MINDEF to take in volunteers in the performing arts, including dancers, emcees and sound engineers

SINGAPORE – People with skills and interest in the performing arts can now volunteer at events organised by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), like the National Day Parade, in three new roles.

From July 25, MINDEF will take in volunteer dancers, musicians, singers and emcees, as well as those with technical skills like sound engineering or camera operations, said the ministry said in a statement. 

It will also accept volunteers without technical skills who want to support events in other ways.

The move comes as MINDEF expands ways for Singaporeans and permanent residents to contribute to defence in non-military functions under the new Singapore Defence Volunteer Network (SG Defence).

Some 300 people have applied to join SG Defence since its launch in May, MINDEF said – close to its initial target of 400 new volunteers. The network consolidates various SAF volunteer schemes including the SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC), and aims to double the current pool of around 1,500 military and civilian volunteers in the next three to five years.

The new performing arts volunteers will work on defence-related productions on a per project basis, said So Drama! Entertainment (SDE) deputy executive director Gail Wan. 

SDE, a local media and entertainment company, is a MINDEF-related organisation under the SAFRA group. It will work with MINDEF on the new volunteer roles. 

This includes working on events hosting foreign dignitaries, like the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting, Wan said, adding that SDE is looking at other kinds of roles that volunteers can contribute in.  

Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Psalm Lew, director of the Engagement and Volunteer Office at Nexus, said the launch of SG Defence has made people more aware of the different ways they can contribute to defence, beyond military roles. 

Nexus, which oversees Total Defence and National Education, is coordinating the SG Defence network.

Lew said he is heartened by the level of interest, which has so far been split between civilian and military volunteer roles.

One civilian volunteer who started this year is Cindy Chng, 37, a National Education ambassador. 

In her day job, Chng is associate director and head of strategic partnerships at pharmaceutical company MSD Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. As a volunteer, she goes to schools to give talks on Total Defence.

She said she initially counted herself out of volunteering for MINDEF, as she did not feel she was suited for the military. But volunteering in this capacity has been rewarding, she said. 

She said: “When we think about Total Defence, it may feel like a very abstract or very big concept. But I think through my role as an NE ambassador, I get to make it personal.”

Lew and Colonel Low Youwen, who leads the SAFVC, said the SG Defence Network is looking to expand both military and civilian roles to allow more people to contribute in more ways.

Lew said applications so far have come from people ranging from teenagers to retirees, and spanning occupations from homemakers to business leaders. 

Speaking at an event held in appreciation of MINDEF volunteers on July 25 at the National Stadium, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said MINDEF will increasingly need volunteers from even more sectors of society. 

He gave the example of the need for specialised expertise from sectors like law and the media to combat emerging threats.

Thanking volunteers, he said the common view of defence in the past was that it is mainly done by the core of the uniformed military.

“Supporting them are people like yourselves who are also part of my concentric circles of the defence establishment.”