About Kopitiam
Mission
Our mission is to create opportunities for informed and engaging discussions in Singapore that inspire greater self and civil consciousness, in the belief that discussion is part of, and catalyst for, active citizen participation.
Objectives
In pursuing our mission, we seek to achieve these objectives -- To promote the idea of discussion as an end in itself
- To create opportunities for and facilitate informed and engaging discussions
- To foster a supportive and collaborative civil society network of interested individuals and resources
Vision
We pursue the mission and the objectives of the Kopitiam Discussion Group as part of working towards -- A vibrant civil society in Singapore
- A supportive and collaborative civil society network
- An atmosphere conducive to open and informed discussion
- An environment that encourages creativity, self and civil consciousness, and lifelong learning
- A dynamic, creative, sustainable, and socially responsible organisation
Discussion Sessions
We believe that increased self and civil consciousness is an important prerequisite
to active participation in society, and hope to help foster this awareness by engaging
and exploring important personal and social issues through discussion sessions. In so
doing, we hope to inspire people to be aware of such issues and find their own interests
in socially beneficial activities.
Our product is the Kopitiam discussion session. We aim to provide high-quality, open and informed discussions through providing three key ingredients -
- Research: We conduct in-depth research on the selected discussion topics and disseminate relevant reading materials prior to discussions.
- Facilitation: We provide a trained Kopitiam facilitator to help direct the flow of discussion and encourage greater participation.
- Guest speaker: We invite notable guest speakers to participate as ordinary discussants and encourage interaction beyond the discussion session itself.
Each Kopitiam discussion session, after a 5-10 minute introductory speech by a guest speaker, will be a sharing and exploration of ideas among equals (even the guest speaker will, after setting the tone of the discussion, join in as a regular participant). With interesting and relevant topics to be discussed, this informal setting will provide a more accessible way for any participant to be heard among peers. At the same time, trained facilitators, informed participants, and external perspectives will allow for a more structured and engaging exploration of ideas and opinions.
History
The Kopitiam Discussion Group is a non-profit organisation. It was formed in 2002 by a group of recent university graduates. Since then, Kopitiam has organised several public and closed-door discussion sessions on various topical issues. In 2003, we also embarked on a pilot project with National Junior College, and organised 2 trial Kopitiam sessions for NJC students.
In December 2003, The Kopitiam Discussion Group Ltd was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee. In 2004, we will be focusing our efforts on school discussions. We have officially launched our partnership with NJC, and will continue to organise discussions for the students. Kopitiam is also actively exploring collaborations with other interested schools.
In addition, Kopitiam has been continually pursuing its long-term objective to establish a collaborative and supportive network of interested individuals, guest speakers, facilitators, and friends. It is our hope that such a network will provide synergies for our current and future projects.
