Lien Conference

2023 Lien International Conference on Good Governance

Theme: Good Governance for the Common Good

Description

In recent years, the world has experienced a series of challenges, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflict, and geopolitical contestations to a global cost-of-living crisis. The intersection of these events with longstanding trends, including climate change, as well as widening income and wealth inequalities, has led us to an era of ‘polycrisis’, a term coined by the World Economic Forum in the Global Risks Report (2023) to highlight the compounding effects of these interconnected and simultaneous risks. At a time of great crises and changes, resilience, sustainability, and inclusivity are becoming increasingly essential.

Amidst these ongoing trends, governance is becoming even more crucial in both policymaking and research as a means to better manage continuing and future crises. It also puts into question the evolving concept of the Common Good, which refers to shared objective(s) to be reached together by policymakers in collaboration with various stakeholders towards the well-being of the entire community beyond the vested interests of selected individuals and interest groups (Mazzucato, 2023). With the greater involvement and empowerment of non-state actors alongside the state, the Common Good can no longer be defined merely by economic metrics such as GDP and the technocratic merit of policymakers (Sandel, 2020). Under these circumstances, how should we conceptualize the Common Good in governance and public administration? How should the Common Good be realized in the era of ‘polycrisis’ that we live in? What are the opportunities and obstacles in our joint quest towards the Common Good?

To answer these broad lines of enquiries in global and comparative perspectives, the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration (NCPA) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will be organising the 2023 Lien International Conference on Good Governance on 25-26 August 2023in Singapore. The Conference’s central theme is “Good Governance for the Common Good”, and we invite interested academics and practitioners in various fields from around the world to gather and deliberate on the dynamic concept and best practices of the Common Good.

The two-day conference, held in a physical form at NTU in Singapore, is co-organised with the Lien Ying Chow Legacy Fellowship, International Institute of Administrative Sciences, Asian Association for Public Administration, Stratagem Group, and Civil Service College, Singapore. We welcome theoretical, empirical, practical, and comparative studies on all aspects of governance in different countries and regions related, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Common Good in Governance and Policymaking
• Concept, Development and Innovation of Common Good in social sciences and humanities
• Global and Regional Economic Cooperation, Competition, and Recovery
• Industry 4.0, Businesses, and Global Supply Chains
• Technologies, Big Data, and Security Governance
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in the new normal
• Sustainable, Resilient, and Inclusive Development
• Public Finance and Budgeting
• Domestic Determinants and Relations in policymaking
• Collaborative Governance, Co-creation, and Co-production of public services
• NGOs and the Philanthropy Sector in coping with social issues
• Information, Misinformation, and Infodemic(s)
• Public Values and Ethics
• Public Health Innovation and Reform
• Emerging Policy Directions in Higher Education and knowledge transfer
• Talent Management and Development
• Emerging Trends in Migration and Governing Diasporas
• Asian Perspectives on Governance

Event Details

The Stamford, 4th level Raffles City Convention Centre (25/08/2023 - 25/08/2023 )

ARC @ NTU (26/08/2023 - 26/08/2023 )

25/08/2023 - 26/08/2023

2 days

In-person

Guests of Honour

Mrs. Josephine Teo

Minister at Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore

Keynote Speakers

Desmond Tan

Minister of State at Prime Minister’s Office

George Yeo

Former Minister at Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Speech Title: Good governance is positive-sum

Zhang Weiwu

Senior Executive Vice President at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

Reto Steiner

Dean at ZHAW School of Management and Law, University in Winterthur/Zurich

Speech Title: Is a digitized state in the interest of citizens or should we be afraid of it?

Event Summary

In recent years, the world has been grappling with global challenges, such as the far-reaching impacts of the pandemic, climate change, and the intensifying complexities of geopolitical relations. Against this backdrop, the significance of good governance has emerged as more paramount than ever before.

To delve into the pivotal role of governance and policy in fostering resilience, sustainability, and inclusivity amidst these pressing global challenges, the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration (NCPA) and Lien Ying Chow Legacy Fellowship (LYCLF) at NTU Singapore organised the Lien International Conference on Good Governance in 2023 on 25 – 26 Aug 2023.

At the first large-scale physical conference held after the pandemic, NCPA successfully hosted more than 300 academics, practitioners, and researchers from over 20 countries who convened at the biennial intellectual nexus, themed “Good Governance for the Common Good” held at the Raffles City Convention Centre.

In their opening speeches, Professor Liu Hong, Associate Vice President (International) and NCPA Director (Research & Executive Education) , NTU Singapore, Professor Luke Ong, Vice President, Research, NTU Singapore, and Mr Laurence Lien, Chairman of Lien Foundation, Singapore gave a comprehensive overview of the conference and shared the remarkable progress made in teaching and research over the past three decades.

The Guest of Honour, Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister of Communications and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs also delivered a speech on the importance of good governance in the digital age and announced the release of Singapore’s inaugural digital economy report that outlines the contributions of the digital economy to the local economy while setting the course for future development.

Eminent keynote speakers included Mr Desmond Tan, Minister of State, Prime Minister’s Office, Mr George Yeo, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, Professor Reto Steiner, Dean, ZHAW School of Management and Law, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland; Professor Zhu Xufeng, Professor and Dean, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, China; and Professor Hideaki Shiroyama, Professor, Public Administration, Graduate School of Public Policy University of Tokyo, Japan.

Other distinguished scholars, researchers, and students from esteemed institutions such as Xiamen University and Renmin University of China also participated in the conference, further highlighting its international stature.

A noteworthy moment during the conference was the launch of the book titled "Good Governance in the Post-Covid Era: Global Health and Economic Recovery." Co-edited by Professor Liu Hong, Dr Celia Lee and Mr Jeremy Goh, in collaboration with the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS), the book is a collection of chapters written by leading international practitioners and academics, with insightful and multidisciplinary perspectives on good governance in the post-COVID 19 era.

This conference was co-organised together with the Asian Association for Public Administration, International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS), Civil Service College and the Stratagem Group.