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Roundtable Discussion – April

March 28th, 2011 | Events, News, Poverty and Inequality

Are you concerned about what’s happening around you?

If you have an interest in social and other issues and would like to have your say about them, come to our monthly AWARE Roundtable meetings.

Discussion and debate have always been an important part of AWARE. In gatherings large and small, formal and informal, we have discussed issues and examined policies. The discussions sometimes led to submissions to the authorities or to publications; other times they kept AWARE abreast of current affairs, public policies and social trends.

As AWARE turns 25, we want to make this discussion and debate a regular activity with a more formal structure. A key aim is strengthen AWARE’s capacity to identify, understand and respond to a wide range of trends, issues and policies. We are thus launching The AWARE Roundtable, a monthly event open to AWARE members and invited guests.

If you have any queries, please email Pam at publiceducation@aware.org.sg or call AWARE on 6779 7137.

April

7.30pm on April 7th

Beyond managing homelessness
People who are homeless are so for various reasons. Some have made poor choices in life, some are involved with alcohol or drugs, yet others are part of the system of generational poverty in which inadequate life skills are handed down from one generation to the next, resulting in an entire culture of people who do not know how to take advantage of the educational, cultural or employment advantages available to them. Some of the homeless are also those who may have had some education, a job and a place to live, but without a “safety net” of family or friends to help them through a difficult time, found themselves evicted from their homes after they lost their job or had a financial crisis. But whatever the circumstances, homelessness is but the symptom of root problems.

Speaker: Ravi Philemon
Chair: Braema Mathi

Ravi Philemon is a community worker and he identifies himself as a blogivist – an activist with a blog. He is a former Chief Editor of The Online Citizen and is a founding member of MARUAH (working group for an ASEAN human rights mechanism, Singapore). He is also the Executive Director of SUN-DAC (an organisation which serves people with disabilities). Ravi has been an advocate for the people who are homeless in Singapore since 2008.

Register here for April’s discussion