PROGRAMMES | LUMEN
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“... it ’ s heartening to know that the younger generation Singaporeans of
are willing to discuss topics such as race and religion openly .
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hostility . At the same time , Dr Janil acknowledged that Singaporeans are also playing an active role through their actions on social media . There is an understanding that racial harmony can only be achieved not through polarisation between races , but through cooperation to strive for the common good . The willingness of Singaporeans to take initiative and combat racism gives Dr . Janil a reason to be hopeful for the future of Singapore .
Through the talk , students and teachers are heartened by the progress that Singapore has made towards racial harmony in Singapore . Mr . Tan Yan Li shared his view on race and diversity , “ Singapore has come a long way , where Singaporeans are more accommodating to other races and showing more openness to talk about racism in Singapore .” Ms . Chen Shu ’ En agrees and added that “ it ’ s heartening to know that the younger generation of Singaporeans are willing to discuss topics such as race and religion openly .” This reinforces what Dr . Janil had shared that “ it is only by having such conversations that a deeper understanding of racial harmony in Singapore can be fostered .”
Tamilvanan Sabesan from MN303 , shared this , “ I have come out of the talk with a better appreciation for the government as I now
understand that it is a struggle to strike a balance ” when it comes to handling racial discrimination . Tran Thanh Hung from MN301 , had also found the meaningful talk enriching . “ The talk gave me a better , more informed perspective on how racism is tackled in Singapore .”
Overall , the session with Dr Janil brought forward many new perspectives to the Year 3 Josephians , through the many interesting discussions that stemmed from the questions they had . We are thankful for the opportunity to have this sharing by Dr Janil .
“ I have come out of the talk with a better appreciation for the government as I now understand that it is a struggle to strike a balance ” when it comes to handling racial discrimination .
“
Facing page ( top ): Dr Janil shares his views on racism in Singapore
This page ( top ): Participants from Year 3 for the online talk
This page ( centre right ): Ms Kaur poses some questions to Dr Janil