Chan-Hoong Leong & Clarence Lim 
CONFIDENT IDENTITIES, CONNECTED COMMUNITIES [EPUB ebook] 
Building Cohesion through Shared Experiences

This book aims to promote greater understanding of social cohesion amidst existing complexities of faith and identity, and what it portends for our future.

Social cohesion defies easy definition; yet, every pursuit of social cohesiveness requires nurture, patience and a consensus that it is germane to the success of any community. Indeed, challenges abound, developments such as the COVID-19 pandemic, evolving geopolitical tensions, and a rise in access to technology impact social cohesion. In such times, it is pertinent to maintain on-going conversations revolving around social cohesion to bridge the divides through diversity and technology.

This book continues to build on the conversations from the second edition of the International Conference of Cohesive Society (ICCS), held from 6–8 September 2022 in Singapore. Over 25 essays across three ICCS 2022 themes — How Faith Can Bridge Divides, Diversity, and Technology — present international and interdisciplinary perspectives in building confident identities and connected communities.

Contents:

• Speeches and Proceedings:
  
  
  
  • Opening Address (Halimah Yacob)
  
  
  • Special Address (Cardinal Pietro Parolin)
  
  
  • In Conversation with Deputy Prime Minister (Lawrence Wong)
  
  
  • Closing Address (Edwin Tong)
  
  
  • Visuals
  
  


• Essays and Special Presentations:
  
  
  
  • The Normality of Uncertainty and Complexity (Farish A Noor)
  
  
  • Social Cohesion in Singapore: Considering Multiplicities and their Management (Lily Kong)
  
  
  • Diversity and Cohesion: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities (Katherine Marshall)
  
  
  • Visuals
  
  


• How Faith Can Bridge Divides:
  
  
  
  • Reconstructing the Question to Identify the Call of Action (Nazhath Faheema)
  
  
  • Fostering Peace by Alleviating Scarcity: Case Study of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA) (Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati)
  
  
  • Relatedness as the Essence of Cohesion: Bridging the Divide between Us and the ‘Other’ (Lord John Alderdice)
  
  
  • The Simplicity of Peace: Making Space, Holding Space (Imam Uzair Akbar)
  
  
  • Perspectives from a Buddhist Interfaith Practitioner (Venerable You Guang (Shifu))
  
  
  • Resilience and Cohesiveness in Society: Perspectives from the Ramakrishna Order (Swami Samachittananda)
  
  
  • The Singapore Story and the Role of Taoism (Benjamin Tan)
  
  
  • Room at the Table: Healthy Religious Identity for the Sake of the Other (Julia Walsh FSPA)
  
  
  • Visuals
  
  


• Diversity:
  
  
  
  • Kopitiam Conviviality: A Strengths-Based Approach to Community Resilience in Superdiverse Singapore (Selvaraj Velayutham and Amanda Wise)
  
  
  • Morocco: A 3, 000-Year History of Diversity and Excellence (André Azoulay)
  
  
  • Facing Complexity, Overcoming Indifference for Common Humanity (Yoshiko Ashiwa)
  
  
  • Many Religions, One Shared Responsibility (Iyad Abumoghli)
  
  
  • Working Together: Religion, Resilience, and Cohesion from a Buddhist Multicultural Multifaith Perspective (Venerable Chi Kwang Sunim)
  
  
  • Language and Belonging: The Insulation and Isolation International Students from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds Experience in Australia (Catherine Gomes)
  
  
  • Language and Health: Indigenous Tongue Revival, Cultural Identity, Sense of Belonging, and Well-Being (Ghil’ad Zuckermann)
  
  
  • Visuals
  
  


• Technology:
  
  
  
  • The Unbearable Lightness of ‘Othering’ (Leong Chan-Hoong)
  
  
  • Tech for Community: The Case of the South Asian Heritage Month (Jasvir Singh)
  
  
  • Fostering Mutual Trust through Deeper and More Effective Online Dialogue (Patrice Brodeur)
  
  
  • Social Media and a Polarised Generation (Shashi Jayakumar)
  
  
  • Hate and Conspiracy Online (Philip Larrey)
  
  
  • Misinformation in a World of No Information: Digital Bridges for Refugees and Migrants with the Integration Platform ‘Integreat’ (Fritjof Knier)
  
  
  • Faith Overcoming COVID-19 Pandemic: The Singapore Muslim Experience (Mohammad Hannan Hassan)
  
  
  • Visuals
  
  


• Youth




• ICCS Young Leader’s Programme Visuals

Readership: Practitioners in multicultural studies, public officers, and leaders in civic society.

Key Features:

• The book features speeches and presentations from the second ICCS and serves as a record of the discussions at the event. It is a testimony of the efforts made by different stakeholders — policymakers, ethnic and religious group leaders, and civic societies — to understand and learn from one another with a common goal of religious peace and inclusivity in mind and aims to reach out to individuals who were unable to attend the event. For added value, international scholars in this field of investigation were invited to contribute essays to provide further insights into the study of social cohesion


• As a country known globally for its religious peace, Singapore and the ICCS are examples of how open conversations and efforts to understand one another are key ingredients to social cohesiveness. Topics within this second volume takes into consideration how recent global changes such as Covid-19 and the rise of technology have altered the landscape of social cohesiveness and what can be done


• Eminent contributors include Cardinal Pietro Parolin from the Vatican, Lord Alderdice from the UK, André Azoulay of Morocco and Prof Lily Kong from the Singapore Management University