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International Energy Week
The Energy Market Authority (EMA)
was certainly in the thick of the
action as the organiser of
Singapore’s inaugural International
Energy Week (IEW), which took
place on November 3-7, 2008. The
project involved 37 strategic
partners who organised or hosted
39 conferences, workshops, site
visits and networking opportunities.
These covered a range of energy
topics from conventional energy to
clean and renewable energy
(including nuclear energy) across
the value chain.
“It wasn’t easy working across
different agencies because each
had specifi c mandates and their
own objectives,” recalls Mr David
Tan, Deputy Chief Executive, Energy
Policy and Planning Division, EMA.
Sharing his experiences, Mr Koh
Kok Hong, Director, Special Duties
(Energy), Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFA), says: “Initially, we had to
manage the different expectations
from the various stakeholders.
There were also concerns about
how we can make IEW relevant for
the industry, think tanks, and the
wider public.”
The key, Mr Tan found, was to
“come together around the table,
discuss the issues with forthcoming
views and an open mind, and sort
them out with outcomes that were
aligned with the overall objectives.”
Mr Koh agrees: “Once we were
clear about the objectives and
deliverables for IEW, it was pretty
smooth-fl owing.”
The team also leveraged on the
experience of other agencies. EMA
consulted PUB, the main organiser
for the Singapore International
Water Week. PUB readily shared
their experience of organising the
international event and EMA was
invited to attend some events.
Another agency that was involved
in the IEW effort was the Ministry of
Information, Communication and the
Arts (MICA), who, together with
MFA, played a role in publicising the
event. “One big challenge of interagency
collaboration was how to
effectively coordinate the
communications messages and
publicity initiatives of various
participating agencies to achieve
greater impact,” says Ms Grace
Cheung, Information Offi cer, MICA.
But she was glad for the chance to
help in public communications and
marketing for the event.
“IEW was a great opportunity for
my team to collaborate with EMA to
profi le Singapore to the international
audience,” she says.
Plans are underway for Singapore
International Energy Week 2009
(SIEW 2009) to be held on
November 17-20, 2009, right after
Singapore’s hosting of the 2009
APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
EMA is collaborating with a range of
partners, both existing and new, to
build on the momentum of the
inaugural event and to develop
SIEW into a premier brand.