On 13 September 2022 a Nobel Prize Dialogue will be held in Singapore with Nobel Prize laureates, students and other experts. The theme for the event is how people’s lives can be improved and how to make a better future.
Rising global temperatures, global pandemics, war in Europe, intensifying geopolitical tensions in Asia and the Middle East, acute food shortages, systemic poverty, resource scarcity and gender inequality. These are globe-spanning issues that 60 selected students from the Asia-Pacific region will be invited to think deeply about during discussions with Nobel Prize laureates and international experts in the coming weeks.
The discussions will culminate in a one-day gathering at the Nobel Prize Dialogue, held in Singapore on 13 September 2022, with youth and Nobel Prize laureates as well as local and international thought leaders. The dialogue will consider six broad areas, in the context of ongoing global crises: education, climate change, health and happiness as well as economic and digital wellbeing. These are areas that youth of today are concerned about, and this unique event will provide opportunities for them to engage with some of the world’s foremost thinkers.
Confirmed Nobel Prize laureates are Steven Chu, physics laureate 1997; Angus Deaton, economic sciences laureate 2015; Esther Duflo, economic sciences laureate 2019; Serge Haroche, physics laureate 2012; May-Britt Moser, medicine laureate 2014; Paul Romer, economic sciences laureate 2018; George Smoot, physics laureate 2006 and Kailash Satyarthi, peace laureate 2014. Press images are to be found here.
Mr Teo Chee Hean, Singapore’s Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security will grace the opening ceremony as the guest of honour. The dialogue will take on a hybrid format, combining a “live” in-person event of about 500 participants with a virtual component where the public may register to view the dialogue online.
“Students from all over the Asia-Pacific region will play a leading role in the dialogue as they will be engaged in discussions with laureates prior to the event. Our experience is that these kinds of inter-generational discussions are of great importance for students, laureates and broader society,” says Laura Sprechmann, CEO of Nobel Prize Outreach.
Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean, NUS Medicine, said, “Our youth is our future. How that future unfolds will to a very large extent be determined by the actions that we take today, to face the myriad crises and challenges that confront humankind. Climate change is an existential threat, as is disease. Poverty and conflict are phenomenon that result from the pursuit of narrow, exclusivist interests that are further entrenched through the advent of technology. Young people must be involved in shaping the decisions and actions that are taken to confront and surmount these threats; their voices and views must be heard and respected and their involvement is paramount. That is the ultimate purpose of the Nobel Prize Dialogue Singapore, which we are organising together with Nobel Prize Outreach.”
Charles Tiu, President, AMSA Singapore, added, “AMSA Singapore is honoured to play a key role in the Nobel Prize Dialogue Singapore. We thank our partners, NUS Medicine and Nobel Prize Outreach, for empowering youth with a platform to share our thoughts, hopes and dreams through a series of multidisciplinary discussions. As a student-run organisation, AMSA Singapore believes in the importance of youths in decision-making and change. We hope that this event will not only give participants the opportunity to discuss their ideas and aspirations with thought leaders, but also—and more importantly—to start a precedent where young people are more involved in such conversations involving our future.”
The Nobel Prize Dialogue is an open, cross-disciplinary meeting bringing together a unique constellation of Nobel Prize laureates, world-leading scientists, policy makers and thought leaders to discuss global issues that affect us all. Nobel Prize Dialogue Singapore is organised by Nobel Prize Outreach in collaboration with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) and Asian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) Singapore, with the kind support from Nobel International Partners 3M, ABB, Capgemini, Ericsson and Scania.