This event co-organised with Ethos Books was held on the evening of Friday 24 July 2026 at the Stephen Riady Auditorium in downtown Singapore. Tickets were sold out within a few days, with hundreds on the waiting list. AcademiaSG and Ethos Books thank all who came and those who wanted to but could not.
You can watch the entire forum on YouTube and read articles by the speakers (links below).
Articles by the speakers will be available below as and when they are ready.
Panel 1—States of Unease
- Cheng Nien Yuan (Performance scholar, educator and dramaturg)
- Paul Tambyah (Academic and politician)
- Ng Kok Hoe (Social policy researcher)
- Yeo Kang Shua (Architectural historian and conservation academic)
- Moderator: Anthea Ong
Panel 2—Imagining, collectively
- Teo You Yenn (Sociologist) – A theory of change that banks on ‘ordinary people’
- Cherian George (Professor of media and politics) – A good society means being open to debates that challenge norms about who ‘we’ are
- Pooja Nansi (Poet, performer and educator) – A healthy literary culture helps society recognise different ways of being
- Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib (Interfaith advocate and independent researcher)
- Moderator: Kok Heng Leun (Theatre practitioner)
