How do academic institutions and their actors play a role in promoting social change? Specifically, what kind of research, education, and mediums can we develop in order to take action for climate justice? What are some developments in the environmental movement in Singapore? 

In this episode of the Climate Kopitiam, we continue our interview with Isaac and Prof. Kenneth Paul Tan, both of whom contributed chapters to a recently-published book by Ethos - We Are Not The Enemy: The Practice of Advocacy in Singapore, and discuss the above questions. The book collects the perspectives of various advocates and activists in Singapore from different backgrounds, from lawyers and journalists, to artists and community organizers. 

In the previous part of the conversation, we focused on their respective chapters, and discuss how academic institutions and their actors fit into the climate movement, especially in the Singaporean context. We also discuss this in terms of how it has evolved, including emerging activism strategies. 

In this part, we go into other topics, including the role of education, and other forms of media like theatre and films, in helping people learn about the climate crisis but also develop skills that could be relevant in the real world. 

Time Stamps:

(00:00) Teaching and learning for social change

(10:45) Forum theatre as a tool

(12:20) Bringing lessons into the real world

(20:04) Isaac’s experience of putting theory into practice as part of SGCR

(24:48) Another book by Prof Tan ‘Movies to Save the World’

(33:02) SGCR’s editorial strategy

(36:20) Conclusion

References:

• Prof Tan briefly mentioned forum theatre (10:45) as an experiential learning tool in Singapore. See an article he wrote on this topic: Tan, Kenneth Paul, "Forum Theater in Singapore: Resistance, Containment, and Commodification in an Advanced Industrial Society". Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique, 21, no. 1 (2013): 189‐221. https://doi.org/10.1215/10679847-1894326

• Movies to Save Our World: Imagining Poverty, Inequality and Environmental Destruction in the 21st Century by Kenneth Paul Tan https://www.penguin.sg/book/movies-to-save-our-world-2/