SGfuture sessions: Simulation games, Repair Kopitiam take flight
Deputy CEO of Gateway Entertainment Wan Junyan, who has helped with the conceptualisation and development of a new Total Defence simulation game.
SINGAPORE — Hoping to share his views on how Total Defence could be taught in schools here, Mr Wan Junyan, 41, took part in an SGfuture engagement session earlier this February.
His idea took off after the session, part of a national engagement exercise to get people to exchange views and ideas on shaping Singapore’s future. Mr Wan, deputy chief executive officer of Gateway Entertainment, a production entertainment firm, was invited by the Ministry of Defence to help conceptualise and develop a new Total Defence crisis simulation game to be rolled out in schools next year.
Last month, a trial run of the game was conducted at Dunman High School. Students took on various roles and learnt about the consequences of decisions they make in emergencies.
Students take on different roles — such as a resident or business owner — and react accordingly. For instance, in a crisis where people have no access to complete information, students learn not to jump to conclusions.
“Sometimes, people don’t learn that well when they are put into a classroom setting,” Mr Wan said.
“I always find that people learn better and remember better when they interact, when they have a chance to make decisions.”
Mr Wan drew on his own experience of learning through games, which made him think about how a game focused on Total Defence could be developed for students.
The SGfuture sessions have also generated greater interest in community projects and causes. Ms Farah Sanwari’s ground-up initiative, known as Repair Kopitiam, involves trained volunteers, or “repair coaches”, who help people repair electrical appliances, clothes and household items, to combat the disposable culture here. Since that session, Ms Farah has seen more young people asking about social innovation and environmentalism.
Every last Sunday of the month, she and her volunteers will be at the void decks of public housing blocks in Jurong and Tampines to help residents with repairs. The volunteers also help welfare homes repair their items as part of their on-the-job training.
Ms Farah said: “We realised that the rhetoric of reduce, reuse and recycle hasn’t been very helpful all these years. We also know that the approach... upcycling, recycling, litter-picking, all those stuff are reactionary measures rather than preventive.’’
More community clubs and community development councils want to work with Repair Kopitiam, so Ms Farah hopes more Singaporeans will join the team as volunteers. Siau Ming En
