PANEL DISCUSSIONS
The conference also featured panel discussions, including one with National University of Singapore (NUS) associate professor of sociology Daniel Goh, Permanent Secretary for information and development at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information Chng Kai Fong, and Lepak Conversations founder Yulianna Frederika.
They discussed how society can strengthen ties among groups with differing value systems and perspectives on issues.
Assoc Prof Goh said that Singapore’s approach to multiculturalism should evolve beyond the CMIO framework.
He also cited the example of the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) guidelines, which has shifted away from talking about “multiculturalism in the workplace”, and instead focuses on “diversity in the workplace”.
Singapore needs to “go beyond the politics of representation and recognition”, said Assoc Prof Goh, who is also associate provost for undergraduate education and vice dean of special programmes at NUS College.
There is also a need to redefine who counts as Singapore citizens. Assoc Prof Goh said that simply being born and bred here is no longer representative of the population these days.
“Citizenship has a lot to do with emotions. We need to start thinking about citizenship as made up of a cluster of emotions, and how then do we think about and how to talk about these emotions?”
Other panellists highlighted challenges such as online echo chambers, with Mr Chng highlighting the growing concerns with misinformation and divisive content on social media.
He noted Meta’s recent decision to back off from content moderation. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram.
“We are going to eventually see different platforms espouse different values, and the algorithms themselves would reinforce people who then subscribe to those values,” said Mr Chng, adding that Singapore, as an open society, will be exposed to such influences too.
In overseeing the government’s information and communications arm, Mr Chng said his goal is to “reach out to as many people as possible” as part of proactive efforts in the information landscape.
“What we need to do is to be able to update and have this shared social consensus on what we stand for, what our values are,” said Mr Chng.
Other panel discussions included one on “Community and the State”, with Dr Aaron Maniam, director of digital transformation education at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, Hong Kong Baptist University communications professor Cherian George, and Dr Joanne Yoong, founder of think tank Research for Impact.
A discussion on “Community and the Market” involved Stewardship Asia Centre chairman Arnoud De Meyer, Nanyang Technological University associate professor of sociology Teo You Yenn, and Ms Catherine Loh, CEO of Community Foundation of Singapore.
