The Singapore Spirit / MCCY / Nico Tangara

For Singapore’s jubilee year, or SG50, Singaporeans came out in droves in a show of pride and solidarity. It was after all a celebration of the ‘Singapore spirit’. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) firmly believed that this spirit was the key to building the nation’s future. The challenge was keeping it alive after the of SG50 celebration ended.

PHASE 1: Our Singapore Spirit

The Singapore spirit seems to mean different things to different people, but really it lives in all the things that Singaporeans do and the unique ways in which they do them. Nothing brings that quite to life than the humble void deck.

Once we seeded this idea about the Singapore spirit, we wanted to turn thought into action. We created a Facebook Live event hosted by popular radio DJs, The Muttons, calling for ideas on what Singaporeans thought our neighbourhoods would like in the future. The ideas were illustrated on to a giant canvas in real time by the Band of Doodlers.

PHASE 2: SG Future

In the second phase of the campaign, we wanted to cast an eye towards the future of the country by showing how Singaporeans are changing the country one idea at a time.

To show the other projects from fellow Singaporeans in an approachable way, we tell their story through illustration. Six stories became 4-panels comic strips to be shared with more Singaporeans.

Phase 3: Taking The Spirit Further

Every day, youth are impacting the community in different ways. From fashion to dance to cosplay, see how some of them are turning their interests into a force for good. We gave spotlight to 3 youth groups that’s making an impact in the society.

Phase 3: Trying

While our campaigns so far has inspired people to pick up new things, there are still small group of people who doesn’t.
And there are numerous reasons that hold us back from ever trying, whatever it is. But perhaps, just not ready to be laughed at or judged should things go wrong.

So we created #EpicTry, a compilation of heartwarming fail videos from Singaporeans – friends, colleagues, families – and showed how despite the odds, people are trying something new. So why shouldn’t you?