Presented by:
Mr Martin Tan
Prof Chua Beng Huat

Moderator:
A/P Irene Y.H. Ng

Time: 3:30pm to 5:30pm (Registration starts at 3.15pm)

Venue: FASS Dean's Office Seminar Room B, AS7-01-16/17/18, FASS
Address: 5 Arts Link , Singapore 117570

Abstract:

Mr Martin Tan | Is Poverty a Two-Way Mirror?
People have strong feelings about solving, but who gets to define it? Those who are able to define "poverty" as a problem, and its corresponding solutions, may not be from the communities and families they target. The result is that sometimes we end up doing more harm than good, and perpetuate unfair stereotypes. Is Poverty a Two-Way Mirror? explores various perspectives on poverty from different stakeholders, their unintended impacts, and how we might better involve the "poor" themselves in crafting effective responses.

Prof Chua Beng Huat | Make Poverty History
Over the past sixty years, the annual national budget of Singapore rarely reported a deficit. The accumulated annual budget surplus is invested domestically and globally to generated further capital accumulation. The result is a phenomenally large national wealth and a global investment portfolio that makes very significant profits for the nation. Yet there is significant proportion of our population living in both relative and absolute poverty. Economic inequality must not be confused with poverty. Inequality is a logical outcome of capitalism, poverty is not. While there is no logical solution to inequality, poverty can be solved.

Presenters' profile:

Mr Martin Tan| Executive Director of The Majurity Trust
Martin was formerly the Executive Director of Institute for Societal Leadership and Co- Founder of Halogen Foundation Singapore. He works with leaders in the public, private and people sector in over 14 countries. For his contributions to Singapore and the region, Martin was awarded The Outstanding Young Person Award in 2008 in Singapore, inducted as a Fellow of Asia 21, as part of Asia Society New York in 2011 and was conferred the Singapore Youth Award, Singapore’s highest accolade for youth in 2013.

Prof Chua Beng Huat| Professor of Urban Studies, Yale-NUS College & Professor of Sociology, National University of Singapre
His most recent book is Liberalism Disavowed : Communitarianism and State Capitalism in Singapore (2017).

Moderator's profile:

A/P Irene Y.H. Ng| Director, Social Service Research Centre, FASS, National University of Singapore
Irene Y.H. Ng is an Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Service Research Centre in the National University of Singapore. Her research areas include poverty and inequality, intergenerational mobility, and social welfare policy.

Register here

Registration closes on Sunday, 6 October 2019.

For enquiries, please contact Ms Jess Tan