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“Achievement-orientated Values” (Part 2 of 2): How this 1971 speech suggests solutions to fertility rates today
- 22 June 2026
“Achievement-orientated Values” (Part 1 of 2): This 1971 speech explains why our fertility rates are so low (and hints at how we can raise it)
Singapore’s total fertility rate hit a new record low at 0.87 in 2025, a long consequence of the overwhelming success of the “Stop at Two” population control campaign launched in 1972. Just a year prior, Parliamentary Secretary Inche Sha’ari Bin Tadin gave a speech capturing the heart and motivation of the campaign. Could this speech also contain hints of how we can reverse our low birth rates?
- June 22 2026
Sandwiched Families: A Cultivate Commune (May) update
With delayed marriages and parenthood, low fertility rates and a rapidly ageing population, the number of sandwiched couples who have to care for both young and old is projected to increase. At our Commune on 16 May, we had a candid and uplifting discussion with two speakers in these circumstances, who left us with much encouragement and food for thought.
- May 29 2026
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Cultivate Culture: How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
Tear-jerking Thai film “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” invites us to reflect: Do we see our relationships in purely transactional terms, or do we genuinely love people – especially the elderly and sick – as persons worthy to be loved?
- 20 July 2024
Update from Cultivate Commune: Large Families
Cultivate Commune is a breakfast conversation where we explore how big ideas are planted in real community experiences. In this second Commune on 31 May 2024, two couples with large families shared with us about their joys, challenges and perspectives.
- 1 July 2024
From Third World to First: Lee Kuan Yew’s Take on Family Values
“Singapore depends on the strength and influence of the family to keep society orderly and maintain a culture of thrift, hard work, filial piety and respect for elders and for scholarship and learning.”
- Lee Kuan Yew
- 30 June 2024
