP 25 EXCO. Even though we understood that not everything suggested would be practically possible, we were immensely heartened that the EXCO wanted to start with the right mindset - one of openness and citizen-centricity.?

Sincere thanks to Dexian Cai , Kang Hui and Kelvin, whom we worked most closely with, for placing their trust in us and for including us as part of this community. We also want to appreciate our lovely group of volunteer facilitators from MINDEF NEXUS (including participants whom we previously trained in facilitation, so it was really a wonderful full circle moment for us) as well as our own team - Sheryl, Emily and Hidayah. Finally, a special shout-out to Camy, our Community Guide, whom we commissioned to hand make patriotic cable ties as prizes for our co-creation game.?

Ultimately, our hope is to include citizens in not just consuming a well-executed NDP ‘product’, but to rejoice, cry, laugh and create fond memories together in being partners of a shared journey and experience.?

The NDP team has created a survey to solicit ideas from citizens - so friends, please share your thoughts and also share this survey with everyone you know, including and especially groups that may not usually have their voices heard:? https://go.gov.sg/ndpsurvey. (P.s. The survey closes at the end of October 2024!)

#NDP2025 #communitybuilding #whereisskillseed #cocreation #citizenengagement