Diversity by Default
A conversational card game that intersects various forms of diversity while making dialogue more accessible
We are a social enterprise providing
award-winning products and programmes
for interfaith, interracial, and intercultural diversity.
We are a social enterprise providing award-winning products and programmes for interfaith, interracial, and intercultural diversity.
Helping multicultural communities grow resilience
We offer supportive tools & meaningful programmes that nurture social cohesion, harmony & belonging.
Innovating in the space of diversity, equity & inclusion
We specialise in the sensitive yet significant spheres of interfaith, interracial & intercultural dialogue.
Consulting on ESG social sustainability projects
We work with corporate organisations, religious communities, educational institutions & government agencies.
Industry-Wide ICCS2022 Recognition
We are blessed to have our sensitive work formally recognised at the prestigious International Conference for Cohesive Societies, held recently in Singapore.
Two of our projects were honoured with public accolades by government leaders Mdm. Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, and Mr. Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth during the industry-wide gathering.
President Halimah Yacob opening the ICCS conference with praise for Basil Kannangara, founder of Being Bridges, and Nicholas Pang, creator of the award-winning Smol Tok conversation cards, for our collaborative project designing a card game for social cohesion, Diversity By Default.
MCCY Minister Edwin Tong commending Being Bridges founder, Basil Kannangara, at the ICCS closing address for our innovative interfaith VR tours project, Being Guests, which was awarded the top prize at the international 'Mission: Unite' hackathon for social cohesion.
Our Projects
We consult on diversity-related projects for the social sustainability aspect of ESG goals, running both long-term large-scale initiatives as well as short-term ad hoc engagements for clients and community partners. We also offer specially curated customisations of our main projects for short-term programmes configured to the needs of your organisation.
3 WAYS TO ENGAGE US
We create products
that tweak the dialogue of diversity for the specific needs of a particular community, whether it’s widening the dialogue, simplifying it, or deepening it.
We conduct programmes
that facilitate conversations around diversity, supporting the dialogue with tools and training that enable communities and individuals to do the same, whether they're from the government, corporate, educational, or religious landscapes.
We customize processes
that cater to the local contexts of particular communities, building up their capacity for dynamic versatility and resilience, whether it’s interfaith, interracial, or intercultural diversity.
(A SAMPLING OF OUR WORK)
Our Partners
In the work of diversity, the community is our essential partner. We work with clients and collaborators, benefactors and beneficiaries, organisations and individuals, who range across the public sector, private sector, and civic society. Social harmony is too important, so we need all the help we can get. (Case studies soon...)
Our Participants
We interact with many people in the course of our work - participants, volunteers, and clients. Who are they and what do they say about their experience of our products and programmes?
I think it has the potential to break boundaries of what is deemed sensitive. Many shy away from issues that really matter/should matter to us because they're worried of bringing up 'sensitive', difficult topics. This should never be the case.”
~ Christine May Yong, participant for Diversity by Default (DBD) gameplay dialogue session
This volunteering activity got me interested in the different houses of worship - some I may not even know before! I think it's helped me want to spread the awareness [of religious diversity].”
~ Mathilda Choo, Youth Network (YN) volunteer for Being Guests at Racial Harmony Day (RHD) festival
We were looking for a speaker to share about How To Enact Change, and Basil [from Being Bridges] really went above and beyond. Pulling in a range of examples from his experience in diversity dialogues and beyond, his sharing was clear, relevant, and convincing.
He was warm and friendly towards our students, creating a conducive environment for them to buzz and ask questions as well. The response for the event was great, and we’re definitely looking forward to working with Basil again!”
~ Rachel Wong, NUS High School Senior Council President, Organising Committee, Student Leadership Summit
Our Philosophy
This is complex, sensitive, and very hard work. How do we approach or even touch these important issues in our multicultural society? We offer unique angles for the work of diversity and community building. Get in touch with us to hear more!
Doing diversity and dialogue differently.
Diversity is not a fault - it's our default. It's not our end point, but our starting point. So then dialogue isn't the solution - it's the organic consequence of our natural human foundation.
Building bridges for being bridges.
We make tools that are not ends in themselves, as they in turn make us. The external bridges we build serve a purpose - so that internally we may be bridges; and serve our purpose.
Connecting communities through the catalyst of their own conversations.
We curate conversations that are contextualised to the lived realities of each community that works with us. Every community has a distinct context, so our engagements are never identical as our conversations are always collaborative. Crafted by communities themselves, this approach has deep potential for connecting with participants and catalysing them for the greater good.
Our People
We are a consulting firm helmed by a Singaporean team of multicultural heritage. Part of the diversity landscape for over a decade, we are supported by a large network of specialist collaborators, freelancers, part-timers, and volunteers.
As a consultancy whose work is collaborative by choice, Being Bridges is a social enterprise inspired from the pressing need to develop community cohesion out of social diversity. Our specialties and those of our network span various backgrounds of research and practice that are essential to multicultural community-building.
We have facilitated hundreds of dialogue sessions, trained dozens of communities from various sectors of society, and consulted on a range of projects with a lens towards diversity. As our work and expertise grows, we aim to explore and cater more of such offerings for the specific needs of local communities, workplaces, schools, and the public at large.
(BEHIND THE SCENES)
BEFORE ENGAGING US,
DO NOTE OUR APPROACH IS...
...less about advocacy and more about dialogue facilitation.
...less about activism and more about community activation.
...less about confrontation and more about social innovation.