Humanist Society Singapore was recently approached by an Australian publisher for permission to include our video “What is Humanism” in their new digital textbook “Cambridge Studies of Religion” by authors Chris Hartney and Jon Noble.
HSS Humanism video makes it into Australian religious studies textbook
21 August 2020 by
Panellist: Nazhath Faheema
18 June 2019 by
The Asian Humanism Conference (AHC) is an annual meeting of humanists across Asia, aimed to strengthen networks across people and humanist organisations in the pan-Asian region, as well as offer training and capacity building.
As part of AHC 2019, Nazhath Faheema, Founder of hash.peace and General Manager of Inter-Religious Organisation, was a part of a panel discussion on inter-faith dialogue. Read the event summary here.
Speaker Profile
Nazhath Faheema is the founder of hash.peace as well as General Manager of the Inter-Religious Organisation. She is also an advocate of racial and religious diversity, undertaking initiatives that promote the cultivation of a peacekeeping culture at homes and workplaces.
Topic of panel: Inter-Belief & Inter-Activity
The inter-belief panel will explore the intersection of humanism, inter-belief, as well as secularism and discuss the relevance of such work in the modern Asian society.
Other speaker profiles
- Tan Tatt Si, President of the Humanist Society (Singapore)
- Siti Noor Mastura, award winning social activist
- Nazhath Faheema, founder of hash.peace
- Woon Chet Choon, principal consultant at ODC
- Jamilah Lim, media professional who engages in advocacy and events management
- Sze Jianyue, former journalist from TODAY
Asian Humanism Conference 2019 Programme
13 June 2019 by
| Friday, 5 July 2019 CLOSED-DOOR | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time | Programme | Venue |
| 13:00 | Registration | RELC International Hotel Room 603 |
| 13:30 | Welcome and Orientation | |
| 14:00 | Closed-door presentations by delegates and organisation representatives of the Asian Working Group | |
| 15:00 | Coffee Break | |
| 15:30 | Asian Working Group Internal Meeting | RELC International Hotel Room 603 |
| 16:30 | Closing Remarks | |
| 17:00 | End of Programme & Dinner | |
| Saturday, 6 July 2019 OPEN TO PUBLIC | ||
| Time | Programme | Venue |
| 09:00 | Welcome Remarks Tan Tatt Si | RELC International Hotel Rooms 603 & 604 |
| 09:45 | Opening Address: Starting From the Lowest Common Denominator Anthea Indira Ong | |
| 10:15 | Coffee Break | |
| 10:45 | Empowering All Women in a Secular Society Siti Noor Mastura | RELC International Hotel Rooms 603 & 604 |
| 11:15 | Panel Presentation & Discussion: Inter-Belief & Inter-Activity | |
| 12:30 | Lunch | |
| 13:30 | Workshop 1: Handling Offence Woon Chet Choon | RELC International Hotel Rooms 603 & 604 |
| 14:30 | Workshop 2: Fake News, Media, and Communications Jamilah Lim & Xue Jianyue | |
| 15:30 | Coffee Break | |
| 16:00 | Excursion Briefing | RELC International Hotel Rooms 603 & 604 |
| 16:30 | Excursion Museum Visit: Faith and Belief | Asian Civilisations Museum |
| 18:30 | End of Programme | |
| Sunday, 7 July 2019 BY INVITATION, FREE AND EASY | ||
| Time | Programme | Venue |
| 10:00 | Brunch Meeting | |
| 12:00 | R&R | |
| 14:00 | End of Programme | |
Speakers: Jamilah Lim & Sze Jianyue
13 June 2019 by
The Asian Humanism Conference (AHC) is an annual meeting of humanists across Asia, aimed to strengthen networks across people and humanist organisations in the pan-Asian region, as well as offer training and capacity building.
As part of of AHC 2019, on Saturday, 6 July 2019, Humanist Society (Singapore) had the honour of hosting Jamilah Lim and Sze Jianyue as speakers. Read the event summary here.
Speaker Profiles
Jamilah is a media professional with over 8 years of experience in communications, PR, editorial and digital marketing, who engages in activism and advocacy work incorporating research content creation content curation and events management with a feminist as well as a humanist organisation.
Jianyue holds degrees in communications and international relations and is a former published journalist. He has provided media coverage related to public transport, technology and the environment and volunteers as a facilitator at Explorations into Faith (EiF) and at the Humanist Society (Singapore).
Workshop: Fake News, Media, and Communications
This workshop will teach individuals and organisations how to deal with fake news and misinformation, as well as handle sensitive topics in a tactful manner. It will also discuss what are some of the digital skills needed by organisations to get their message across to the right audience effectively.
Other speaker profiles
- Tan Tatt Si, President of the Humanist Society (Singapore)
- Anthea Indira Ong, Nominated Member of Parliament
- Siti Noor Mastura, award winning social activist
- Nazhath Faheema, founder of hash.peace
- Woon Chet Choon, principal consultant, former president of the Screenwriters Association of Singapore
Speaker: Tan Tatt Si
13 June 2019 by
The Asian Humanism Conference (AHC) is an annual meeting of young humanists across Asia, aimed to strengthen networks across people and humanist organisations in the pan-Asian region, as well as offer training and capacity building.
On Saturday, 6 July 2019, Tan Tatt Si, President of the Humanist Society (Singapore), gave the welcome address for AHC 2019. Read the event summary here.
Speaker Profile
Tatt Si worked the corporate tech sales sector from 1988 to 2014 before moving to run his full time digital marketing business. He served as Humanist Society (Singapore) treasurer from 2014 – 2016 and heads the Society as President today.
Welcoming Address: From self-centred to selfless
This opening address will set the inclusive tone for the rest of the conference. Humanism can sometimes be seen as an ‘everyone for himself’ platform. However it should be seen as a way to create a better future for human kind using rationality, passion and compassion to influence people into thinking of others.
Other speaker profiles
- Anthea Indira Ong, Nominated Member of Parliament
- Siti Noor Mastura, award winning social activist
- Nazhath Faheema, founder of hash.peace
- Woon Chet Choon, principal consultant, former president of the Screenwriters Association of Singapore
- Jamilah Lim, media professional who engages in advocacy and events management
- Sze Jianyue, former journalist from TODAY
See also
- Event summary: Asian Humanism Conference 2019
- Full text of Tan Tatt Si’s Welcoming Remarks
Speaker: Siti Noor Mastura
13 June 2019 by
The Asian Humanism Conference (AHC) is an annual meeting of humanists across Asia, aimed to strengthen networks across people and humanist organisations in the pan-Asian region, as well as offer training and capacity building.
As part of of AHC 2019, on Saturday, 6 June 2019, Humanist Society (Singapore) had the honour of featuring one of Siti Noor Mastura’s works, Four Daughters. Read the event summary here.
Speaker Profile
Noor Mastura is a multiple award winning social activist who advocates for gender equality, youth empowerment and civic responsibility through her training programs, speaking engagements and community partnerships.
Topic of talk: Empowering All Women in a Secular Society
The woman’s movement has split in multiple directions with various stakeholders. Is 50% of the world’s population unable to tell their stories, or are just choosing not to? If the point of the feminist movement is equality and justice for all women, then why are religious and non-religious women pitted against one another? We look to empower everyday women through the lens of humanity.
Other speaker profiles
- Tan Tatt Si, President of the Humanist Society (Singapore)
- Anthea Indira Ong, Nominated Member of Parliament
- Nazhath Faheema, founder of hash.peace
- Woon Chet Choon, principal consultant, former president of the Screenwriters Association of Singapore
- Jamilah Lim, media professional who engages in advocacy and events management
- Sze Jianyue, former journalist from TODAY
See also
- Event summary: Asian Humanism Conference 2019
- Full text of the Four Daughters, a piece penned by Siti Noor Mastura
Speaker: Woon Chet Choon
13 June 2019 by
The Asian Humanism Conference (AHC) is an annual meeting of humanists across Asia, aimed to strengthen networks across people and humanist organisations in the pan-Asian region, as well as offer training and capacity building.
As part of of AHC 2019, on Saturday, 6 June 2019, Humanist Society (Singapore) had the honour of hosting Woon Chet Choon as a speaker. Read the event summary here.
Speaker Profiles
Chet Choon is a principal consultant specialising in Leadership, strategy, creativity and entrepreneurship. The former president of the Screenwriters Association of Singapore conceived a Media 21 initiative to refine local stories into visual treatments for effective marketing to a global market.
Workshop: Taking Offence
It is difficult to handle criticism personally, but what if the criticism were directed at something that one holds dearly? This is often the dilemma faced by people with strong belief systems, as criticisms or discussions become seen as ridicule of attack on one’s values.
This talk will give examples of Conflict Resolution, in a friendly and non-confrontational way, to illustrate how ‘offence’ should be taken into context.
Other speaker profiles
- Tan Tatt Si, President of the Humanist Society (Singapore)
- Anthea Indira Ong, Nominated Member of Parliament
- Siti Noor Mastura, award winning social activist
- Nazhath Faheema, founder of hash.peace
- Jamilah Lim, media professional who engages in advocacy and events management
- Sze Jianyue, former journalist from TODAY
Speaker: Anthea Indira Ong
12 June 2019 by
The Asian Humanism Conference (AHC) is an annual meeting of humanists across Asia, aimed to strengthen networks across people and humanist organisations in the pan-Asian region, as well as offer training and capacity building.
As part of of AHC 2019, on Saturday, 6 July 2019, Humanist Society (Singapore) had the honour of hosting Anthea Indira Ong as a speaker. Read the event summary here. Her full speech is available here.
Speaker Profile
A former banker, regional Managing Director and Founder/CEO, Anthea left the corporate sector to pursue full time service with several volunteer groups in advisory roles. A published author, she was appointed as a Nominated Member of Parliament in 2018.
Topic of talk: Starting from the Lowest Common Denominator
People of different belief systems follow different rules to different degrees. Should these be the hard rules to demand from other people when we congregate together? There is no better time to work on underlying issues than peace time. Is the Lowest Common Denominator enough to take society to a deeper level, or is something so basic that no compromises can be made?
Other speaker profiles
- Tan Tatt Si, President of the Humanist Society (Singapore)
- Siti Noor Mastura, award winning social activist
- Nazhath Faheema, founder of hash.peace
- Woon Chet Choon, principal consultant, former president of the Screenwriters Association of Singapore
- Jamilah Lim, media professional who engages in advocacy and events management
- Sze Jianyue, former journalist from TODAY
See also
- Event summary: Asian Humanism Conference 2019
- Full text of Anthea Indira Ong’s Opening Address
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2019
4 January 2019 by
The Humanist Society (Singapore) invites all our members to our next Annual General Meeting (AGM).
If you want to find out more about HSS and our activities, our past events in 2018 and our future plans for 2019 and beyond, do join us on Saturday 16 March 2019.
We will also be electing several key appointment holders for 2019 (see below) and we would certainly appreciate your support.
Date
16/03/2019 (Saturday)
Time
To Be Confirmed
Location
OnePeople.SG 381 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh S319758
AGENDA
- Introduction by President
- Events and Activities in 2017/18
- Press and media coverage in 2017/18
- Auditor and Treasurer’s report
- Election of New committee members
- Vice-President (Open to members of the society for a minimum of 1 year and must be a Singaporean citizen / permanent resident)
- Secretary (Open to members of the society for a minimum of 1 year and must be a Singaporean citizen / permanent resident)
- Assistant Secretary (Open to members of the society for a minimum of 6 months)
- Committee Member (Open to members of the society for a minimum of 6 months)
Names for the above offices shall be proposed and seconded in writing and submitted to the Secretary not more than two months (after 15 Jan 2019) and not less than one month before (by 15 Feb 2019) the Annual General Meeting. The term of office of any member of the Committee is two years. (Section 9.1.1 https://humanist.org.sg/about/our-constitution/)
To attend the AGM, you must be a member of HumanistSG. You can sign up https://humanist.org.sg/membership-faq/membership/ on the day of the AGM or renew your membership to attend the AGM.
Psychology Talk 3: Evolution, Human Nature and Morality
28 October 2018 by
The last talk of three, was a great denouement to this very successful series.
43 years after obtaining his doctorate, a number bigger than the age of most people in the room, Dr John Elliott was still visibly too energetic to retire. The topic was built up by the other two sessions the fortnights before, and while the audience was mostly agreeable, some did not attend the other two talks, and they were all keen thinkers.
It was a presentation suitable for many, a touch of biology : of Darwin & Wallace’s Evolution by Natural Selection, and using evidence to arrive at a feel good acceptance of it. The apparent gaps in the evolution theory, and how detractors argue the fallacy of more gaps left & right of newly discovered missing link, were also exposed.
In the natural world, there is a progression of complexity, from physics, to chemistry, to biochem, to biology, and psychology. The further we move along that line, the more uncertainty we get when it comes to predicting ‘behaviours’. No longer are we only restricted to the inanimate, we deal with lifeforms with decisions, made out of free will or apparent free will, in a consciousness defined or ill-defined. The bottomline, that while one hypothesis may not explain all behaviours, there lies an underlying thread, that is built upon a programming code that had been gradually altered over the passage of time – of genes & memes.
The ways religions attempted to monopolise morality, as it tried to with the Creation narrative even with the advancement of science, were also explored, leading Dr Elliott to conclude this at the end : We don’t have morality because we have religion – we have religion because we are naturally moral creatures. When the boundary conditions are almost boundless, we have to begin to look at choices, and how a society wants to live, vis-s-vis the individual needs.
The session was well capped off by the great questions offered by a few from the audience at the end. They ranged from the evolutionary emergence of homosexuality, the psychopathic leaders in societies, and of science versus law.
HSS wishes to thank Dr Tim Bunn, Dr Ronald Ng and Dr John Elliott , for their great contribution to this science series, most definitely the first of many to come. It is clear they were subject matter experts, yet humble in the way of the scientific method.
We also thank NLB, for their sponsorship of the great facility. We had a few library walk in participants , and they were able to tune into the session without cost. We hope to bring more such talks to the public, more frequently, and at more accessible time slots.
