With a diverse range of backgrounds, our human Books have all volunteered to be present at the Human Library to talk to you and share their life experiences. Look through our selection of Books and we're sure you'll find someone whom you'll be interested to talk to!
1. Jacquelyn Soo, Billy Soh, Benedict Chen, Wong Tze Chau, Rachel Chan
Singapore Contemporary Young Artists
Duration of stay at event: 1pm to 4pm
SCYA is the acronym for Singapore Contemporary Young Artists, a society that aims to generate interest in Contemporary Art and Art by Singaporean/PR Young Artists to enable further discussion and practice of Art in Singapore.
SCYA constantly promotes and enrich Contemporary Art to Singaporeans by emphasizing the importance of archiving artists’ works, curating exhibitions, hosting educational talks and workshops and harnessing social media to reach out to the larger community.
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2. Raymond Anthony Fernando
Silver Ribbon (Singapore)
Duration of stay at event: 1pm to 4pm
Raymond is a motivational speaker, poet, author, trainer, songwriter, freelance television actor, regular newspaper forum page writer and a mental health activist. The author of 11 books is also a caregiver to his wife, Doris who is coping with schizophrenia and depression and advanced arthritis.
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3. Rosy Nakhooda
Retired economist, elderly member of society
Duration of stay at event: 11am to 3pm
Rosy was born in Bombay and grew up in Singapore, studying economics and working at Singapore's Economic Planning Unit upon its independence. Among other responsibilities, Rosy worked on running down the ballooning housing subsidies left behind by the British; the redeployment and re-employment of those working at the Singapore Naval Bases that were in the process of closing down; and the setting up of a resort at Sentosa Island.
Rosy: “Sometimes the sidelining of the elderly is done out of kindness as there is a wish for the family not to stress them because they are not so fast and agile any longer, and sometimes, unfortunately, it is a case of sheer neglect.”
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4. James Ong
Singapore Association for the Deaf
Duration of stay at event: 1.30pm to 4pm
James is working as Executive Officer (Programme/Volunteer Coordination) at the Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf). He is deaf.
Note: An interpreter will be present to help translate your questions and facilitate the conversation.
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5. David Hester
Action for Aids Singapore
Duration of stay at event: 11am to 1.30pm
David is the Senior Counsellor at Action For Aids’ Anonymous Test Site (ATS) and provides counseling and HIV/AIDS information to the public. Mr Hester has been an active volunteer since 2006.
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6. Norani Othman
Action for Aids Singapore
Duration of stay at event: 1.30pm to 4pm
Norani is a Positive Living Centre (PLC) Manager. PLC was set up based on the need to provide Action For Aids’ support groups with a communal safe place for PLHIV to come together for counseling and peer support.
Norani: “I think (people) should learn how HIV is transmitted and understand that despite their infection, a HIV positive person is the same person pre-infection.”
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7. Zahid
Parkour Singapore
“To me now, parkour is not only about moving efficiently but also it shows that we can be free to do whatever we want to, as long as we keep our mind to it.”
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8. Xavier Loo Jun Quan
Parkour Singapore
“My impression of parkour slowly changed and as I started to progress more each time I trained, I come to understand more of what parkour is about.”
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9. Denise Phua
Autism Resource Centre
Duration of stay at event: 2.30pm to 4pm
Ms Denise Phua actively champions the needs and aspirations of people-at-risk, especially the needy and the disabled, in the areas of education, employment and social services. She works full-time as a volunteer in the charities and special schools she leads and as a Member of Parliament. Ms Phua is married with 2 children, one of whom has autism.
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10. Ng Sock Kian
Autism Resource Centre
Duration of stay at event: 12.45pm to 2.30pm
Sock Kian has a son with mild autism. Formerly the senior vice-president of the corporate credit group at DBS Bank, she is now the manager of Special Projects in Autism Resource Centre.
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11. Nilofer Ashraff
Poet
Duration of stay at event: Whole event
Nilofer is currently a primary school teacher. She wants to share her experiences with poetry and participating in the art form.
Nilofer: “…writing began to be a part of me. I write short stories as well. But currently, I focus more on poetry as I am in love with playing with different forms of writing and different ways of expressing what I feel. “
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12. Nazli Anwari
Alternative healing practitioner
Duration of stay at event: 1.30pm to 4pm
Nazli runs a company called Medicine Woman that deals with healing through herbs. She has over 30 years of experience with different schools of traditional healing like Jamu, Ayurveda and Reiki.
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13. Kokila Annamalai
Rural development social worker
Duration of stay at event: Whole event
Kokila took a year off her NUS honors program to pursue rural development in the south of India. She is keenly interested in interested in economic, social and cultural empowerment.
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14. Park Myungsoo
Korean expatriate
Duration of stay at event: Whole event
Park left Korea at the age of 14 and is currently a student in SMU Accountancy. She has lived and gone through the education of America, Philippines and Singapore. She has deep insight into the difference that culture has to play on an individual's mindsets and believes that a lot of who we are is a product of society's influence.
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15. Kana Gopal
Ex-journalist
Duration of stay at event: Whole event
Having seen Singapore transform over the years, Kana has observed the social changes from a broadcast journalist’s perspective of what remains uniquely Singaporean. She now works as an adjunct lecturer at NYP but has seen both the public and not so well known issues of Singapore's growth and development.
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16. Paul Gilfeather
Newspaper journalist
Duration of stay at event: 2pm to 4pm
Paul Gilfeather is a newspaper journalist with some 20 years experience across news, politics and international affairs.
Originally from Aberdeen in the North-east of Scotland, Paul has spent the bulk of his career working in London’s Fleet Street for a host of national titles, including the News of the World, the Sun, Daily and Sunday Mirror. Paul decided to move to Singapore permanently in 2009, and was signed up by TODAY editor Walter Fernandez in February 2010 as this paper’s principal correspondent and continues to report on international politics as well as covering a wide range of Singapore issues.
