Using music to celebrate life - stay Drug-Free

Come 16 June 2017, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), in conjunction with the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) will be holding an inaugural music concert featuring local artistes Inch Chua, Scarlet Avenue, The Sam Willows, THELIONCITYBOY and special guest appearance by Taufik Batisah!

As part of this concert, four lucky contestants who submitted their song covers online will be mentored by their chosen music artiste and music producer Ruth Ling. (See Annex A) They will get the chance to perform live during the concert. This is part of CNB’s and NCADA’s annual Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign (ADAC), announced at a special publicity event at Singapore Polytechnic, where Inch Chua, Taufik Batisah, Scarlet Avenue, THELIONCITYBOY and Ruth Ling, made an appearance to meet the youths.

This special publicity event held on 18 May 2017 at Singapore Polytechnic, a long-running collaboration partner for ADAC, unveiled the upcoming music concert where organisers hope to promote a drug-free lifestyle through music, with the help of local musicians that youths can relate to. Scarlet Avenue sang their new song “Help Me” specially for this event. They want people to know that they are not alone and that help is there for them. Inch Chua said, “I am very glad to be part of this unique event, and I think it’s wonderful that local artistes are featured in this. Not only does this promote local talent, it sends the message that music can be enjoyed in a drug-free way.”

For the first time, CNB collaborated with the artistes to launch a special mentoring programme for budding local talent. Ruth Ling, a producer at Red Roof Music Records said, “This collaboration is a meaningful way of encouraging youths to take on their passion in life and follow their dreams. Be it music or sport, it is important to have the passion and drive to pursue it, and not let distractions such as drugs detract you from your goal.”

The special publicity event at Singapore Polytechnic also featured various outreach efforts by CNB, as part of its new approach to engage youths. Five second-year students from Singapore Polytechnic’s Diploma in Integrated Events and Project Management course were engaged to facilitate with the outreach and publicity efforts. Some highlights included virtual reality games which mimic the effects of drug consumption, along with a drug-free pledge wall for students to pledge to stay drug-free. Local singer Taufik Batisah also performed an acapella version of the anti-drug song commissioned by CNB, High on Love, to remind youths that drugs are not the solution to their problems.

CENTRAL NARCOTICS BUREAU
NATIONAL COUNCIL AGAINST DRUG ABUSE
18 MAY 2017

Photo 1: Red Roof Music Records producer Ruth Ling with local singers Scarlet Avenue, THELIONCITYBOY and inch Chua who will be performing in the ADAC music concert on 16 June 2017.

Photo 2: Scarlet Avenue performing their new song “Help Me” specially for the event.

Photo 3: THELIONCITYBOY at the virtual reality experience booth at CNB’s anti-drug roadshow.

Photo 4: Scarlet Avenue, THELIONCITYBOY and Ruth Ling at the photo booth at CNB’s anti-drug roadshow.

About the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA)

The National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) is an advisory committee to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), formed in 1995 to help the Government gather feedback and ideas from the community to enhance and strengthen the national anti-drug strategy.

Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB)

The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) is the national lead agency that drives preventive drug education in Singapore. Its anti-drug strategy involves reducing both demand and supply of illicit drugs through intensive enforcement and preventive education programmes.

NCADA and CNB jointly organise the annual Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign (ADAC) to commemorate the 'International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking', which falls on 26 June every year. In addition to the music concert, DanceWorks! is a national dance competition open to students and youths aged between 7 and 25. This year, we have a new segment, the Freestyle Dance battle, in addition to the choreographed segment. We hope to see more participation from the older youths for that segment.

Annex A

Members of the public have been invited to submit a one-minute cover of Taufik Batisah’s hit song “High On Love” in early April this year. Interested participants were asked to tag the artistes of their choice for collaboration in the upcoming ADAC Music Concert. Four entries have been selected out of 18 submissions for the music mentoring programme.

The song covers by participants selected for the music mentoring programme can be viewed below:-

Alberose music x iNCH - https://www.instagram.com/p/BTY-V_ClrJa/
Desiree x Scarlet Avenue - https://www.instagram.com/p/BTT6PVLFosf/
Stephen x THELIONCITYBOY
Danesh x The Sam Willows