Social media has changed the face of civil society and activism as more individuals, especially youths, begin to advocate for causes online. In fact, there are many social media accounts that are dedicated to speaking out for specific causes including climate change, migrant workers’ rights and the LGBTQ+ movement. But does social media activism accomplish anything or could it possibly cause more harm than good?

On the fifth episode of the second season, host and Associate Director at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Liang Kaixin chats with Woo Qiyun, creator of “The Weird and Wild” Instagram page, and Dr Carol Soon, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Society and Culture at IPS, to talk about social media activism, keyboard warriors and cancel culture.

Find out more about the new civil society:
Esquire (10 Dec 2021): Neil Humphreys talks activism and social media
BBC (14 Oct 2021): What is Extinction Rebellion and what does it want?
Channel News Asia (29 Jun 2021):Commentary: Benefits and drawbacks when citizens use social media to raise concerns
TODAY (20 Dec 2020): Youth in Action: Environmental activist raises climate issues one doodle at a time
Mothership (5 Aug 2020): Cancelling & cancel culture: Are they relevant to us in S’pore & why should we care
The Straits Times (13 Apr 2019): Not just ‘snowflakes’: Millennials are changing the face of civil society

About our guests:

Woo Qiyun

Environmentalist and Creator of The Weird and Wild 

Qiyun is an environmentalist who is passionate about pushing for ambitious climate action. She is also an avid science communicator, working to combine science and art. In 2018, she started The Weird and Wild Instagram page to contextualize climate science and to advocate for climate action. In 2020, she graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the National University of Singapore, and she has worked in a variety of sustainability-related fields such as sustainable finance, environmental policy and environmental communications and consulting. She currently works as a Climate Risk Advisory Consultant, and occasionally writes or talks about climate issues on public platforms.

Carol Soon

Senior Research Fellow and Head of Society and Culture at Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)

Carol is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) where she leads the Society and Culture Department. Her research interests are in false information, media regulation, digital inclusion, new media and activism, online public opinion sensing and public engagement.

She worked with the Ministry of Health in 2017 on Singapore’s first Citizens’ Jury and is working with various government agencies on engaging citizens in co-creating policy solutions. She is currently leading a study on building digital competencies of own-account workers, funded by SkillsFuture Singapore.

Dr Soon is also Associate Director of the Temasek Foundation-IPS Asia Journalism Fellowship. She is Vice Chair of Singapore’s Media Literacy Council and Principal Investigator at the NUS Centre for Trusted Internet and Community. She has taught courses at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the University Scholars Programme at National University of Singapore (NUS). She was a recipient of the Australian Endeavour Award and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Research Excellence Award.

On Diversity is a podcast inspired by the Institute of Policy Studies Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, we chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making, and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.

More from On Diversity
Season 2 Episode 4: Diversity in Elite Schools, with Gillian Koh, IPS Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow, and Paul Jerusalem, master’s student at NUS
Season 2 Episode 3: The Plight of Buskers, with Yeo Ying Hao, Co-chairman of Buskers Assocation, and Louis Ng, Nee Soon GRC MP 
Season 2 Episode 2: Stay-at-home Dads, with Kelvin Seah, full-time stay-home-dad of two, and Tam Wai Jia, Medical Doctor
Season 2 Episode 1: Conversations about Race, with Dr Daniel Goh, Associate Professor of Sociology at NUS, and Haresh Tilani, Co-founder of Ministry of Funny
Season 1 Episode 9: Tech and the Token Female, with Anna Gong, CEO and Founder of Perx Technologies, and Wynthia Goh, Head of NCS NEXT Digital

Social media has changed the face of civil society and activism as more individuals, especially youths, begin to advocate for causes online. In fact, there are many social media accounts that are dedicated to speaking out for specific causes including climate change, migrant workers&rsquo; rights and the LGBTQ+ movement. But does social media activism accomplish anything or could it possibly cause more harm than good?
On the fifth episode of the second season, host and Associate Director at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Liang Kaixin chats with Woo Qiyun, creator of &ldquo;The Weird and Wild&rdquo; Instagram page, and Dr Carol Soon, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Society and Culture at IPS, to talk about social media activism, keyboard warriors and cancel culture.
Find out more about the new civil society:
<ul>
<li>Esquire (10 Dec 2021): <a href="https://www.esquiresg.com/neil-humphreys-activism-social-media-political-environmental-clicktivism-singapore/">Neil Humphreys talks activism and social media</a></li>
<li>BBC (14 Oct 2021): <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48607989">What is Extinction Rebellion and what does it want?</a></li>
<li>Channel News Asia (29 Jun 2021): <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/citizens-social-media-government-facebook-mom-jade-rasif-covid-1932901">Commentary: Benefits and drawbacks when citizens use social media to raise concerns</a></li>
<li>TODAY (20 Dec 2020): <a href="https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/youth-action-environmental-activist-raise-climate-issues-one-doodle-time">Youth in Action: Environmental activist raises climate issues one doodle at a time</a></li>
<li>Mothership (5 Aug 2020): <a href="https://mothership.sg/2020/08/cancel-culture-explainer/">Cancelling &amp; cancel culture: Are they relevant to us in S&rsquo;pore &amp; why should we care</a></li>
<li>The Straits Times (13 Apr 2019): <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/not-just-snowflakes-millennials-are-changing-the-face-of-civil-society">Not just &lsquo;snowflakes&rsquo;: Millennials are changing the face of civil society</a></li>
</ul>
About our guests:
Woo Qiyun
Environmentalist and Creator of The Weird and Wild 
Qiyun is an environmentalist who is passionate about pushing for ambitious climate action. She is also an avid science communicator, working to combine science and art. In 2018, she started The Weird and Wild Instagram page to contextualize climate science and to advocate for climate action. In 2020, she graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the National University of Singapore, and she&nbsp;has worked in a variety of sustainability-related fields such as sustainable finance, environmental policy and environmental communications and consulting. She currently works as a Climate Risk Advisory Consultant,&nbsp;and occasionally writes or talks about climate issues on public platforms.
Carol Soon
Senior Research Fellow and Head of Society and Culture at Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)
Carol is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) where she leads the Society and Culture Department. Her research interests are in false information, media regulation, digital inclusion, new media and activism, online public opinion sensing and public engagement.
She worked with the Ministry of Health in 2017 on Singapore&rsquo;s first Citizens&rsquo; Jury and is working with various government agencies on engaging citizens in co-creating policy solutions. She is currently leading a study on building digital competencies of own-account workers, funded by SkillsFuture Singapore.
Dr Soon is also Associate Director of the Temasek Foundation-IPS Asia Journalism Fellowship. She is Vice Chair of Singapore&rsquo;s Media Literacy Council and Principal Investigator at the NUS Centre for Trusted Internet and Community. She has taught courses at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the University Scholars Programme at National University of Singapore (NUS). She was a recipient of the Australian Endeavour Award and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Research Excellence Award.
On Diversity is a podcast inspired by the Institute of Policy Studies Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, we chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making, and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.
More from On Diversity
<ul>
<li>Season 2 Episode 4: Diversity in Elite Schools, with Gillian Koh, IPS Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow, and Paul Jerusalem, master&rsquo;s student at NUS</li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s2e3-the-plight-of-buskers/">Season 2 Episode 3: The Plight of Buskers, with Yeo Ying Hao, Co-chairman of Buskers Assocation, and Louis Ng, Nee Soon GRC MP </a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s2e2-stay-at-home-dads/">Season 2 Episode 2: Stay-at-home Dads, with Kelvin Seah, full-time stay-home-dad of two, and Tam Wai Jia, Medical Doctor</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s2e1-conversations-about-race/">Season 2 Episode 1: Conversations about Race, with Dr Daniel Goh, Associate Professor of Sociology at NUS, and Haresh Tilani, Co-founder of Ministry of Funny</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e9-tech-and-the-token-female/">Season 1 Episode 9: Tech and the Token Female, with Anna Gong, CEO and Founder of Perx Technologies, and Wynthia Goh, Head of NCS NEXT Digital</a></li>
</ul>

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme.

In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.

On Diversity features new episodes every week.

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme.
In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.
On Diversity features new episodes every week.

IPS On Diversity Podcast

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society. On Diversity features new episodes every week.

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society. On Diversity features new episodes every week.

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