Civic Conversations

As a multi-racial and religious society, maintaining social cohesion and harmony is a top priority. But can Singapore stay united as the world and society shifts, unwittingly at times, toward polarising views? As a diverse population, we promote safe and brave dialogues to nurture empathy and understanding.

Conversations are an important starting point in bridging differences. In the face of growing polarisation that threatens to divide us, conversations help build greater understanding and strengthen mutual trust among people of different backgrounds and perspectives.

“There are instances of bias [towards people of different races]... So having these conversations with more people from various backgrounds, you can actually understand why they derive certain conclusions.”

- Muhamad Tassri, Participant, Launch of NYC’s “Beneath the Surface” Civic Conversations Toolkit (The Straits Times)

Listen to what Minister Edwin Tong had to say about the significance of nurturing safe and respectful spaces to address divisive issues in society. Nurturing the ability of youths to engage in thoughtful conversations on complex yet important issues such as race, religion, and local-foreigner integration is also necessary to foster constructive discussions.

Civic Conversations Toolkit

As of 2023, NYC has developed two civic conversation toolkits to provide youths with a structured framework to engage in discussions on 1) race and religion and 2) local-foreigner integration with care and empathy.

Read how the toolkits were implemented in recent engagements below:

19 November 2022

Beneath the Surface: A Civic Conversation on Race and Religion

At the launch of the “Beneath the Surface” Civic Conversations toolkit helmed by SMS Janil Puthucheary, 65 youths from diverse backgrounds experienced the toolkit for the first time, and expressed that it helped to frame open and honest conversations around sensitive topics about race and religion. Key topics discussed included social media’s impact on social harmony, the difference between “agreeing to disagree” and “agreeing to understand,” and the meaning of racial and religious harmony.

28 July 2023

Beyond Differences: A Civic Conversation on Race and Religion (ITE College Central)

About 84 ITE students used the “Beneath the Surface” Civic Conversations toolkit to discuss their perspectives on racial and religious harmony in Singapore. In a panel with SPS Eric Chua and Mr Thambyrajah T. Advisory Committee Member of REACH and Chief Operating Officer of SINDA, they discussed unconscious biases, the value of diversity and lived experiences, and the importance of open-minded conversations.

24 November 2023

Building Bridges: Unveiling Challenges, Seeking Connections – A Dialogue on Local-Foreigner Integration

At the launch of the “Building Bridges” Civic Conversations Toolkit helmed by Minister of State, 115 youths engaged in honest discussions about local-foreigner integration in Singapore. These conversations helped participants to realise the importance of empathy and cultural sensitivity in developing a greater appreciation and understanding of different cultural perspectives. During the panel dialogue, speakers also discussed the current state of integration in Singapore, its challenges and ways to improve local-foreigner integration.

June - August 2023 & 2024

Civic Discourse Workshops for Polytechnic Students

From June to August in 2023 and 2024, the National Youth Council organised multiple workshops on Civic Discourse at the 5 polytechnics in Singapore, engaging about 1,600 students. These workshops facilitated conversations which promoted diversity and inclusion.

18 January 2025

Beyond Differences: A Conversation on Race and Religion

Jointly organised by North East CDC, OnePeople.SG and the National Youth Council, 40 participants utilised the “Beneath the Surface” toolkit to engage in honest and respectful conversations on race and religion. Topics discussed included the promotion of interfaith and cross-cultural understanding, the importance of building trust to address challenges in a multicultural society and the role of youths in building social cohesion.

Click here to view the event summary. [PDF, 3 MB]

Learn more about the toolkits below:

"Beneath the Surface" (Race and Religion)

“Beneath the Surface” is a card-based toolkit made up of carefully crafted questions, structured game rules and localised case studies that enable youth to have meaningful and civil conversations on the topic of Race and Religion in Singapore. The toolkit is best used with a facilitator to maintain conversation rules, and comes with suggested talking prompts for youth who are new to discussing more complex issues with care.

The toolkit is made up of 5 main segments:

Who’s in the Room: Where participants introduce themselves, share their purpose for joining the dialogue and commit to conversation rules set as a group.

Insights: Where participants reflect on their own views on the topic and warm up to each other through icebreakers (e.g. How has race and/or religion showed up in your personal life?)

Expression: Where participants discuss localised case studies (e.g. casual racism in schools)

Connection: Where participants wrap up the discussion by sharing their thoughts on what they have heard or shared (e.g. What will you stop, start or continue to do after today?)

Closing Circles: Where participants affirm other participants and acknowledge their contribution to the discussion.

View a video guide to the toolkit here.

"Building Bridges" (Local-Foreigner Integration)

“Building Bridges'' is a cooperative conversational board game that provides local and non-local youth with a structured framework to engage in constructive conversations on the topic of Local-Foreigner Integration with care and empathy. As a group, the toolkit brings players together to “fix a broken bridge” by answering a combination of 12 questions that are grouped under:

Wood Tiles (Break the Ice) feature icebreaker questions that anyone can answer. Questions focus mainly on discovering cultural differences and similarities between people of different backgrounds, thoughts on the Singapore culture etc.

Clay Tiles (Examine Assumptions) feature higher-level questions which aim to provide a space for self-reflection and mutual understanding. Questions focus mainly on addressing their assumptions and curiosities towards locals/foreigners.

Concrete Tiles (Analyse Scenarios) feature scenarios of lived experiences in the perspective of locals and foreigners in Singapore. They serve to provide a foundation for greater understanding on integration challenges and discussions on how to overcome them.

View a video guide to the toolkit here.