SSR Conference 2022: Post-Pandemic Challenges and Planning for Social Services
Video Recording
Registration Fees (Registration has closed)
1st 100 only
Register by 13 March 2022, Sunday, 11:59PM (GMT +8:00)
Download programme booklet here
Read news articles on our event here
- [The Straits Times] Close to half a million in Singapore benefited from Covid-19 financial support schemes
- [The Straits Times] Seniors had better mental health than younger adults during circuit breaker: Study
- [Lianhe Zaobao] Sun Xueling: The social service sector needs to keep up with social needs as the country moves towards living with the virus
- [Berita Harian] Nearly 500,000 residents benefited from the Covid-19 financial assistance schemes
- [Print articles] SSR Conference 2022: Post-Pandemic Challenges and Planning for Social Services
- [NUS News] Building stronger families and communities in the post-pandemic world
Guest of Honour: Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State (MSF, MOE)
Ms Sun Xueling was elected a Member of Parliament in September 2015. She currently holds the position of Minister of State in the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Ministry of Education. Ms Sun also serves as a Board Member of the Chinese Development Assistance Council.
Keynote Speaker: Dr Gerard Ee, Chairman (AIC)
Dr Gerard Ee has served in various organizations spanning over 40 years dealing with disability issues, teens reformation, active ageing and health needs of the elderly.
He was the Chairman for the Board overseeing Toa Payoh Girls’ Home, Boys’ Complex, Changi General Hospital and various Catholic schools.
He is currently the Group Chairman for all the Canossa programmes in Singapore, the Agency for Integrated Care and the Charity Council. He is also serving on the Board of MOH Holdings.
Panel 1: Community and social development in the post-pandemic era
“Safe Uncertainty” in Social Work Practice as COVID-19 Emerges
Head of Programme, Master of Counselling,
S R Nathan School of Human Development,
Singapore University of Social Sciences
Associate Professor Timothy Sim has been based in Hong Kong for more than 18 years. He is a leading international scholar in social work practice research, family therapy, and disaster management. After returning to Singapore since the end of 2020, Tim has focused on developing counselling and family therapy training at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. He is committed to supporting practices and services that reach out to families that are experiencing addictions, divorce, incarceration, poverty, and violence.
Meeting Needs in the ‘New’ Normal: Rethinking Social Inclusion and Support for Vulnerable Older Persons
Ad Maulod is a cultural anthropologist and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Ageing Research and Education (CARE), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. Ad’s research focuses on translating cultural concepts of health and ageing into effective programme and policy interventions. Ad has conducted several evaluation studies focusing on user experience of health services and the factors that impact quality of care. Ad believes in the empowerment of our elders by amplifying their stories and advocating for an inclusive, compassionate and just society for all-ages.
A Village of Possibilities: A Multitude of Perspectives from 643 Community Hub Experience
Community Worker,
AMKFSC Community
Services Ltd
Social Worker,
AMKFSC Community
Services Ltd
As an Asset-based Community-driven Development (ABCD) practitioner, Adriana Rasip believes that communities are rich in assets that can be tapped on to come up with their own initiatives or solutions towards their own collective well-being. She is also passionate in creating spaces that engages beneficiaries as citizens, to step forward to contribute and have a voice. Her topics of interest includes poverty, social mobility and social innovation. The future that she envisions for the social service sector is the shift to see 'beneficiaries' as 'potentials' instead of merely as recipients and for assistance to be delivered as 'investments' in their potential.
Pek Yan Zhan is a social worker at Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centre and has been working with children and adults from low-income families. She sees the possibilities of how discovering and highlighting families’ strengths can enable families in recognizing their potential - which can enable them to create different experiences as they continue to work through day to day struggles and challenges. As a practitioner, she believes in the importance to reflect and discuss openly about the use of self in practice in order to effect longer lasting impact for beneficiaries.
Giving Ground to Voices that Matter
Deputy Executive Director,
Beyond Social Services
Ranga is Deputy Executive Director at Beyond Social Services, which enables public rental housing neighbourhoods to be ‘villages’ that raise their children well. Beyond Social Services is committed to engaging families living in public rental housing so they can exercise their strengths and capabilities in addressing the issues they face. Ranga is a registered social worker, trained in community development, restorative justice and stakeholder engagement. Through Beyond, Ranga gets to engage more people in peace building efforts to create a society that is kinder, fairer and more cooperative.
Moderator: Dr Robyn Tan
Research Fellow,
Social Service Research Centre,
National University of Singapore
Robyn Tan is a Research Fellow with the Social Service Research Centre. She completed her Ph.D. in Development Policy and Management from the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester, UK. Her research interests include studying the implementation of policies, programmes and interventions in real world policy and service settings. She has a keen interest in theory-driven evaluation, specifically, applying realist research to understand what works, for whom, and under what conditions. Robyn has a joint appointment with the Department of Social Work at NUS where she teaches advanced research and evaluation. She is an adjunct faculty with the Geriatric Education and Research Institute (GERI).
Panel 2: Mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on the well-being of the youth and elderly
Age Advantages in Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Positive Effects of Adaptability
Research Fellow,
Geriatric Education &
Research Institute
Chou Chuen is a research fellow at the Geriatric Education and Research Institute. At present, his research focus is on well-being of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has research interests in advancing end-of-life care. Chou Chuen also teaches research methods and is an adjunct faculty at SUSS, and a clinical practice facilitator at LKC School of Medicine, NTU. Chou Chuen holds a PhD in Psychology and has research experience in both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Gendered Dynamics and Emotional Well-being in the 'Aftermath' of the Pandemic
Department of Sociology,
National University of Singapore
Vineeta Sinha is Professor at the Department of Sociology at the National University of Singapore. She holds a Masters in Social Science from the National University of Singapore, and a Masters of Arts degree and a PhD from the Johns Hopkins University. Her research interests include Hindu religiosity in the Diaspora, intersections of religion, commodification and consumption processes, interface of religion and materiality, religion-state encounters in colonial and post-colonial moments, formation of concepts and categories in the social sciences, Eurocentric and Androcentric critique of classical sociological theory, pedagogy and innovating alternative teaching practices.
"I came out of it more resilient" versus "I don't know who I am anymore": Contrasting Pandemic Impact on Youth Psychological Well-being, Future Aspirations, and Civic Engagement
Postdoctoral Fellow,
University of Denver
Dr Kwan Jin Yao is a social work postdoctoral fellow at the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver. His work broadly focuses on the positive development and well-being of adolescents and young adults, especially those from low-income and marginalised families. In particular, Jin Yao examines the familial and community relationships to which they have access. Another research interest of his includes youth civic engagement, which he studies using the positive youth development framework.
#phasingCOVID19 with Youths and Young Adults: CHAT’s Journey
Principal Case Manager/
CHAT Programme Lead,
Institute of Mental Health
A Master Solution-Focused Practitioner certified by the International Alliance of Solution-Focused Teaching Institutes (IASTI) and an Associate Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF), Yi Ping is a mental healthcare professional with 15 years of clinical experience in supporting the recovery of youths, young adults and their families, whose lives have been interrupted by psychosis, mood and anxiety disorders. Her efforts in capability building as a trainer, facilitator and supervisor is well recognized in Singapore’s youth mental health landscape.
Moderator: Ms Anthea Ong
Former Nominated
Member of Parliament and
Social Entrepreneur
(SG Mental Health Matters,
Hush TeaBar, A Good Space,
Welcome in My Backyard)
Anthea Ong was a Nominated Member of Parliament for the 13th Parliament of Singapore. She championed on behalf of youth activists and sex workers, proposed a national suicide prevention strategy, conducted a public consultation on the mental health landscape, made recommendations for closing our digital divide and advocated for greater work injury compensation and other forms of support for migrant workers.
She is also a full-time social entrepreneur and advocate, having founded and co-created several ground-up initiatives/impact businesses, including SG Mental Health Matters, WorkWell Leaders, Welcome in My Backyard, Hush TeaBar, and A Good Space.
Panel 3: Digital inclusion in COVID-19 times and beyond
Understanding the Digital Gaps in Rental Communities & Inclusion Efforts
Executive Director,
South Central Community
Family Service Centre
Ruth graduated from NUS in Social Work and Mathematics with a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Supervision. Despite 19 years of practising social work, her focus over the last 4 years has been around poverty transformation in the neighbourhoods, including social work and Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) work in building empowered communities and harness the kampung spirit needed. Apart from actively contributing towards the mindset change of how those living in relative poverty in Singapore are viewed, she hopes to effect meaningful change in the way social and community work are being carried out through the humility of unlearning and learning for meaningful dignified change to occur from a more grounds-up perspective.
Universal Digital Access and Youth Gaming Addiction
Department of Social Work,
National University of Singapore
Choo Hyekyung is Associate Professor at the Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore (NUS). She has been conducting extensive research and published on adolescent health risk behaviours and cyber-wellness issues, particularly Internet Gaming Disorder as well as social support systems and service use among immigrant or transnational families with low income and their children.
Digital Readiness in the Midst of a Pandemic
Senior Director,
TOUCH Integrated Family
Group Impact & Research,
TOUCH Community Services
Anita is a Senior Director with TOUCH Community Services and she oversees the TOUCH Integrated Family Group that aims to provide resources and support to Singapore families. She is a member of the Media Literacy Council, and also co-chairs the Youth Alliance for Mental Health, under the NCSS. Anita’s interest lies in development of cutting-edge programmes in mental health, cyber wellness, and helping families cope with different stressors. In 2020, Anita was appointed as a Social Service Fellow in recognition of her contributions to the social service sector.
Now What? Sustaining Digital Adoption for Digital Equality
Principal Investigator, IWP,
Associate Professor,
Department of Social Work, and
Steering Committee Chair,
Social Service Research Centre, NUS
A/P Irene Ng holds a joint Ph.D. in Social Work and Economics from the University of Michigan. Her research areas include poverty and inequality, intergenerational mobility, and social welfare policy. Her research projects include a study of in-work poverty among the young; National Youth Surveys 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019; a study of low-income households with debt; and the development of universal digital access. She serves or has served in committees in MSF, NCSS, MOM, and various social service agencies.
Moderator: Mrs Anita Low-Lim (**Moderator has been changed due to unforeseen circumstances as of 11 March 2022)
