Mr Tan Tarn How
Senior Research Fellow
Institute of Policy Studies

Ms Tan Simin
Research Assistant
Institute of Policy Studies

Date: Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Time: .10.30 am to 12.30 pm (Registration begins at 10.15 am)
Venue: Seminar Room 5-4, Block B, Bukit Timah Campus, National University of Singapore
Dress Code: Office Attire

In the last year or so, Singapore’s socio-political blogosphere appears to have undergone a dramatic transformation. Sites such as The Online Citizen and WayangParty.com have moved beyond armchair commentating and reacting to the news to proactive news-gathering and other activities in the offline world. These sites and the people behind them, together with the content posted online by more overtly activist groups and individuals, is putting into practice the full potential of citizen journalism by their first-hand reporting and, even agenda setting. A paper reviewing the state of play and future outlook will be delivered by Senior Research Fellow Tan Tarn How and Research Assistant Tan Simin, to be followed by a discussion.

Mr Tan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, based at National University of Singapore. His research areas are in arts and cultural policy and media and Internet policy. He has written on the development of the arts and the creative industries in Singapore, China and Korea; on the history of cultural policy in Singapore; and on the management of media in Singapore. He has also carried out research on the impact of the Internet and new technology on society, the regulation of the Internet, and the role of new media in the 2008 Malaysian election and the 2006 Singapore election. He was a journalist for nearly one and half decades before joining IPS. He has also been a teacher, a television scriptwriter and is also an award-winning playwright.

Ms Tan Simin is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies. She joined the Institute in September after completing her MA on Hong Kong cinema at the University of Minnesota and spending a year conducting research in Shanghai, China. Her research interests lie in the areas of new media and civil society in Singapore. She assists in the work conducted in the Arts, Media and Cultural Policy over at IPS.