In The Middle: A Dialogue on Pandemic Paradoxes
by Nafisa Halim
As Brunei enters a post-pandemic future, the Global Awareness and Impact Alliance (GAIA), a local-based non-governmental organization convened a dialogue on 3 September 2022 to reflect on the economic and climate future of Brunei and the region. Entitled ‘In the Middle: A Dialogue on Pandemic Paradoxes’, the dialogue was held at Ri’s Social, The Promenade Samakaya in Kg. Sungai Hanching.
The dialogue was moderated by Ms. Nafisa Halim and GAIA research associates, Ms. Riyani Sidek and Ms. Siuu Tzyy Wei.
Over 40 people from various backgrounds including embassy representatives, professionals, graduates and high school students gathered to witness a debate between speakers that shared opposing viewpoints.
The objective of the dialogue was to spark conversations on the paradoxes of the pandemic. The Dialogue acknowledged that while the pandemic may have led to increased digitalisation, many are still unable to gain basic access to the internet. It is these kinds of paradoxes that are worth discussing and pushes an individual to think outside the box.
The dialogue was held under two sessions that touched on topics such as the ‘Our Digital Economic Reality’ and ‘Entering a Carbon-Free Future’. In line with GAIA’s goal towards empowering thought and generating change, the Dialogue was set as a debate where experts with differing perspectives and opinions were put on the spot with prompts to encourage an organic discussion.
The first session was led by Ms. Siu Tzyy Wei who was joined by economic experts Dr. Hazwan Haini from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and Yazid Mahdi with experience from the Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD). The debate discussed the impacts of a digitalised economy on small and medium enterprises, income disparities and the advantage held by professionals with specialised technical knowledge.
Session Two was also moderated by Siu Tzyy Wei and joined by guest speakers Zaiem Halbi, head of the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat (BCCS), and Zukri Rahman from the Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP). In this session, the speakers deliberated on the future of our carbon footprint in a post-pandemic world, by paying particular attention to Brunei Darussalam’s progress and whether the pandemic has reduced carbon emissions since 2020.
In moving forward, it is imperative for individuals to continue initiating discussions and sharing different perspectives on issues that matter. GAIA looks forward to continuing engaging Brunei’s experts and the broader public in contributing to critical conversations that can create a future-proof and future-ready environment for Brunei.