Context
On the 19 of September 2020, NUS Conjunct Consulting hosted Social Impact Day, a new flagship event that was wholly virtual, aimed at bringing social impact partners and practioneers together. The target of SID was to have a critical conversation in 3 key areas: Climate Change, Inequality and Youth-At-Risk.
The team brought together a total of 14 subject matter experts, from academics to executive leadership of social organisations and on-the-ground individuals to have a comprehensive conversation on these pertinent issues. With the total number of signups reaching over 200, we would like to congratulate the SID team for a successful event. One can view the recorded panels and infographic summaries of the key events below.
Keynote Speaker
Dr Irene Ng : KeyNote Speaker
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Associate Professor of Social Work & Director of the Social Service Research Centre, NUS
She holds a joint Ph.D. in Social Work and Economics from the University of Michigan. Her research areas include poverty and inequality, intergenerational mobility, youth crime, and social welfare policy. She is active in the community, serving or having served in committees in the Ministry of Social and Family Development, National Council of Social Service, Ministry of Manpower, and various voluntary welfare organisations. Her teaching areas include poverty, policy, welfare economics, youth work, and program planning.
panels
inequality panel
DR. NG KOK HOE
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Senior Research Fellow at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Ng Kok Hoe is Head, CSU, and Senior Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He received his Ph.D. and MSc degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He previously worked in the Singapore civil service and continues to consult for the government and the voluntary sector on social policy issues and social service research. His research areas include aging and poverty, community-based social interventions, old-age pensions and income security, public housing policy, as well as social housing.
ADRIANA RASIP
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Manager at National Council of Social Services (NCSS)
Adriana Rasip is currently a manager at the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), where she actively contributes towards empowering communities and transformation efforts to mitigate poverty. She is an advocate for collective impact and believes in facilitating ground-up initiatives and community-driven development for sustainable solutions and community mutual self-help.
RANGANAYAKI THANGAVELU&
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Deputy Executive Director, Beyond Social Services
Holding the post of Deputy Executive Director at the social service agency Beyond Social Services for more than 15 years, she leads the charity in supporting children and youth from less privileged backgrounds break away from the poverty cycle. She is active in the community, having spoken in various panels such as Ethos Books’ civil society gathering. Her primary areas of focus include addressing the needs of families, children, and youth in poverty.
PROF JOHN DONALDSON
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Associate Professor at Singapore Management University (SMU)
John Donaldson is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the SMU School of Social Sciences. His research interests lie in understanding politics in developing countries, poverty, Chinese politics, Agrarian political economy, as well as decentralization and local politics. Through understanding poverty beyond the aspects of economics, he provides a grounded and holistic perspective on how we can better work towards eliminating poverty in the world.
youth-at-risk panel
Inequality Talking Points
What does inequality looks like in Singapore
How Singapore is addressing inequality
The gaps between policy and on-the-ground sentiment
Youth-At-Risk Talking Points
- Issues surrounding identification of Youth-At-Risk in Singapore
- Landscape analysis of Youth-At-Risk solutions in Singapore
- Common issues that current solutions encounter
YUVAN MOHAN
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Youth Corps Singapore Advisory Committee, Member
A banker by day, Youth leader by night. Yuvan believes in deepening his experience in the private, public & the people sector to maximise his contributions to society. Yuvan Mohan is the Chief Curator at Young ChangeMakers, an initiative by the National Youth Council, through which he has been giving youths aged 15-35 a leg up to succeed. For three years, Yuvan has faithfully attended Open Mic sessions, listening to young people pitch their community projects in areas such as sports, social well-being, and education, supporting them in their efforts to secure a National Youth Fund grant. He has also galvanized a group of volunteers to guide, coach, and mentor young aspirants.
STEFAN LIEW
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Co-Founder of I'mpart
Impart is a non-profit organisation in Singapore that partners with case-workers and social service organisations to support youths facing adversity through educational support, sports engagement and passion projects. Over the years, Impart has since reached out to support an increasing number of youths as they embarked on their own journeys. By 2020, Impart has had over a 100 volunteers working together with 80 youths.
DR. TANIA NAGPAUL
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Senior Lecturer at Singapore University of Social Sciences
A senior lecturer at Singapore University of Social Science, Dr Tagnia Nagpaul obtained her Doctor in Psychology from Nanyang Technological University in 2017. She is a program manager at SMU Lien Center for social innovation, being at the forefront of social change conversations and Dr. Tania Nagpaul was part of a published study which used the Self-determination Theory offered by Deci and Ryan in past research as a lens to better understand the needs of youth-at-risk and their fulfillments from the vantage points of both social service professionals and youth themselves.
EDMUND YEO
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Co-project Director, Project Beyond Expectations
John Donaldson is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the SMU School of Social Sciences. His research interests lie in understanding politics in developing countries, poverty, Chinese politics, Agrarian political economy, as well as decentralization and local politics. Through understanding poverty beyond the aspects of economics, he provides a grounded and holistic perspective on how we can better work towards eliminating poverty in the world.
climate change panel
PROF MARVIN MONTEFRIO
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Assistant Professor at Yale-NUS College
Assistant Professor Marvin Joseph Montefrio obtained his PhD from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Prior to that, he did graduate work in environmental engineering and management at the National University of Singapore. Asst Prof Montefrio He also has a broad professional background, having practised engineering, management, consulting, policy and academic work in the Philippines, Singapore and the United States. He has been an environmental scholar, professional and advocate for more than 20 years.
DR JOELLE LAI
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Senior Lecturer - National University of Singapore
Dr Joelle Lai is a Senior Lecturer at National University of Singapore. Her research interests revolve around crabs - cryptic species, crab taxonomy and systematics, and marine biogeography using crustacean models. She is also a museum officer at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, in which she takes charge of public outreach, education and volunteer management. She has also organised field trips for her students to understand Singapore’s green and brown footprint, as well as the impact of marine debris on Singapore’s coastline.
DR. TOH TAI CHONG
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Co-Founder of Our Singapore Reefs
Dr Toh Tai Cheong is a marine biologist who focuses on marine conservation and reef restoration. He is concurrently a lecturer with the CAPT in NUS, where he teaches interdisciplinary modules on environmental conservation and sustainability. He is also the Co-founder of Our Singapore Reefs and a Council member of the Singapore Institute of Biology.
MELISSA LOW
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Research Fellow - NUS Energy Studies Institute
Melissa Low is a Research Fellow at the Energy Studies Institute. She has participated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) for over a decade and is an active sustainability thought leader. She is the Designated Contact Point for NUS’s accreditation to the UNFCCC and serves on the nine-member Steering Committee of the Research and Independent Non-Governmental Organisation (RINGO) Constituency under the UNFCCC. Melissa provides policy analyses and conducts workshops for various stakeholders to improve understanding of the implications of the Paris Agreement and countries’ progress in meeting their climate pledges. Her current research focus is on transparency of climate action and support reporting in Southeast Asia.
NOR LASTRINA HAMID
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Co-Founder Singapore Youth for Climate Action
Ms. Nor Lastrina Hamid is the co-founder of Singapore Youth for Climate Action. She is primarily interested in climate issues and how people respond to climate impacts. She delivered a speech at the Paris 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, calling for all nations to adopt a legally-binding agreement to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees. She is also a recipient of the National Environment Agency (NEA) EcoFriend Awards and Youth Action Award (Individual) from Young NTUC.
Climate Change Talking Points
What does inequality looks like in Singapore
How Singapore is addressing inequality
The gaps between policy and on-the-ground sentiment
