APPRECIATING NSMEN INITIATIVES

National Servicemen play a vital role in Singapore’s defence and security, enabling Singapore to enjoy continued peace, stability and economic progress. They give their time and commitment to undergo the rigours of training to keep their loved ones, our community and Singapore safe. It is important for our national servicemen to know that they have the support of their families and Singaporeans.

Each year, SAFRA collaborates with various community and corporate partners to show appreciation to national servicemen in the lead-up to SAF Day and National Day.

ABOUT THE VIDEO COMPETITION

Express your creativity in conveying heartfelt thanks to national servicemen nationwide by conceptualising and producing short videos (live-action or animation) of 60 to 90 seconds.

Open to students from all secondary schools and post-secondary education institutions (e.g. Polytechnics, junior colleges, ITEs, art institutions, universities and other institutes of higher learning. Includes IB and IP). From aspiring content creators capturing inspiring moments with their smartphones to budding filmmakers, all are invited to participate in this meaningful competition. Submit as an individual or team (Up to 5 pax)

Into its 6^th edition, the competition is in support of the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD) established by MINDEF.

AWARDS AND PRIZES

The judging panel will select the winning videos for the Gold, Silver, Bronze, Best Live Action, Best Animation, up to 5 Young Video Makers, and up to 10 Merit Awards.

All these winning videos will also have the opportunity to compete for an additional Audience Choice Award. The video that garners the most votes during this period will be the winner of the Audience Choice Award.

Award	Prizes
Gold	$3,000 cash
Silver	$2,000 cash
Bronze	$1,000 cash
Best Live Action*	$1,000 cash
Best Animation*	$1,000 cash
Young Video Maker*^ (Up to 5 Winners)	$1,000 cash each
Audience Choice	$1,000
Merit (Up to 10 Winners)	$700 cash each

Terms & Conditions

• Prizes are non-transferable and non-exchangeable for alternative prizes.
• SAFRA reserves the right to substitute prizes with those of equal value.
• SAFRA’s decision on the selection of winners in consultation with the judging panel will be final.
• *SAFRA reserves the right to not award.
• ^Only secondary school students/submissions are eligible for this award.

ELIGIBILITY

• Student(s) can submit as an individual or team (Up to 5 pax).
• The competition is open to students from secondary schools and post-secondary education institutions (e.g. Polytechnics, junior colleges, ITEs, art institutions, universities and other institutes of higher learning. Includes IB and IP).
• SAFRA reserves the right to reject entries, as well as withhold awards and prizes for any winning entries, which do not fulfil the requirements stipulated in the participation guidelines.

THEME & CONTENT

The video should be based on the theme of ‘Appreciating NSmen’. Everyone can play a part in showing their support and appreciating our NSmen. Here are some common real-life examples that can inspire your video concept:

Support from	Examples
Family: Support from their loved ones, enabling our NSmen to serve their duties with peace of mind.	Spouses of NSmen often take on additional household and parenting duties when they go for their ICT. Some parents of NSmen prepare their favourite dishes before and after they return from ICT; Children of NSmen can show their appreciation by giving a hug or a gift when they return from ICT.
Community: Simple acts of appreciation and assistance from the people that our NSmen meet in their daily lives. For instance, friends, neighbours, food store owners etc.	Friends and neighbours offer a helping hand by looking out for the NSmen's loved ones while they are away on ICT; Some food stall owners provide special discounts or larger servings to NSmen as a gesture of their appreciation.
Employers and Co-workers: Practices and policies that support NSmen employees to better balance their work and NS commitments.	Supportive colleagues that help NSmen drive their projects forward and take on other covering duties while they are away from work at ICT; A positive organisational culture where all levels of employees recognise the importance of NS; Many companies have also been recognised with the NS Mark and/or Total Defence Award for their efforts.

Content Guidelines

• Participating students may include short interview footage, soundbites and/or quotes within their video submissions to enhance their overall storyline further.
• Depictions of all SAF or Home Team uniforms and vehicles/weaponry/equipment, if any, must be accurate and current
• All the Entries will be subjected to the approval of SAFRA, who shall have the sole discretion to disqualify any Entry as it deems fit, including but not limited to videos which:
• contain obscene, provocative, objectionable, defamatory, inappropriate, or illegal content
• Contain non-copyrighted music, video or images
• Infringes any Intellectual Property Rights
• Contain content which is irrelevant to the theme of the Contest; or
• Do not comply with these Guidelines

KEY DATES

Date*	Description
15 Feb to 14 May 2025, 12 noon	Video Submission period
Late May	Selection of award-winning entries
Late May	Award winners will be notified
2 to 11 June	Voting for Audience Choice Award
25 June	Award Ceremony
*Subject to changes

SUBMISSION

The deadline for submission is 14 May 2025, 12 noon.

To submit your entries, download and fill in the Submission Form below, and attach it with your video in an email to appreciatingnsmen@safra.sg. No submission fee is required.

Video

• To be attached to the email
• File name: (School Name) - (Student Name)

Technical Specifications

• Format: mp4, mov, wmv
• Quality: At least HD (720p). Full HD (1080p) preferred.
• Duration: 60 to 90 secs
• Vertical or Horizontal Format
• Non-English content in the video must have English subtitles
• All videos submitted should end with a personalised credit frame which states the following details:
  • Title of video
  • Full name of student(s)*. For teams, please state the name of the team leader first.
  • Name of course, school year
  • Name of school
  • Full name of teacher/lecturer (where applicable)
    
    

*No further additions are allowed after submission

JUDGING CRITERIA

Submissions will be evaluated by the panel of judges comprising industry professionals and representatives from SAFRA.

Criteria	Weightage	Description
Relevance to theme	30%	Expresses heartfelt appreciation to national servicemen for their contributions to Singapore's defence and security
Creativity and Presentation	30%	Originality of concept Scripting Art direction and filming Editing and effects
Impact	30%	Attention-grabbing Able to resonate with the audience Compels the community to show appreciation by sharing the video
Adherence to specifications and guidelines	10%	Meets technical specifications Positive and accurate representation of national servicemen and the NS Services, where featured

AWARD WINNERS

Announcement of Winners:

• Winners will be notified of the results of the Competition via email and/or phone call.
• Winners must be present for the prize presentation ceremony, which is tentatively scheduled for 25 June 2025.
• All prizes need to be collected at the Award Ceremony.
• SAFRA reserves the right to forfeit any prize at SAFRA’s sole discretion if the winning Participant for the Prize is disqualified under these Rules and Regulations and such Participant or any other Participant shall have no claim over the Prize.
• SAFRA (including its employees, officers, agents and assigns) shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage relating to or arising from the Contest or the Prize awarded, regardless of the cause or reason.
• These Rules and Regulations shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of Singapore and the Participants hereby agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Singapore courts.

Award-winning Videos:

• Award-winning videos will be selected for nationwide screening by SAFRA and its media partners/channels.
• For videos that are selected for screening, students may be required to provide an abridged version of 30 seconds to show key snippets of their video that can convey the theme of ‘Appreciating NSmen’.
• For the award-winning videos, SAFRA will provide the below end frame for insertion into the winning videos upon notifying the students of their winning entries. As with the credit frame, this will also not constitute the 90-second limit of the video.
  
  

VIDEO PRODUCTION WORKSHOP

Learn useful tips on storyboarding, filming and video editing techniques.

The workshop is open to students from all secondary schools and post-secondary education institutions (e.g. Polytechnics, junior colleges, ITEs, art institutions, universities and other institutes of higher learning. Includes IB and IP).

Date:	Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Time:	2.30pm to 6pm
Venue:	Lecture Hall 24, Temasek Polytechnic School of Design
Fees:	Free

Registration closes on 19 March 2025 (limited seats available).

PAST AWARD-WINNING VIDEOS

Click on the link below to check out the award-winning videos over the past five years.

• Appreciating NSmen Video Competition 2024
• Appreciating NSmen Video Competition 2023
• Appreciating NSmen Video Competition 2022
• Appreciating NSmen Video Competition 2021
• Appreciating NSmen Video Competition 2019

TERMS & CONDITIONS

• All personal data and information collected by the SAFRA will be used for this event only.
• By submitting an Entry and thereby entering the Competition, The Participant represents, acknowledges and warrants that the submitted Entry is an original work conceived and created solely by the Participant and does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity and that no other party has any right, title, claim or interest in the Entry. The Participant shall obtain the consent of the owners of materials with intellectual property rights before using such materials in his/her entry. The Participant shall also keep the SAFRA notified of the use of material with intellectual property rights in his/her entry. The Participant shall indemnify SAFRA and its officers against any intellectual property infringement claims or demands including any costs, charges and expenses in respect thereof.
• After the closing date and the time of the competition, submitted entries will be shortlisted and the public will get to vote for their favourite entry on a public platform. The entry with the most votes will be awarded the Audience Choice Award.

Please click here for the Appreciating NSmen Video Competition Terms and Conditions.

FOR ENQUIRIES

Please email to appreciatingnsmen@safra.sg