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The most water-loving celebrities, the hottest water attractions, the best water-saving tips and the latest water happenings can all be found in PURE, a free street magazine by PUB, the national water agency.

The first water-themed lifestyle magazine, PURE is designed to get young people thinking about water with its large glossy pictures and breezy editorial style.

The magazine was launched on this year's World Water Day on 22 March by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources at Olio Dome Suntec City, one of the pick-up points for PURE.

Dr Khor unveiled the inaugural issue of PURE by breaking an ice block that encased the cover of the magazine.

"Since ice is made from water, it was a really cool idea to launch the magazine this way. It is unusual for a public agency to come out with a street magazine and through this lifestyle magazine revolving around water, we hope that everyone, especially the young, will understand the importance of our precious water resources and want to protect it. This is also part of our efforts to engage the younger generation and connect with them so they can bond with water," said Dr Khor, who was also featured in the first issue.

The cover story of PURE's inaugural issue about a postcard-pretty, little known gem known as the Sungei Api Api attracted much attention, resulting in media stories about the place.

"When the Pasir Ris new town was being developed more than 20 years ago, the drainage folks had the foresight to salvage the mangroves along Sungei Api Api, resulting in the luxuriant greenery there today. Sungei Api Api is a forerunner of the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters programme, which will transform our drains, canals and reservoirs nation-wide into beautiful streams, rivers and lakes for people to enjoy," said Mr Yap Kheng Guan, PUB's Director of 3P Network.

PURE is distributed quarterly at various MRT stations, restaurants, coffee joints, tertiary institutions and libraries. In addition, 10,000 copies of each issue are sent to homes in randomly selected estates.

By JOY TAN and TEO YIN YIN

 


It was pure girl power at work as 24 female students from the Nanyang Technological University's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information conceptualised and organised the launch of PURE.

This was part of their class project for an event management course they were taking. And boy, did they have fun. They gave full play to their creativity, with ideas for the invitation cards and teaser ads right to shopping for props such as hammers for the "ice-breaking" launch and choosing the right fanfare music to be played during the arrival of the guest-of-honour.

"It was the first time I shopped for a hammer and we even dressed it up with pretty ribbons. At the end of the event, we realised how each detail actually makes a difference," said Evon Ng Swee Chia, 23. The hammer was used by the guest-of-honour to break an ice block, unveiling the cover of PURE.

The teaser advertisement headlined Guess What Water Wally Is Reading was also an idea from the students. The SMS contest which was part of the teaser campaign sparked the curiosity of Singaporeans, with a few participants even sending in more than 30 SMSes.

Guests invited to the launch of PURE were also kept in suspense of what Water Wally was reading. They received a teaser invitation card shaped like a bottle, with a picture of PUB's mascot Water Wally reading a magazine on the bottle's label. This was a hint that the new magazine was related to water.

For the students, part of the thrill was working with the two celebrity hosts Michelle Chia and Adrian Pang while putting into practice what they have learnt.

They also had a dose of real working life, faced with the challenge of making cold calls to the media and trying to pitch different news angles to them. They had a hand in drafting the media releases, staging the photograph opportunities and the post-event evaluation. Angeline Yap, 22, even appeared on the TV magazine programme Good Morning Singapore to talk about her experience at the launch of PURE.

"The event was an excellent way for us to connect with the students. By working with these young talents, we get to tap their ideas which are often very refreshing," said Mr Yap Kheng Guan, PUB's Director of 3P Network.

"Through this event and PURE, we also learnt that there are many aspects to water that we have never realised before. I think PURE will be a great hit with students like us," said Chan Huiyi, 23.

And it doesn't just stop there. These friends of water are also putting their new knowledge to good use by contributing articles to PURE. One of the articles comparing Singapore's tap water and bottled water was written by Faith Chen, a second-year journalism student.

Said Faith, "This is a good experience for me as I get to have a byline in a magazine read by thousands. At the same time, my interest in water issues in Singapore has grown, owing to the research I have done for my article. I definitely won't be taking water for granted again!"