The Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) commemorated 40 years of support for National Service (NS) and Total Defence (TD) with an Appreciation and Appointment Function held at the National Gallery Singapore today. ACCORD Co-Chairmen, Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Defence Heng Chee How and SMS Zaqy Mohamad, expressed their appreciation to 23 members who will be stepping down on 24 August 2024 and welcomed 21 new members.

ACCORD was established by MINDEF in January 1984 to create a channel for the community to provide feedback on issues concerning Singapore's defence. Following recommendations from the Committee to Strengthen National Service (CSNS) in 2014, MINDEF reviewed the structure of ACCORD to enable it to also deepen engagement with employers, educational institutions, family members and members of the broader community, as well as to facilitate initiatives from the community that support National Defence and TD.

As part of 40 years of Total Defence (TD40), ACCORD has taken the lead in championing ground-up efforts to support TD. The TD Sandbox initiative encourages Singaporeans, particularly youths, to put TD into action. At the Appreciation and Appointment Function, three TD Sandbox projects were showcased: TD ScamGuard, TD@Singverse, and the TD Foam Blasters Challenge. These projects received the endorsement of the ACCORD Family and Community Council and Educational Institutions Council. With the strong support from ACCORD, a new TD Sandbox issue statement was released to call for proposals from Singaporeans to enhance our community preparedness and readiness for crises and disruptions. 

At the ceremony, SMS Heng reminded the audience about Singapore’s good fortune to be able to enjoy its many years of peace, which has allowed the country to develop its economy, and grow its society to be more cohesive. He further emphasised, “We must not forget that when you are a small country, it is not a reason to be pessimistic or to feel small, but you have to be realistic that if you are a small country, then you have to work extra hard.” With a warm welcome to the new members of ACCORD, SMS Heng said, “We have a lot more work to do because of the context that we now have to operate in and for the foreseeable future.”

During his closing remarks at the ceremony, SMS Zaqy thanked the outgoing members of ACCORD for their years of service. He mentioned ACCORD’s contribution in Exercise SG Ready, “We have more than 800 partners on board. It shows that Singaporeans, organisations, and partners in the wider community all recognize the important role of Total Defence, especially with what is going on around us.” He also emphasised the importance of Total Defence, citing the National Day celebration as the time to reflect on how far we have come, and to not take national security for granted.

Over the past two years, the ACCORD Employer & Business (E&B) Council has engaged businesses to reach 57,000 Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen). Additionally, the Council has signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) aimed at promoting lifelong learning for NSmen. The Family & Community (F&C) Council has engaged over 1,000 families through Pre-NS Talks and expanded support for NS abroad, with over 2,000 pre-enlistees and their families making virtual visits to the Basic Military Training Centre. The Educational Institutions (EI) Council has prepared over 11,500 pre-enlistees for NS, through organising NS Info Sharing Sessions, and engaged 13,000 students in TD exercises. They also reached out to 3,000 post-NS youths to bolster their commitment to Singapore. ACCORD's participation in TD40 also significantly contributed to the success of the inaugural Exercise SG Ready Total Defence Exercise and the TD40 Convention.