Social Fabric and Quality of Life

International Women's Day, on 8 March 2022, was a day to celebrate the accomplishments of women around the world and reflect on the work that still needs to be done. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day was: “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”.

As of June 2021, the Singapore government has fully vaccinated almost half of the population in tandem with private clinics. This means the nation is on track to meet its goal of vaccinating at least 75 per cent of its 5.7million residents and citizens by October 2021.

It has been over three years since the #MeToo movement first gathered steam and threw a spotlight on gender inequality in the workplace. The rise of the pandemic, however, has impacted the momentum of the movement: This year, a report of Women in Work by PwC revealed that women’s job losses during Covid-19 outpaced that of men’s, and women also experienced a disproportionate burden of unpaid care work during the global crisis.

No man is an island — that proverbial expression rings especially true now, when the health and safety of each individual depends so acutely on the decisions and behaviours of others. In the time of Covid-19, it becomes more apparent than ever that what makes or breaks a community is the result of individual actions.

For the first TY Lee Mindfulness Distinguished Lecture Series 2019, distinguished psychologist Dr Steven Hickman explored the value and practice of mindfulness and how it can help to shape a happier future. With rapid technological advancement and socio-political turmoil roiling the world today, it’s not surprising that a pervasive sense of isolation is on the rise. That probably explains why mindfulness has become the subject of increasing attention in recent years.

Private racism and economic injustice may work against a society’s ideals and values, but explicitly enlarging the scope of justice to address these private acts can make a world of difference, says Dartmouth College’s Associate Professor Sonu Bedi . We usually think of justice as being under the purview of governments, typically expressed in legislation that is shaped by social norms and shared values, and whose workings continue to reinforce these norms and values.

The 2019 SPF Annual Lecture highlights three inspiring women from its Connecting Dots photo exhibition and their impact on society. The Shirin Fozdar Programme (SFP) Annual Lecture, which explores the challenges women face [link], marked its 10th anniversary this year by partnering with Women in Asia, a community that aims to bridge cultural and gender differences.

To catalyse innovation that reflects human values, the godfather of Internet philanthropy is devoting his next act to empowering change-makers in education.

Taking research out of the classroom and into the real world can yield commercial, social and educational value.

Taking research out of the classroom and into the real world can yield commercial, social and educational value. One of the greatest challenges for any application developer is live testing – observing how their product functions in the real world, then refining it in line with user responses. Using universities and their communities as live “testbeds” can benefit not only academics and students, but society as a whole.