Symposium on Futures Sustainability 2019
On 13th April 2019, the Bachelor of Environmental Studies [BES] hosted the Symposium on Futures Sustainability (SFS) at University Town in partnership with Rotary Club of Suntec City. The SFS provides a forum for dialogue on Sustainability issues between members of the public from different walks of life, encourages discussion about the future of Singapore with a knowledge base of working professionals and experts in various fields, and lastly to educate individuals on what they can do to address the problem of sustainability in their own capacities.
The theme for this year’s SFS is A Green Palate: Food and the Environment. Singapore boasts a rich food and culinary heritage that is world-renowned and extensively featured in our tourism advertisements. Being small and land-scarce, Singapore has resorted to importing over 90% of our food for consumption. Besides a high carbon footprint, this leaves Singapore vulnerable to fluctuations in global food supplies and hence there is a growing need to find solutions to improve our food security. Through the SFS, participants are able to explore other facets on sustainability relating to the food supply chain such as food wastage, eco-friendly food outlets and alternative farming methods as a possible alternative to traditional farming methods that use more land and environmentally damaging practices.
Project Director Elliott Ong remarks, “We took a different approach with SFS 2019 with a symposium that provided participants with a more immersive look into the sustainable food industry through hands-on workshops and booth samples. I am happy to say that based on the feedback we received, participants fully enjoyed it and learnt a lot from the experience.” The symposium was a success as it managed to provide the participants with different perspectives on improving food security within Singapore.