Discussion Events Our Future 

[Discussion Event] Reimagining Our Hawker Culture, Post-UNESCO

On May 8, 2021, SPJ hosted a discussion event on Singapore’s hawker culture, following its addition to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2020. The discussion centered on key concerns and questions relating to Singapore’s hawker culture that have been dominating nationwide conversations: What is our hawker culture? As older hawkers retire, how might Singaporean hawker culture continue to evolve in ways that facilitate its longevity? What is the role of public policy in preserving and progressing hawker culture?

Check out our summary for a peek at what was discussed. This marks our final event for Spring 2021, and SPJ would like to thank everyone for their support this past academic year. Stay tuned for our other upcoming events later this year!

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Data Digital Technology Discussion Events 

[Discussion Event] Data Go Where? Data Governance in Singapore

On March 25, the Singapore Policy Journal hosted its second virtual event of the Spring 2021 semester in collaboration with The Sessions from the NUS University Scholars Programme, titled “Data Go Where? Data Governance in Singapore.” The event included a short small-group pre-event discussion followed by a speaker panel featuring Quek Su Lynn (Director, Government Data Office), Yi-Ling Teo (Senior Fellow, Centre of Excellence for National Security at RSIS), and Timothy Lin (Co-Founder, Cylynx). In both the discussion and the Q&A with the speakers, a variety of ideas were discussed regarding data governance, and the participants were introduced to private and public sector perspectives of some of the challenges that consumers, companies, and the government face in a field that seems ever-growing.

Check out our summary for a peek at what was discussed, and stay tuned for our other events coming up!

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Digital Technology Reading Group 

[Reading Group] Collective Summary #3: Regulating Digital Technology — Challenges & Trade-offs

The Singapore government’s rollout of SafeEntry and TraceTogether amidst COVID-19 has introduced a new wave of discourse on data security, privacy, and accountability. These conversations are also being fueled with calls for stricter regulations on Big Tech as consumers come to grips with the industry’s concentration of power and their ability to influence human behavior. In light of these ongoing developments, how should we think about the challenges and trade-offs that come with regulating digital technology?

In the third of four collective summaries following SPJ’s reading group, Jenn Hu reviews the remarks of our guest speakers, Simon Chesterman and Roland Turner. The summary details the takeaways from the group, as well the policy deep-dives conducted in group’s subsequent roundtable discussions.

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Cross-Publication Editorial 

In My Shoes: Dr Sudha Nair

In this piece, Beatrice Lee and Rahul Abraham take a closer look at Dr Sudha Nair’s work with PAVE in alleviating domestic violence in Singapore. They explore the historical development of Singapore’s policies addressing family violence, the role PAVE plays in assisting victims of family violence, and the challenges and opportunities that the future holds for both the organization and Singapore society at large.

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Data Digital Technology Reading Group 

[Reading Group] Collective Summary #2: The Foundations of Trust in a Digital Society

The recent focus on TraceTogether data and the use of POFMA during the 2020 General Elections have highlighted the increasing urgency of the need for awareness of emerging digital technology issues and how they affect society. What are our roles and responsibilities as citizens? How much trust can we place in public office when it comes to the control and use of digital technology? And what are the economics and principles that inform our assessment of whether we can trust digital technology to begin with?

In the second of four collective summaries following SPJ’s reading group, Joshua Tan reviews the remarks of our guest speakers, David Eaves and Bruce Schneier. The summary details the takeaways from the group, as well the policy deep-dives conducted in group’s subsequent roundtable discussions.

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Data Digital Technology Government Administration Op-Ed 

In TraceTogether We Trust: Singapore’s Challenge with Data Governance and Ethics

Sarah Anderson and Lionel Oh highlight existing gaps in Singapore’s current legislative and bureaucratic structures for managing data and digital technology. They argue that these concerns extend past any single product or incident; because of the importance of building public trust in the government’s use of digital technology, transparency, privacy, and other ethical considerations should be a fixture of technology policy. The authors also provide recommendations on how these data ethics concerns might be addressed through augmented workstreams which introduce procedures and safeguards for government technology.

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Climate Change Editorial Environment 

[Sustainability Series] An Interview with Melissa Low: Part Two

In the second part of SPJ’s interview series on sustainability, we continue our conversation with Melissa Low, a research fellow at the Energy Studies Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS), this time focusing on the broader global context and Singapore’s role in it. In light of recent global milestones in climate policy, Melissa shares with us about how they influenced her work in Singapore, as well as her well wishes for Singapore’s climate policy.

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