Preparation for Minister’s Visit

Two weeks ago, SNEF and MCYS were preparing for Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s visit to S-Team Switchgear Pte Ltd. This was one of the successful companies that I had worked with on the ENABLE Fund for hiring of persons with disabilities.

It was indeed an eye-opener to find out for me (during the preparation phase) as it’s my first time catching a glimpse of what it is involved in organizing a minister’s on-site visit.

I was amazed at the amount of detail taken into account for just a short few hours of a minister’s visit. The Corporate Communications Dept was largely involved together with the directors and spokesperson from the company, as well as an outsourced Public Relations company who were around to advice.

The discussions really opened up my mind to several issues such as (i) where to put up the tent in the case of rain, (ii) would there be any mini-bus shuttle service provided for the minister, (iii) which entrance and lift would the minister be using and which would the rest and the media use, (iv) where is the most suitable place for the media to interview to minister, (v) whether it would be a sitting down or standing press interview, (vi) travel route and rehearsal of the minister and the press within the building, (vii) where would the first and last stop be, (viii) who will be escorting the minister, (ix) preparation and formal vetting of the introduction speech by the company spokesperson, (x) what information should / can be released to the press and what information shouldn’t, (xi) preparation of the interview candidates from the company, (xii) what are the alternative plans if the lift should break down? Should there be a standby technician? (xiii) Catering of food, etc.

Believe me, it was REALLY an eye-opener. It REALLY made me reflect on how much goes on behind the scenes when we are watching a ‘live’ telecast on TV…