The second STEP Youth Regional Affairs Dialogue

Some 84 student leaders from Asia are meeting in person and virtually at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) this week to discuss potential solutions to the region’s social inequality at the second STEP Youth Regional Affairs Dialogue. Lawrence Wong, Minister for Education graced the Dialogue on 14 January 2021.  Held from 3 to 9 January, the Dialogue, organised by NTU and Temasek Foundation, involves young leaders analysing and proposing fresh solutions to address social inequality. Five aspects of social inequality are being discussed: businesses and occupations; culture and heritage; gender and diversity; healthcare and well-being; and knowledge.
 
The conversations are led and facilitated by professors from NTU’s University Scholars Programme and their academic peers from Asian universities, as well as leading experts and social innovators. The guest speakers include Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore’s former communications and information minister and current advisor to the president of Singapore Institute of Technology, and Debbie Fordyce, president of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), a Singapore society that seeks to promote the rights and wellbeing of migrant workers.

The participating students were selected from more than 380 applicants from universities in Singapore and the region. In total, 20 countries are represented, including the 10 ASEAN economies and other Asian countries, regions, and territories, such as Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan.