Forum on Poverty in Singapore strikes a chord

September 25, 2013

On Tuesday 24th September 2013, the SRN hosted its most anticipated event to date. “Building an Inclusive Society: Understanding and Empowering the Poor in Singapore” brought together academics, practitioners and policy-makers to discuss who are the poor in our society and what might it take to help them cope with the daily necessities of living.

The Forum was co-organized by FASS’ Singapore Research Nexus (SRN), the Social Science and Policy (SSP) Cluster and the Center for Social Development Asia (CSDA). To set the scene, the organizers screened a short film that they had co-produced regarding local attitudes towards poverty in Singapore. It can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/RgJ7QBS-e8E

The first morning panel addressed ‘Research and Conceptual Issues of Poverty’ and was chaired by Donald Low, Associate Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, LKYSPP).

panel1 — Panel 1 speakers: Irene Ng, Laurence Lien and Hui Weng Tat with moderator Donald Low.

The first speaker, Irene Ng (Associate Professor, NUS Dept. of Social Work) shared for the first time the results of her survey of 383 Singaporeans on their attitudes towards poverty. Next up was Laurance Lien, CEO of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre and Nominated Member of Parliament. Laurence’s presentation highlighted the need to bring greater awareness to and reflection on the realities of poverty on the ground. The final speaker for this panel was Associate Professor Hui Weng Tat (LKYSPP) who brought his expertise on labour markets to bear on the ‘working poor’ in Singapore.

After a vibrant Q&A session the second panel was called to present on ‘Policies and Strategies to Uplift the Poor’.

panel2 — Panel 2: Moderator Paul Cheung with S Vasoo, Teo Tee Loon and Ms Seah Yang Hee

Moderating this session was Professor in Social Policy and Analytics Paul Cheung (Dept. of Social Work) who invited Ms Seah Yang Hee, Director of the ComCare and Social Support Division in the Ministry of Social and Family Development to present on Singapore’s social security system. There then followed Mr. Teo Tee Loon, Executive Director of Lakeside Family Services who shared his experiences of running a homeless shelter. Rounding out the second session, Associate Professorial Fellow S. Vasoo (Dept. of Social Work) shared his experienced thoughts on Low Income Families and the challenges they face today.

qandaaudience — The Q & A session in the packed-out Lecture Theatre

After a further chance for Q&A organizer Prof. Tan Ern Ser (SSP Cluster) thanked all the presenters and participants for their efforts concluding that there was plenty of scope for more dialogue and solutions to many of the issues raised at the forum.