"Ultimately the result that we want – and I am sure you must want this – is to produce a community that feels together… on certain things it responds together: this is my country, this is my flag, this is my President, this is my future. I am going to protect it."
– Mr Lee Kuan Yew, 1966
Our Purpose
Nexus seeks to deepen Singaporeans' commitment to Singapore – by fostering a strong sense of identity and belonging to our country, and a better understanding of our shared challenges and hopes.
We do this to strengthen Singapore's resilience in a changing world where threats and challenges are complex, multi-faceted, and increasingly targeted at hearts and minds to undermine the unity of our society. For a small, open country like Singapore, it is important to build a strong shared identity and understanding of what we stand for, so that we have the resolve to overcome challenges together.
Nexus provides opportunities for Singaporeans to think about who we are and express our thoughts through creative means, from filmmaking and animation, to gaming. We experiment with ways to communicate and engage our audience, working with partners from the 3P (public-people-private) sectors.
Our Initiatives
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"I am proud to be a Singaporean… Our red passport is one of the most powerful in the world and our country is a beautiful first-world city with easy access to water and electricity. We feel safe even when we wander around the streets at night."
- Oh Yi Na, 25-year old Singaporean
Our Partners
Nexus works with a wide range of agencies from the 3P sectors to extend the reach of our campaigns and events. These include the Ministry of Education and People's Association, to extend our messages and initiatives to students and grassroots.
We also work with partners from the private sector, such as MM2 Asia, Robot Playground and Sproud for total defence related content.
If you would like to find out more about Nexus' programmes or collaborate with us, email us at Nexus@defence.gov.sg.
Our Resources
Nexus develops content based on events and developments in Singapore and around the world to bring out National Education lessons on Total Defence, National Service, racial harmony and other issues of national importance. The content is published on SG101, and organised based on five categories - 'Defence and Security', 'Foreign Policy', 'Economy', 'Society' and 'Infrastructure'.
Our Structure
Nexus consists of three teams:
The Strategy and Content Development Group seeks to understand how Singaporeans feel about Singapore and our confidence in our shared future, so that we can plan and design effective engagements to reach out to all levels of society. It creates content related to National Education and National Identity for various platforms, as well as leads National Education efforts in MINDEF/SAF.
The Community Engagement Group drives partnership and engagement initiatives to co-create Commitment to Defence and Total Defence efforts with MINDEF/SAF stakeholders.
The Museum Strategy and Development Office(MSDO) drives the strategic development and governance of the MINDEF/SAF group of museums and its related programmes, events and publicity. MSDO also drives the development of the upcoming National Service-themed Gallery. It also works closely with the Defence Collective Singapore to build relevant local and overseas museum networks as well as key museum capabilities to strengthen public engagement for commitment to defence and support for National Service.
Our Milestones
National Education Branch
We began as the National Education Branch. Our role was to get buy- in for National Service and inculcate loyalty to the nation.
National Education School
The National Education School was formed to conduct national education courses. Meanwhile, NEPO merged with the Public Affairs Department.
Central National Education Office
National Education Office expanded to become the Central National Education Office as a new directorate in the Defence Policy Group.
As CNEO, we
- provide strategic planning, direction and coordination of national education initiatives at the national level.
- drive NE efforts in MINDEF and SAF.
- 1971
1983
- 1987
- 1992
- 1999
- 2003 - Present
National Education Planning Office
A new office, National Education Planning Office, was formed to increase the awareness of national education nation-wide.
The Total Defence concept and 5 key NE messages were formulated.
National Education Office
The National Education Office became a department when MINDEF Public Affairs was restructured into a directorate.
As NEO, we
- develop and conduct national education programmes for SAF and National Service personnel as well as external groups (e.g. students, teachers, community leaders).
- promote the Total Defence concept with other ministries.
Nexus
A name change! Central National Education Office becomes Nexus. Meaning bond or connection, the new name better reflects our role in connecting Singaporeans to Singapore and to one another.
