The story of Sang Nila Utama spotting a lion and naming the island Singapura, Lion City might be familiar for many, but NUS historian Peter Borschberg suggests this is only one way of interpreting the term. Speaking at a public lecture on 9 October, Associate Professor Borschberg explained how “Singapura” is possibly translated from Malay […]

Does your child show symptoms of self-reported depression and anxiety? World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health. The day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health […]

Children’s Day, held annually in Singapore on the first Friday of October, seems to fly by. Many Singaporeans may not even be concerned about such an occasion. In 2017 the total fertility rate (TFR) of Singapore dropped to 1.16, the second lowest recorded. TFR refers to the average number of live births each woman would […]

How do new technologies facilitate intercultural interactions? In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October as the day to recognise the accomplishments of the UN in fostering a harmonious global community. In many international schools around the world, this day is celebrated by a festive display of the myriad cultures represented by its […]

Should young children aspire to be academically perfect? During the last few days of November, students in Singaporean schools find out their Primary School Learning Examination (PSLE) results, which determine their enrollment into secondary schools. Students are admitted to secondary schools on the basis of their performance in these examinations, with higher scoring students gaining […]

The New Singapore Shares Scheme was launched by ex-PM Goh Chok Tong in his National Day Rally speech on 19 August 2001. In the aftermath of the 2001 economic downturn, the initiative sought to redistribute Singapore’s wealth among less well off citizens. Apart from public policies which look out for the welfare of the less […]

Dr Winston Chow (NUS Geography) highlighted three areas of climate change which could affect Singapore: Firstly, higher daily average temperatures are predicted to occur more frequently. Dr Chow attributes this to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the urban heat island effect. To reduce the heat island effect, he stressed the need to integrate climate-sensitive urban […]

What issues affect the future direction of Singapore’s community engagement programs? The annual Community Chest Heartstrings Walk is an example of how Singapore approaches community engagement – by involving citizens at all levels of society, and engaging the government, private corporations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). According to A/P S. Vasoo (Department of Social Work), Singapore […]

Critical Issues in Asset Building in Singapore’s Development is a new collection of essays published by World Scientific and edited by Associate Professors S. Vasoo (NUS Department of Social Work) and Bilveer Singh (NUS Department of Political Science). The essays presented chose to define “assets” broadly. Apart from traditional tangible assets such as housing, intangible […]

Why weren’t Singaporeans keen on state-endorsed matchmaking services? In 1984 Singapore initiated the Social Development Unit (SDU) and the Social Development Services (SDS) to provide matchmaking services for university graduates and non-graduates. In January 2009, SDU and SDS merged and on 16 October 2009 became known as Social Development Network (SDN). The SDN provides matchmaking […]