#713 ft. Janadas Devan - The Absurdity of a Singaporean Identity and the Fragility of Cohesion

Janadas Devan, Chairman of the Singapore International Foundation’s (SIF) Board of Governors, reflects on Singapore’s 60-year journey from unexpected independence to forging a national identity. He recalls how leaders like Lee Kuan Yew and S. Rajaratnam once doubted Singapore’s survival, and we discuss the impact of policies, lived experiences, and institutions have had on social cohesion in Singapore. We also talk about current strains on social capital - from inequality to immigration and social media, and why he still believes in the future of Singapore. 

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (𝙎𝙄𝙁)

𝘚𝘐𝘍 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘈𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘚𝘎60, 𝘚𝘐𝘍 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦.
𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘐𝘍 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 | https://www.sif.org.sg/ | https://www.instagram.com/siforg

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𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 – "𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝘁”
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(00:00) A Message from SIF
(00:40) Intro
(01:39) Singapore's Survival and Global City Concept
(04:19) Social Cohesion and Multiracial Achievements
(17:13) Local-Foreign Relations and Future Social Cohesion
(22:45) New Challengs: Immigration and Social Media
(33:41) The Role of Education and Government Policies
(36:11) The Evolving Singapore Identity
(37:45) Peace and Cohesion of Singapore
(38:03) Challenges of Racial Harmony
(41:20) Understanding and Tolerance
(43:33) COVID-19 and Social Capital
(49:00) Historical Context and Lessons Learned
(53:00) Cultural and Religious Diversity in Southeast Asia
(55:05) Institutional Influence on Cohesion
(59:13) Young People and Multiculturalism
(01:00:40) One Shiok Thing

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