IPS Update Issue May 2019

In the lead up to the Singapore Bicentennial Conference, IPS and the Singapore Bicentennial Office invite Singaporean/PR students aged 12-25 years old to share their reflections on the Bicentennial on video. 

The top 20 videos will be featured on official Singapore Bicentennial Office platforms. Creators of the top 10 winning videos will get a seat at the Singapore Bicentennial Conference and a $200 book voucher.

Report — Disability Community Network Meeting IV: Inclusion
• 4-min read

After three roundtables on employment, education and caregiver support, this meeting of the Disability Community Network focused on the topic of inclusion. Co-organised by IPS and the Social Service Research Centre, the event featured a seminar by local disability studies scholar Victor Zhuang. He talked about the social underpinnings of disability, and inclusive norms that we can all practise towards a more accessible and inclusive society.

More young people are open to permitting religious extremists to publish their views online. IPS researchers Shanthini Selvarajan and Mathews Mathew believe that this is because young people value freedom of expression more, especially on the internet. They explore this perspective and the challenges that may arise.

Writing after the Notre Dame fire, launch of Singapore’s bicentennial and news of the upcoming Founders’ Memorial, IPS Special Research Adviser Arun Mahizhnan reflects on the importance of documenting and celebrating the extraordinary contributions of ordinary Singaporeans to the development of Singapore.

Together with the National University of Singapore Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences’ Social Science and Policy Cluster, IPS Social Lab held a seminar on numerous aspects of built heritage practice from various perspectives, and discussed the legislative, commercial, and social challenges in heritage advocacy efforts.

The fiscal management of Singapore’s reserves has been a focal point in the past two Budget speeches and debates. IPS organised a closed-door discussion to develop a framework for fiscal policy and management of the reserves that would deliver fair and sustainable outcomes for all generations of Singaporeans.

IPS' latest working paper looks at the evolving trends of Singaporeans’ perceptions and attitudes towards social, moral & political issues. It analyses responses to the 2018 IPS Race, Religion and Language (RRL) Survey, and compares it with the results of the 2013 RRL Survey.

Singaporeans remain fairly conservative. However, there have been distinct shifts on issues surrounding homosexual rights, especially among respondents aged 18-25, who were much more liberal about moral issues compared to respondents aged 65 and above.

May 2019 marks the beginning of the 58th Venice Biennale, and it is timely that last month, the Singapore Chronicles volume on Art was officially launched at the National Gallery Singapore. It was written by two Senior Curators at the Gallery, Seng Yu Jin and Shabbir Hussain Mustafa. At the 2015 Biennale, Shabbir curated artist Charles Lim’s SEA STATE, one of the many artworks featured in this chronicle of Singapore’s art and artists. Photo: Veteran thespian Lim Kay Tong opened the book launch with a reading of “Is Art Necessary?”, written for a conference at The Substation in 1993 by Janadas Devan, now IPS Director.