Director's Welcome
Dear Participants
Welcome to BSI Conference 2013. The theme of our conference is Population Matters: Purpose, Priorities and Perceptions.
We all agree that we need to pay serious attention to population matters. This is because population matters. The outcomes and consequences of population policies affect all areas of Singaporeans’ lives. At stake is the quality of our lives in physical dimensions such as space and infrastructure support, economic dimensions such as jobs and taxes, and social dimensions such as inter-group relations and commitment to Singapore.
In the Population White Paper released in late January 2013, the Government sets out the key considerations and roadmap for policies to address our population challenges. The White Paper provides a useful framework. But population challenges cannot be addressed in a top-down manner and by the Government alone. A “whole-of-society” approach is needed if we want public discourse to be genuine and to make a positive difference to the outcome. This conference is an effort to contribute towards this goal. The conference provides a forum for the constructive exchange of ideas as the speakers and panelists share their insights and engage with you to deliberate on Singapore’s population challenges from diverse perspectives.
A lot has been said in public discussions on Singapore’s population issues. The usefulness of these conversations is dependent on whether they adequately capture the concerns of Singaporeans and the challenges we face. The population debate has rightly focused on issues of economic implications, liveability and quality of life due to the mismatch between population growth and infrastructure support. But we need to give more attention to other equally important issues associated with changing population profiles. Many of these issues are social and psychological in nature, inextricably tied to how people think, feel and act in the changing socio-political contexts through which population matters evolve. This means that policy design and execution needs to seriously take into account the science of cognition, emotion and behaviour. This applies to all aspects of population policies including their purpose, priorities and perceptions.
I am confident that this conference will provide you with valuable perspectives, an increased understanding of issues related to Singapore’s population challenge and many potential applications to reflect on.
David Chan
Director, Behavioural Sciences Institute
Professor of Psychology
Singapore Management University
Welcome to BSI Conference 2013. The theme of our conference is Population Matters: Purpose, Priorities and Perceptions.
We all agree that we need to pay serious attention to population matters. This is because population matters. The outcomes and consequences of population policies affect all areas of Singaporeans’ lives. At stake is the quality of our lives in physical dimensions such as space and infrastructure support, economic dimensions such as jobs and taxes, and social dimensions such as inter-group relations and commitment to Singapore.
In the Population White Paper released in late January 2013, the Government sets out the key considerations and roadmap for policies to address our population challenges. The White Paper provides a useful framework. But population challenges cannot be addressed in a top-down manner and by the Government alone. A “whole-of-society” approach is needed if we want public discourse to be genuine and to make a positive difference to the outcome. This conference is an effort to contribute towards this goal. The conference provides a forum for the constructive exchange of ideas as the speakers and panelists share their insights and engage with you to deliberate on Singapore’s population challenges from diverse perspectives.
A lot has been said in public discussions on Singapore’s population issues. The usefulness of these conversations is dependent on whether they adequately capture the concerns of Singaporeans and the challenges we face. The population debate has rightly focused on issues of economic implications, liveability and quality of life due to the mismatch between population growth and infrastructure support. But we need to give more attention to other equally important issues associated with changing population profiles. Many of these issues are social and psychological in nature, inextricably tied to how people think, feel and act in the changing socio-political contexts through which population matters evolve. This means that policy design and execution needs to seriously take into account the science of cognition, emotion and behaviour. This applies to all aspects of population policies including their purpose, priorities and perceptions.
I am confident that this conference will provide you with valuable perspectives, an increased understanding of issues related to Singapore’s population challenge and many potential applications to reflect on.
David Chan
Director, Behavioural Sciences Institute
Professor of Psychology
Singapore Management University