IPS Update Issue August – September 2013

Book Launch of Malaysia & Singapore: The Land Reclamation Case, From Dispute to Settlement

A decade ago, Professor Tommy Koh, Dr Cheong Koon Hean and Judicial Commissioner Lionel Yee led a team to defend Singapore’s land reclamation works before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Their accounts of the successful resolution are preserved for posterity in a book they co-authored and launched recently. Read the report here […]

IPS Seminar: To Share or not to Share: Gains, Risks and Human Agency in Digital Information-Sharing

Digital technologies promote a participatory culture whereby individuals converge online to pool resources and collaborate on media content production. A dark side lurks in online information-sharing though, given the dissemination of false information. Are technology users aware of these dangers? Do they exercise choice when sharing information online? Read the report here […]

Tommy Koh: The Last Frontier on Earth

Our ocean floors hold precious metals and undiscovered answers to challenges such as Alzheimer’s disease and earthquakes. However, deep sea mining depends on technology and the costs of metals recovery to succeed. Deep sea mining also raises a legal question: To whom do these resources belong? […]

Kirthika Selvakumar: Climate Change is Everyone’s Business

Singapore stands to benefit from being environmentally-conscious, from chalking up cost savings as a result of sustainable business practices to becoming a clean technology hub for multinational corporations. But going green should be a societal-level movement that also involves governmental agencies and the people of Singapore. […]

Gillian Koh: GRC and Politics of Inclusion

Lately, there has been discussion about reforming the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system. Is Singapore society ready to look beyond race and ethnicity when choosing their political representatives? Would reducing the average size of GRCs be a better alternative? […]

Mathew Mathews & Danielle Hong: Community Needs to be Proactive in Fight against Racism

Although a recent IPS and OnePeople.sg study reported an optimistic assessment of race relations in Singapore, the fact remains that racism will persist as long as differences do. This calls for an engagement in dialogue that fosters an understanding of differences, in addition to redressing racist situations in everyday life. […]

Chiang Wai Fong: Knowledge and Wisdom

An all-rounded education with an equal emphasis on developing academic knowledge, life skills and wisdom enables a child to discover his or her interests, strengths and talents. In reality, quantifiable book knowledge is often prized over wisdom. […]