Dialogue is not about seeking consensus. It is to learn how to embrace disagreement as part and parcel of being a diverse society.
A BRAVE SPACE
A Brave Space is a pedagogy of engaging with opposing ideas with the intention to listen, understand, and to be transformed by challenging and questioning one’s views, instead of agreeing to disagree or exchanging pleasant niceties in a safe space.
A Brave Space requires courage to embrace the risk of having one’s ideas to be challenged, questioned, and to allow us to be transformed, just as how others entering the space do the same, and to do so in a civil and respectful manner.
OUR TEAM
Founding Director
Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib
Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib is an advocate for diversity and an interfaith facilitator. He has over 2 decades of experience writing and researching on issues surrounding multiculturalism and interreligious relations in Singapore. He has more than a dozen articles published in local and international newspapers, journals and books. Imran has delivered guest lectures in universities, government agencies, multinational corporations and non-governmental organisations in Singapore, Southeast Asia and internationally. He has also co-edited and published books on Malay society, Islam and interfaith relations. In 2019, he founded the Centre for Interfaith Understanding (CIFU), one of Singapore’s leading interfaith organisations that is inclusive and progressive in its approach. Imran is a graduate in Philosophy from Birkbeck College, University of London.
Director (Programme & Development)
Norhayati Mohammad Ali
Norhayati is a director and founder of an outsourced marketing firm. Her business focuses on nurturing businesses for growth, particularly helping the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with their marketing directions and providing marketing solutions to scale up their market presence. Norhayati has more than 25 years’ experience working in the social service as well as the private sector in the areas of research, training, social enterprise, community relations, fundraising, wakaf leasing, marketing, business development and data analytics. Norhayati holds an Honours Degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration majoring in Marketing from University of Wales, UK. She is also a certified ACTA (Advanced Certificate in Assessment and Training) trainer and has experienced conducting training and workshops for individuals and businesses.
Director (Research & Advocacy)
Dr Mohd Shahril Salleh
Dr Shahril is a social scientist researching the cultural formation of the arts in Singapore, with a focus on how agency is imagined and enacted within the confines of the state. He is passionate about advocating for cultural workers as well as championing community music-making in Singapore. He is also the founder and former artistic director of an arts group advocating for choral music making in Singapore. Dr Shahril has been an adjunct lecturer in several universities. He holds a PhD from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Fellows
See Guat Kwee
See Guat Kwee @ Mary-Rose is a bridge builder and an experienced facilitator who uses the circle...
Dr. Kathirasan K.
Dr. Kathirasan K is a thought leader, executive coach, and author. He has a...
Md Suhaile
Md Suhaile is passionate about people and the stories that shape the world around us...
Nur Hikmah Md Ali
Nur Hikmah Md Ali is a graduate in Malay Studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS)...
Interns (2022 - 2023)
Moo Yee Sin
Moo Yee Sin is an undergraduate doing Business Administration at the National University of ...
KEY FOCUS
Freedom of Religion and/or Belief (FoRB) in Singapore
Article 15 of the Singapore Constitution guarantees the right to profess, practice and propagate religion. This freedom of religion, however, is not absolute and must not be contrary to any general law relating to public order, public health, or morality. Freedom of religion therefore works in tandem with the emphasis on religious harmony within Singapore’s approach to governance.
Our focus is on public education with regards to understanding the framework for management of religion in Singapore through laws, policies, community engagements, and inter-communal relations. We engage in both inter- and intra-dialogues to facilitate goodwill, understanding and cooperation that strengthen religious harmony through mutual embrace of freedom of religion and/or belief (FoRB) within Singapore’s context.
Diversity and Inclusion (D&I)
Embracing diversity and inclusion are elements that make for a cohesive society and a fairer world. What we offer are quality and depth of understanding of these two themes through first hand contact and deep listening to lived experiences.
Our programmes take an intersectional approach: we recognise that everyone has multiple identities and no single identity fully captures one’s personal outlook and their interactions with others. Within Singapore’s context, racial, language and religious identities shape the way people live their lives, as much as national origin, age, disability, gender, sexuality and social class.
Our focus is on developing the skills and mental models to first understand, then empathise, with others who are different to ourselves while finding common grounds of concerns for cooperative actions. Going beyond labels and developing nuance within these identity markers inform our approach. We adopt both safe and brave spaces to facilitate deep conversations that bring out lived experiences and combine with the courage to be transformed by connection with people.
Young and Emerging Leadership
Societies are becoming increasingly diverse even as the world becomes more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. There is a pressing need for leaders who are future-oriented, capable of bridging differences, understanding the shifting landscapes of our societies while being attuned to the contexts of the communities around us.
We focus on developing young and emerging leaders who can thrive in a pluralistic environment. Our training begins with unlearning and relearning, as well as the application of skills to understand the dynamics of the social landscape of Singapore. We teach clients how to work in spaces where there is a confluence of values and civic commitment while respecting differences in affiliations across societal identities. Given Singapore’s diversity, our aim is to develop sensitive leaders attuned to the intercultural elements within society.
COMMENTARIES
It is not difficult, we must be brave
By Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib Originally published in Eddie Choo, Tan Kuan...
