MORE WAYS TO SHOW LOVE FOR SINGAPORE

Be prepared to feel the festive mood of National Day as the organisers of the National Day Parade 2012 (NDP 2012) are gearing up their efforts to engage and enthuse Singaporeans in the run-up to the big day on 9 Aug.

In line with this year's theme Loving Singapore, Our Home, Singaporeans are invited to rediscover and express what they love about our country through roadshows, exhibitions, photo competitions, and activities such as the "LovingSG: One Heart, One Voice" virtual choir, LovingSG trails, and "Building a LovingSG" charity.

Explaining the rationale behind this year's outreach and engagement efforts, Chairman of the NDP 2012 Engagement Committee Colonel (COL) Lim Siong Tiong said: "Every Singaporean has something that they love about Singapore. The activities in the lead-up to NDP 2012 rally Singaporeans to express what they love about our nation in many ways, encouraging participation from all. Through these activities, we hope that Singaporeans will also be inspired to think about what it means to love Singapore, our home."

One of the main highlights of this year's NDP 2012 outreach and engagement efforts is the "Building a LovingSG" charity project. Close to 200,000 Lego bricks and minifigures will be used to create a 12m by 9m scale model of the NDP celebrations at The Float @ Marina Bay.

The model was planned and conceptualised by architect Eugene Tan. When asked why he chose to use bricks for the model, he explained: "Each brick, in itself, may be insignificant, just like a single individual, but collectively, the efforts of every person would make a huge difference. Hence, we applied the same concept in this model: each brick, no matter how big or small, is important in making up the full picture."

This project will involve over 500 volunteers from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), *SCAPE, Pathlight School and Asian Women's Welfare Association.

Aileen Lydia Thomas, a student leader of the NYP team, was heartened to see almost 400 students volunteering for this project despite looming project deadlines and having to study for tests.

From 30 May onwards, Singaporeans can make a $5 donation and receive a pair of customisable minifigures. They can either make their donation online at the "Building a LovingSG" webpage or through the NDPeeps Facebook page or by scanning the mobile QR code on the "Building A LovingSG" bus stop ads.

Alternatively, members of the public can head down to roadshows held at different shopping malls around the island to make a donation on the spot via EZ-Link payment. The roadshows will be held concurrently at Funan DigitaLife Mall, Tampines Mall, Bugis Junction and JCube from 16 to 24 Jun, 9am to 9pm daily.

One of the minifigures will be placed on the seating gallery of the replica floating platform while the other is for keepsake, as a reminder of their participation.

All donations received will go to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, and the structure, expected to be completed by 30 Jun, will be displayed at the travelling National Day roadshows from 7 Jul.

Singaporeans both local and overseas can participate in the "LovingSG: One Heart, One Voice" project by submitting video recordings of themselves singing the national anthem at ndp.org.sg/participation/oneheartonevoice, from 30 May to 8 Jul. These video clips will be spliced together by renowned local music conductor Darrell Ang and film-maker Royston Tan, to form Singapore's first virtual choir, which will premiere during the NDP on 9 Aug.

From 2 Jun to 22 Jul, the public can visit the National Day roadshows, where they can express their love for Singapore through picture moments and on-site interviews. Booths for visitors to record and upload video clips for the "LovingSG: One Heart, One Voice" virtual choir project are also available from 2 Jun. The first roadshow would be held at Toa Payoh HDB Hub on 2 and 3 Jun.

For those who want to rediscover Singapore and the little things they love about the island, they can go on the LovingSG trails, which consist of four uniquely-themed routes: Heritage (19 May to 9 Jun), Urban (17 to 30 Jun), Green (1 to 14 Jul) and Food (15 to 29 Jul). The LovingSG trails are hosted on the NDPOnTheGo mobile app, and there are 10 checkpoints on each trail.

A series of exhibitions have also been planned to showcase the creative efforts of Singaporeans in expressing what they love about Singapore. The exhibitions will feature winning entries from the "Singapore My Home" and InstagramSG photo competitions, as well as blogs, videos and Facebook postings on the LovingSG website. There will be an interactive corner where the public can try out the applications and games available on the NDP 2012 new media platforms.

For more information on all outreach activities, visit ndp.org.sg.