Finding a common ground

A look behind the scenes by Lee Kah How (Hwa Chong Institution), SG United Journalist

“Early sensing and correct sensing leads to correctdiagnosis and correct intervention.” - Mr Viswa Sadisavan, CEO of Strategic Moves, and a CEED trainer

WHEN riots were rife in the early days of Singapore, a top-down approach was not sufficient to curb the tension amongst the people. Today, while we enjoy a certain level of economic progress and social stability, is it a “false sense of comfort”?

One module in the Community Engagement Executive Development (CEED) Programme is on mediation. It seeks to train individuals with suitable knowledge and skills so that they can respond effectively to minimise the likelihood of inter-communal conflicts arising from crises. The CEED Programme itself is one that trains community leaders from the Community Engagement Programme (CEP) clusters. It equips them with basic skills in emergency preparedness and psychological first aid, and knowledge of counter-terrorism and extremism.

“People are connected,” Viswa observed. Indeed, social networks continue to serve their function in society, and give the links that important in mitigating conflict at is roots.

“Why should I step down from my position?” is a question commonly heard during conflicts. The feeling is, “if I am the first to offer to step down, I will be seen as the weaker party and ‘lose face’ and this would be too much of a compromise.” In such situations, a neutral third party with moral authority and standing in society, can help in reconciliation by making the parties see beyond their “hardline positions” and embrace a “shared interest”. Also, the third party’s presence makes it easier for the parties in conflict to offer to step down without losing face, as they would be seen as doing this for the third party.

As a trainer in the CEED programme, Viswa specialises in the field of mediation. “Mediation… always (finds) a common ground”, being a psychological approach in which empathy and persuading another individual to undergo the thought process that unravels the differences, facilitating peaceful dialogue.

Acceptance, not tolerance: Viswa shared with SG United Journalists Liu Guo Sheng (left) and Lee Kah How (right) that acceptance is the key factor in sustaining social harmony and stability.

Viswa stressed that tolerance is artificial suppression; and acceptance, not tolerance, is necessary for real and sustainable harmony and stability. Regardless of whether it is in the context of a school, workplace or in the neighbourhood, mediation then finds the commonality between the two, being an important skill that facilitates conflict resolution.

Viswa conducts similar training for the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles (IRCCs), part of the religious group cluster in the CEP.