Students across Singapore fiercely competed for the first position in the annual N.E.mation! 2017, held on Monday. The event is a digital animation competition in which students have to express their 'Total Defence' ideas through a one-minute video clip. This year, which had the theme "Together We Keep Singapore Strong," the government received 760 entries and had more than 1,600 participating students.
According to a press release on government's official site, "Student teams from Cedar Girls' Secondary School and Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School outshine at the event. The winning teams consist of the champions, MADEit, the first runner-up cedar3, both of which are from Cedar Girls' Secondary School, and the second runner-up from Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School."
"The teams impressed the judges and the public with their thoughtful and creative interpretations of Total Defence, using the designs on the Singapore dollar note to tell stories of nation-building, a drop of blood to emphasise the importance of blood donation, and finger puppets to explain the importance of the five pillars of Total Defence," added the release.
While the winners will get an opportunity to go on a fully-sponsored trip to renowned animation studios in the United States, the first and second runner-up teams will receive prizes worth more than S$6,000 and S$5,000 respectively.
The event was held at the National Gallery Singapore yesterday and Minister of State for Communications & Information and Education, Dr. Janil Puthucheary, was the guest of honour. According to reports, he was impressed with the students' creative ways of conveying the "important messages of how everyone plays a part in safeguarding Singapore on all fronts, and how Singapore's strength lies in the unity and resilience of its citizens."
The minister also highlighted, in the event, the importance of a cohesive nation to deal with any crisis. He noted that the "ability to do whatever is needed comes from our values, comes from our resilience, comes from our preparedness" and that said that the togetherness despite diversity is what makes the Singaporeans strong.
