Speech by REACH Chairman and Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information and Ministry of Health, Tan Kiat How at Singapore Perspectives 2026 "Fraternity": Session 2

Building Bridges in a Changing Singapore

1. As a thought exercise – imagine Singapore as a series of islands. Not the physical islands that make up our geography, but social islands – communities separated by differences in background, experience, and perspectives. Looking at what has been happening around the world, I think it is quite clear that this is not what we want to see for Singapore and Singaporeans, to feel that they are isolated in their own little island.

Singapore: Greater Diversity in Population and Perspectives

2. We celebrated our 60 years of independence last year in 2025. 60 years ago, when Singapore just became independent, we had just over one million people living in Singapore. Fast forward 60 years later, where we are today, we have grown from a developing port city into a cosmopolitan global financial hub, a business hub, and are home to about six million residents of diverse backgrounds. It is not just the biggest transformation that we see around our urban landscape and economy, but also our social composition.

3. Singapore is becoming more diverse. Even among our 3.6 million citizens, we are seeing more marriages across ethnic lines, as well as cross-national marriages. Our society now includes first-generation immigrants, third-generation Singaporeans, and everyone in between. This diversity in background, culture, and heritage naturally leads to greater diversity in perspectives, values, aspirations, and concerns.

4. At the same time, we are also seeing the rise of social media, which is deepening divides and accelerating the spread of divisive narratives. Algorithm-driven feeds can trap us in echo chambers, amplifying division rather than building understanding. We see it around the world, from Brexit to the political divide in countries like America, no country is spared from how online discourse can fracture social cohesion.

5. Surveys done by institutions like IPS show a shift in the issues that Singaporeans are concerned about. 20 years ago, Singaporeans worried primarily about jobs and healthcare. Today, more Singapore residents want the government to be more involved in sensitive issues such as race and religion[1]. There are also concerns that span climate change, immigration, LGBTQ issues, and geopolitical tensions. These are not just policy issues – they touch our deepest beliefs about identity and togetherness. 

REACH’s Journey: From Feedback to Fraternity

6. The topic for this conference, from feedback to fraternity, is a timely and important one. What is fraternity, and why does it matter? Fraternity in modern society cannot be assumed, it is something we must actively build and invest in. This is why what we do at REACH has been about building a sense of community and reaching out to people. We are 40 years old, and started out as a feedback unit, primarily being a one-way bridge between the citizens to the government. As Dawn mentioned earlier, typically it is more issue-based – we have a bill or a topic, and we want feedback from people.

7. We have evolved over the last 40 years as Singapore has evolved. Our role today is to be facilitators, bridge-builders, to help people build stronger connections in the community, and form new shared norms amidst the differences. We believe we can only do so through deeper dialogue, genuine co-creation and collaboration among people, and more importantly, creating space where Singaporeans and people living in Singapore can connect with one other, not just with the government.

Our Approach: Innovative Engagement Modalities

8. Over the past few years, REACH has gone beyond the traditional dialogues and surveys to better engage and connect with Singaporeans. We have explored and piloted more than 10 different engagement modalities thus far, including very interesting ones. For example:

   • Interactive theatre, where participants were presented with inter-related issues through a play and exchanged views in real time

   • Gamification, where we used conversation cards to build trust amongst participants before delving into discussion on sensitive issues with one another

   • Citizen deliberative panels, in partnership with IPS, namely Consensus Conference, seen in the video earlier

   • Interactive listening points, with activities such as gachapon giveaways to encourage participation

   • Social media through vodcast series, where panellists share their views on polarising issues by revisiting past incidents in Singapore

   • Social media messaging platforms like Telegram, where we brought an online community together to share views on trending topics

9. The different modalities have allowed us to engage more Singaporeans. We have engaged close to 210,000 Singaporeans in 2025, in a single year, over 65 dialogues, Listening Points, and digital campaigns. More importantly, participants continue conversations afterwards, form communities, take action together, and not just share their views.

10. REACH has evolved over the last 40 years, especially the last few years trying out different ways to engage and experiment with different modalities, but we are not innovating or experimenting just for the sake of novelty. We are doing so to draw out deeper feelings and lived realities, create an environment for authentic conversations, and build deeper, stronger understanding across communities. Every engagement builds trust and shared ownership, and brings us closer to co-creating better outcomes and solutions for Singaporeans today and tomorrow.

11. This brings me to our partnership with IPS on the Consensus Conference, which Nicholas will cover in more detail later. The Consensus Conference on local-foreign integration was one of our most recent, and I must say, most interesting experiments yet. The results exceeded expectations. Over 90% reported positive experiences despite deliberating on a contentious issue. Participants formed voluntary working groups and co-authored a 48-page Residents' Report. This demonstrates that when we create the right conditions for fraternity, Singaporeans do not just want to be heard – they want to work together across differences. I dropped by the Consensus Conference and spoke to the participants. I must say that it was an interesting experience and something that was very reflective for the participants.

Conclusion: The Bridge-Building Continues

12. Let me conclude by saying that 40 years ago, REACH began building bridges between citizens and the government. Today, we are helping Singaporeans build bridges with one another. Tomorrow, these bridges will carry us forward as one people, one nation.

13. Here’s what we have learnt in the past 40 years: the government cannot create social cohesion alone. We can create the conditions for engagement but cannot manufacture or legislate trust or fraternity. These are built through relationships, honest dialogues, and willingness of everyone to stay connected, stay open to different perspectives, and more importantly, work together, even when we may not agree with everything each other says.

14. Moving forward, REACH will continue to expand our experimental approaches. We are committed to creating more spaces where Singaporeans can safely discuss what matters most to them. The reality is this: if we do not talk about differences, friction will escalate. If we do not build bridges across divides, those divides will only deepen.

15. So work together with us to build a more connected community, a more integrated and cohesive Singapore:

    • To our students: challenge echo chambers in your schools and universities, and social media feeds.

    • To our academics: research what further strengthens social cohesion and bring your insights, perspectives, and learnings to the community where people can take action.

    • To our practitioners, where I know many of you are participating in this conference: work together with us to create the spaces for different communities to connect and share a common goal on how to build a better Singapore.

    • And to all of us: I echo what Dawn said earlier – all of us have the agency and ownership to play our part, let us choose connection over division in our daily interactions, and let us embrace conversations that may feel uncomfortable but are necessary.

16. Let's build Singapore together. Let's strengthen the bridges that bind us. I wish everyone a wonderful conference, and I look forward to hearing your perspectives and insights too. Thank you.