Conference

Singapore Perspectives 2014 "Differences"

Synopsis

Singapore Perspectives is the flagship event of the Institute of Policy Studies. An annual conference to take stock of recent developments in Singapore, it aims to offer insights into the key trends in the country over the short and medium terms.

The theme of Singapore Perspectives 2014 will be “Differences”: What are the differences that have defined Singapore society in the past and continue to do so in the present? What are the new differences that have emerged in the recent past and how do we propose to overcome them? How will we wrestle with that persistent problem of multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-diverse societies: Fashion unity out of differences?

Singapore’s demographic diversity was the driving force for our founding leaders as they forged a nation. They sought to navigate the many differences in our ancestral, social and cultural affiliations even as they embarked on the urgent task of nation-building. A decade into the new century, many of our traditional understandings of differences – CMIO, for instance – are being challenged, even as new differences, spawned by immigration, new media and globalisation, emerge.

Singapore Perspectives 2014 will consider the complexity of both our historical and emergent differences, and discuss the public policy implications of these differences. E pluribus unum – “Out of many, one”: How should Singaporeans continue in the never-ending task of giving substance to their common dream?

Speakers at the conference will include Ms Sim Ann, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Education; Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy; Dr Leslie Teo, Chief Economist of GIC Private Limited; Professor David Chan, Director of the Behavioural Sciences Institute, Singapore Management University; Professor Chua Beng Huat, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore; and Associate Professor Kwok Kian Woon, College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University. Minister of Education Mr Heng Swee Keat will conclude the conference with a special dialogue.

Please click here to view the programme.

Downloads
• Opening Remarks by Mr Janadas Devan, Director, Institute of Policy Studies
• Singapore Perspectives 2014: Insights from the IPS Survey on Race, Religion and Language by Dr Mathew Mathews
• Singapore Perspectives 2014: Presentation by Dr. Leslie Teo

Video Highlights
• Opening Remarks by Mr Janadas Devan, Director, Institute of Policy Studies