Emcee Script -Career Fair 2011

1030 AM – People to be seated down.

Sara: Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Career Fair 2011. I am Saratini and I am from Centre for culture and communication. 

Grace: And I am Grace from School of Applied Science and we will be your emcees for today! :D

Sara: Since it is going to be a long day ahead, are you well prepared?

Grace: Well, I am really excited, and I heard it’s going to be fun, so I’ll be expecting quite a crowd.

Sara: Well, let me tell you some of the highlights for today! First, we’ll bring You a special performance by our very own Beats Encore IG

Grace: Secondly, our guest of honour, Mr Seto, Deputy Principal for Industry services of Republic Polytechnic to launch this prestigious event!

Sara: Hmms. So to some who may be wondering, what is the career fair all about?

Grace: This programme is organized by our very own office of industry and collaboration, OIC in short.

Sara: Wow ... OIC specially organised this career fair every year to help our year 3 seniors to check out the various employment opportunities before they graduate.

Grace: Year 1 and Year 2 students who are already planning on their career paths can also use this platform to find out more about the marketplace!

Sara: Interesting! :D

1045 - Arrival of Guest of honour

(in case if the time doesn’t flow just nice, introduce yourself once again)

Grace: Our Guest of Honour will be arriving soon!

Sara: Let’s put our hands together, for the arrival of our Guest of Honour, Mr Seto, Deputy Principal for Industry services of RP.

Grace: (Gives a little info about him as he walks in) Mr Seto, as we know..........

Sara: A very warm welcome to our guest-of-honour, Mr Seto, and everybody here. Welcome to Career Fair 2010. Once again, I’m Sara.

Grace: and I’m Grace. And we’re your emcees for today. First we shall have a performance by our very own  IG Beats Encore With the song titled ______. Let’s welcome them!!

Sara: Thank You Beats Encore for that spectacular performance. Now may we invite Mr Seto  up on stage to give us an opening address.

R: Mr Seto please.

1100 - SPEECH & Launching.

Sara: Thank You very much Mr Seto. Now we would like to invite Mr Seto to do a Booth walkbout to present a token of appreciation.

Grace: and it’ll be stretched all the way to Republic Poly IT Resource Centre on My left.

Sara: meanwhile, we’d also like to invite all participants to return back to your respective booths.

Grace: Now wishing everyone a lovely day ahead. Take a good look at or surroundings, we have booths of  56 companies  ...

Sara: That’s right! With names like Singapore Airlines, Ministry of Education, Outward Bound Singapore,  Singapore sports Council, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, SMRT Corporation Ltd, DHL Express Singapore, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and many many many more.

Grace: What about us, Sara!?

Sara:  Why don’t we head down ourselves and take a look! :D

Grace: That’s a great idea!  Let’s go!

Hard News (Print) -Changed we have maid

Changes we have maid

By Saratini Shahidi  

Foreigner in the family: Living in the same roof and eating at the same table, foreign domestic workers have been part of the family for some Singaporeans.  

Underpayment, verbal and physical abuse, and ill-treatment, have been things of the past for some foreign domestic workers.

The status of maids in Singapore has changed through time. Cases of maid abuse have decreased significantly from 157 in 1997 to 53 in 2008.

There are many contributing factors that led to this phenomenon.

As Singapore progresses, the attitude of Singaporeans towards foreign domestic workers has changed. Singaporeans has been more dependent on foreign domestic workers.

In the 1980’s, there were only about 20,000 maids in Singapore, this number has increased eight times to 160,000 in 2009.

As Singaporeans strive to cope with the rising cost of living, foreign domestic workers were seen as an indispensable member of the society and family. Women who traditionally stay at home are now also venturing the workforce to help with their family’s expenses.

“Cost of living in Singapore is high, both parents needs to be out working to support the needs of the family, then who is going to take care of the children?” said Mr Chan, manager of CnC Maid Agencies.

Madam Wee, 50, a sales coordinator hired a domestic worker, Nita, to take care of her paraplegic mother who had an accident three years ago. As a working mother, she hopes that by hiring Nita, she will be able to go to work without worrying about the household chores and her mother being left unattended.

“Life will face a drastic change if we find out that we do not have a maid the next day. I don’t think our family will be able to adjust to that kind of life and we will all have to make plenty of sacrifices to take care of my mother.” said Madam Wee.

Mrs Cortez, 44, a human resource manager, also relies on her domestic worker, Lizele, heavily. With her busy schedule at work and with her husband working abroad, she is thankful that she has Lizel to take care of her three kids and help out with household chores.

“It will be a total disaster without her (Lizele). And I am glad that she is always there, she is trustworthy and hardworking... I don’t see her as a maid or an outsider, but as a family member that I can rely and trust,” said Mrs Cortez when asked how her life would be without a domestic worker.

The government’s policies towards foreign domestic workers and employers have also improved the relationship between the two.

First time employers are obliged to attend a workshop to know more about domestic workers and the rights that they deserve. Harsher penalties such as imprisonment and caning will also be melted out to employers who fail to follow the guidelines.

When asked if Lizele is afraid of Mrs Cortez, she smiled and answered, “I love my job, my ma’am treats me very good.”

Sidebars

Year	Number of Foreign Domestic workers in Singapore
1980	20,000
2001	50,000
2005	140,000
2009	160,000

<>

Year	Number of abuse cases
1997	157
1998	89
1999	82
2000	87
2001	41
2002	43
2003	70
2004	59
2005	59
2006	42
2007	68
2008	53

Hard News (Online) -It can happen to you

It can happen to you

There has been a rising trend for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Singapore since 2000. For youths aged 10-19 yeards old, there was an alarming 3-fold increase over the years; from 238 cases in 2002 to 787 cases in 2008.

(Source: Sex diseases up in Singapore Straits Times, 13 January 2010)

By: Saratini Binte Muhd Shahidi

Forty-six percent of 800 youths in a survey conducted by Singapore Polytechnic thought that it was okay to have sex before marriage.

Youths today are the AIDS generation. They leave in a world without knowing that AIDS existed. Millions have died not knowing they had these diseases or do not seek early treatments. Yet the HIV/AIDS epidemic among youths remains largely invisible to youths and young adults themselves.

Today the issue has become more complicated. One of the challenges that we are facing now is the low perceived risk of HIV/AIDS despite healthy knowledge levels. Youths are likely to perceive HIV/AIDS as something that will “not happen” to them. Thus they may not be bothered to protect themselves against risky sexual behaviours.

For youths who reported that they have had sex, their main reason was “it just happened”. They have been led to believe that condoms are the way to avoid unwanted pregnancies and preserve sexual health. Thus the challenge is for them to be aware of situations where they might be putting themselves at risk as well as learn skills to say no to premarital/unprotected sex.

Even if the condoms are used correctly, there are still instances when condoms can still fail. What’s more, they do not protect against HIV/AIDS that only require skin to skin contact for infection to occur.

Youths should be influenced to increase their risk perception of the possible impact of early onset of sexual activity on their lives like HIV/AIDS, STIs, teenage pregnancy.

Youths should also be educated that those who are infected may not display obvious symptoms and may easily spread the infection. These infections can cause serious health complications including infertility, pregnancy problems, and greater susceptibility to HIV/AIDS. Unwanted pregnancies lead to abortion or unplanned teenage motherhood. This means they have to go through the trauma of abortion or be forced to raise a child as a single mother or give it up for adoption.

Acting decisively to control HIV can ensure today’s youths will have their futures as adults.

Sources:

-        O&M Insights-Fournaise SNTL Survey 2010

-        Mindshare Exploratory Qualitative Research

-        Singapore Polytechnic survey of 800 youths, aged 15 to 29 years old conducted in 2007.

Feature (Online) - Off with the Hair!

Off With Their Hair!

RP Staff & Students Shave Heads to Raise Funds for Cancer Kids

PHOTO Saratini  || Canoe IG captain James Tan, and Assistant Director from OSG Service-Learning, Sharonne Tan, getting their heads shaved to kick start the event.

The shavers were out in full force, and strands of hair dropped on to shoulders and slid to the ground. I was completely overwhelmed by the bold acts of 96 Republic Polytechnic (RP) staff and students who were willing to sacrifice their precious hair for children suffering from cancer, at the Hair for Hope event, held on Friday, 1 July 2011. Mr Ganesh Kaylanam, Director of the Office of Student and Graduate Affairs (OSG) made the first ceremonial shave on the captain of the Canoe Interest Group (IG), James Tan, a final year student from the Diploma in Civil Aviation from the School of Engineering. The female representative for the ceremonial shave was Sharonne Tan, Assistant Director from OSG Service-Learning, who was shaving for the third time!

RP held a satellite event for the Hair for Hope by the Children Cancer Foundation on the side of RP's Music Festival, IGNITE! This was the third year RP held the Hair for Hope event and the first year that RP hit a record of 96 participants (including three female volunteers).

One of the highlights of the event was the 21 students from our Canoe IG. With a solid show of determination and solidarity, they came to shave their heads as one united group. I was really proud of our boys!

I felt my hair was like my safety blanket and would feel insecure without it. Yet these volunteers boldly went through the shaving process, proudly took photos together and gallantly cheered one another. These were all done for children who suffer from cancer.

"I want people to know that shaving your hair is nothing. We are doing this for a good cause. Showing support for children struggling with cancer is very important, they are very young and they need moral support and love. Their hair loss is not a choice," Victor Lai Wei Lun, a first year student from the Diploma in Sports and Exercise Sciences from the School of Sports, Health and Leisure spoke as his eyes shone with sincerity.

As the day wore on, more and more hair was collected. Some volunteers took photos while others went to the washroom and check themselves in the mirrors. All of them left with smiles plastered on their faces all the way home.

Sharonne Tan, one of the three female volunteers, explained her decision to take part in the event, "I know many people who have either been suffering from cancer or currently live with cancer. They feel frustrated over losing their hair and embarrassed too. By showing them some solidarity, we want to tell them that it is all right, we are with you."

Robin Toha, an RP staff who had previously missed the event last year, shared his reason for taking part, "I just didn't get the chance to do it last time. I have wanted to do this for the cancer patients. I hope to achieve solidarity among our school staff and students."

Cheers and laughter rung out and joy were seen on the faces of the participants. Everyone clapped and shouted words of support for all the volunteers. It was really a captivating and heart-warming sight. I was really touched by my peers.

At one point, the Director of Corporate Partnerships of Children's Cancer Foundation, Ms Neo Lay Tin took over the microphone and graciously thanked everyone, "I just want to thank all of you who are donating your hair, your time and your efforts to spread this message for us and to make people more aware of childhood cancer. Thank you very much."

Apart from the shaving event, Stella Thng, an Academic Associate from the Centre of Culture and Communications (CCC) set up a booth to promote her book and CDs. Her book and CDs contained stories of gutsy "warriors" who had opened up to her to share their experience with cancer. According to Stella, she was inspired to write the book for her sister, Sally who passed away of colorectal cancer in 2005.

Stella explained that she wrote the book in the hope that it will comfort other cancer patients and their families especially during the painful and petrifying period. The book, "Cancer Warriors" consists of 23 amazing stories of ordinary people with their extraordinary tales of cancer combat. All proceeds from the sale ($277), from Stella's books and CDs sold at the event, were donated to CCF. To date, the total amount raised by RP has exceeded $6,000. Well done, RP!

A quote in Stella's book left an inspirational and indelible mark on me, "Sometimes, life is not about winning the battle, but how you fight it." Let's hope that more people will be aware of childhood cancer, and be more appreciative of the people and gifts in life.

Contributed by Saratini Bte Muhammad Shahidi,
Diploma in Communication and Information Design,
Centre for Culture and Communication

Hard News (Broadcast) - Radio Script - Whampoa Screening Programme

Feature writing – Broadcast (Event: 18th Oct)

A video to showcase the newly launched one-stop community screening programme at Whampoa constituency as an example of bringing health promotion to the community. VO	Explanation
The health Promotion Board has launched a community screening programme at the Whampoa Constituency on 1st October 2011.	A brief introduction about who was involved, what happened, where it happened, and when was the event so that audience would know what this broadcast is all about.
What makes this screening programme important is that these screenings are made easily accessible to residents in the heartlands and make sure that residents with health issues receive follow-up treatment and care.	After knowing the background of this event, audience would want to know what this event is for. Therefore, I highlighted the importance of this event, which is also to persuade those who are put off by the expensive cost and inconvenience to make the effort to go for screenings.
Also present at the event were HPB’s Health Ambassadors who helped fellow residents by giving support and guidance in healthy living.	I highlighted the presence of health ambassadors because the ambassadors are part of the health-promoting ecosystem with HPB hopes that they would be able to inspire healthy living to others in the community.
If you are passionate about helping others and inspiring healthy living in your community, take the first step by becoming a Health Ambassador today.	A call to action and a persuasive end line to finish off the broadcast.
Email HPB_HAN@hpb.gov.sg to join.	Audience will know what to do at the end of the audience.

Feature (Broadcast) - Radio Script - National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign

VO/SOT	Explanation
The Health Promotion Board will be launching the National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign 2011 this Saturday, 22nd October from 11am to 8pm at Sengkang Community Club.	Let the audience know the most important details about the event. What- National Healthy Lifestyle Event. Where - Sengkang Community Club. When- Saturday, 22nd October from 11am to 8pm. Who - Health Promotion Board
Bring along your family and friends to join in the fun and get a free Healthy Lifestyle Bag.	The next part would be why the audience would want to go to this event therefore; I listed down the interesting activities that would attract them. People love free stuffs.
Learn to prepare healthy fuss-free delicious meals and be treated to tasty local delights with a healthy twist.	Apart from the free stuffs, there are also live and free healthy foods being demonstrated right before their very eyes. This would leave them an experience they can’t get anywhere else.
Don’t forget to check how you can perk up your shopping experience with Health Promoting Malls.	I also continued listing down other things the campaign can offer.
It’s going to be a fun healthy experience for everyone. See you at the Sengkang Community Club on Saturday, 22th October from 11am to 8PM!	Ending off with a call to action and listing the important information again to remind them of the details and in case they didn’t catch it the first time.

News Release - National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign (NHLC)

Media Release

National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign (NHLC)

In a bid to increase the number of people in the community to embrace healthy lifestyles habits, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) will be launching a National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign (NHLC) which will be kicking off at the Sengkang Community Club by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean from 22th October 2011 to 23rd October 2011.

Through this initiative, HPB hopes to bring in about 10,000 advocates of healthy living by 2015, as part of its new Health Ambassador Network. These Health ambassadors are made up of youths, young adults, parents and seniors, who are trained and equipped with knowledge on how to live healthily. They will be on set, interacting and sharing healthy tips and advices with their families, friends, neighbours and colleagues.

To this date, there are already 1000 HPB ambassadors who have actively participated in events like the integrated screening programmes in Whampoa, Walk for Dementia, “I Quit” and more.

HPB believes that through the power of peer influence, it can bring about positive change in the community. A five-years Health Ambassador, Madam Samantha Wong, BBM, have been organising health screening and sharing healthy lifestyle tips said, “I have seen how effective my friends and neighbours have been when they encourage the ones they love and care about to eat healthily and stay physically active.”

Apart from the Health Ambassadors present at the event, there will also be newly launched mobile application called iDAT (Interactive Diet and Activity Tracker). This application is designed especially for Singaporeans to suit their working lifestyle and food intake. This tool is also connected to a social network for challenges which will serve as motivations from friends.

There will also be a myriad of spectacular events of dances, percussions, questions and answers and exciting prizes to be won. A special healthy trail will also be lined up, to take families and friends out for an adventure educational trip about healthy living.

Residents will also receive a free healthy lifestyle bag filled with healthy supplements will be given after getting a few stamps from the various booths available at the event, learn to prepare healthy fuss-free meals and also be treated to local delights with a healthy twist!