Introduction

DiaS’pura is a play on two words: ‘diaspora’ – the movement of a group of people who share a national identity away from their homeland – and ‘Singapura’ – the Malay name of Singapore.

DiaS’pura promises to be a day of discovery, dialogue and discussion amongst overseas Singaporeans. It is an occasion for Singaporeans to get together, discuss and celebrate what it means to be a Singaporean living or working abroad and the concept of an evolving national identity in an increasingly globalized world. These themes are echoed in the two main parts of the days’ events, a speaker series in the day, followed by a production staged by the Singaporean students of the University of Pennsylvania in the evening.

Themes

The central theme for DiaS’pura 3 is “Singapore – City of Dreams”. It was the dreams of our immigrant forefathers that drove them to Singapore, and it was these dreams that motivated them in their building of a successful city-state. But having come so far since our formational years, what role do dreams now play in our society? 

Speakers

1) Ambassador Vanu Menon, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations and Ambassador to Turkey 

2) Ms Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, holder of PhD in Linguistics and Former Miss Singapore Universe

4) Dr. Cheng Tai Heng, Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Center for International Law at New York Law School

5) Ms Wena Poon, Lawyer and Short Story Writer, Winner of the Willesden Herald Short Story Prize, Nominee for the Frank O'Connor Award in Ireland and the Singapore Literature Prize, Shortlisted for the Bridport Prize for Poetry in England

6) Ms Tan Jo-Ann, Business Development Manager at the Acumen Fund