“We cannot succeed as a society if either men or women or both are demoralised and floundering in life.” Cultivate SG executive director Darius Lee spoke with Dr John Hui on a podcast published on 24 August 2025, on the “The State of the Family in Singapore - and What Men Can Do”. Here is an edited extract from the podcast.
Our researcher Daniel Lim shared the findings from Cultivate’s “Marriage, Parenthood and Success” Survey at Cultivate SG's second annual conference, "Unfiltered - The Family on Trial", on 17 November 2025. Cultivate SG commissioned Pureprofile to survey 2,019 Singapore residents aged 21 and above on how societal ideals of success influence family decisions. Key results show marriage and parenthood rank low as markers of personal success compared to career and financial achievements.
Fostering is a temporary care arrangement for children and young persons who need a safe environment. At our Commune on 27 September, Gracehaven Fostering and foster parents Joel and Rachel gave a glimpse of the joys and challenges of fostering.
Unfiltered – The Family on Trial 2025: “Singapore Awakened: How Success and the Alternative of Flourishing Shape Family”, Keynote Address by Assoc. Prof. (Dr.) Tan Seow Hon
Assoc. Prof. (Dr.) Tan Seow Hon delivered the keynote address at Cultivate SG's second annual conference, "Unfiltered - The Family on Trial", on 17 November 2025. In her speech titled "Singapore Awakened: How Success - and the Alternative of Flourishing - Shape Family", Dr Tan reflects on the "Singapore Dream", the narrow mindset of success in contrast with the concept of flourishing, and how these impact marriage and family. She concludes by offering some thoughts on how to move from success to flourishing.
Cultivate SG's second annual conference, "Unfiltered - The Family on Trial" took place on 17 November 2025. Held at the Lifelong Learning Institute, the conference drew together expert voices, research, and real-life stories. The central theme was to redefine notions of “success” in Singapore, and how these challenge and reshape the Singaporean family.
In this second article of our two-part series on liberalism and conservatism, we look more closely at where Singaporeans stand. Attitudes seem to vary across topics such as economics, COVID-19, marriage and sex. In the end, it might really depend on the issue and circumstances that one is looking at, and a nuanced understanding is necessary.