Witnessing Singapore's first ever celebration on a floating platform at Marina Bay was a surreal experience. It was first thought to be impossible, perhaps even outrageous, to take the National Day celebrations right into the heart of Singapore's Central Business District area and right next to the nation's Arts Icon, The Esplanade. Being a City of Possibilities, the people of Singapore were treated to just this, at the spectacular and memorable NDP 07 show.

Armed with the enthusiasm and excitement created by the success of NDP 07, the Organising Secretariat Office 08 put in a great deal of effort to make the NDP 08 Visioning Session an inspiring experience for all committee members, kickstarting the road to NDP 08.

The Executive Committee 08 (EXCO 08), a mix of enthusiastic military officers and civilian officials spent the next two days getting to know one another in a series of team building games and activities.

Mr. Suresh Nair, from CELLS, led the EXCO into a series of games, that encouraged active thinking, leadership and communication amongst the group members.

With every game, Mr. Nair reiterated that communication, change and innovative thinking at all levels are important, to accurately disseminate information, move forward to newer heights, and create new experiences as a team.

LTC Cedric Yeo led the EXCO team in the group discussions, encouraging the members to visualise NDP 08 in their minds. With that, the groups mused over possible NDP show, parade and ceremony concepts, ideas and themes.

The Visioning ended on a high note. First, Hd OS, LTC Linnaeus shared a poem with the members. After which, the Organising Secretariat team presented each of the members with a train carriage. Chairman EXCO then challenged all members to inscribe on the carriage, a word that best described the emotions that they would want to feel on the night of NDP 08. With words such as "WoW!", and "Pride" displayed on the train carriage, each member stepped forward, sharing their chosen words with everyone, and placing them on the train tracks, to symbolise their commitment to the journey which they have embarked on.

Chairman EXCO, Mr Zaini of MDC, and Mdm Jessie Ho-Tan of MOE led the NDP 08 team in singing " We Are Singapore", as a video montage showcasing the activities of the previous two days played as a backdrop. Finally, Chairman EXCO led the team in reciting the pledge, which concluded with a loud bang and a shower of confetti, providing a grand finale to the event. Finally, Chairman EXCO led the team into pledge-taking, which ended with a loud bang and a shower of confetti. The finale reached a climax...