Lecture: From Shoreline Practices to Shared Knowledge

Coastal ecosystems and communities across islands such as Bintan and Singapore face existential threats of climate change-induced sea level rise and ocean acidification. Compounded by the impacts of pollution and extractivism brought about by industrial development, these pressures expose coastal communities to significant risks to resources and livelihood, as well as loss of maritime and cultural knowledge. This lecture introduces the Repository on Coastal Ecosystems: Bridging Artistic, Scientific and Community-led practices in the Riau Archipelago, an on-going digital humanities project developed under the Climate Transformation Programme. Developed through long-term engagement in Bintan, this repository explores how digital tools can support the documentation and circulation of coastal knowledge and stewardship–such as mangrove restoration, coral transplantation, and intergenerational ecological and spiritual knowledge–for a wider range of stakeholders. Drawing on collaborations with community practitioners, researchers, and institutions in both Singapore and Indonesia, Professor Ute Meta Bauer (NTU CoHASS; Acting Director, NTU CCA Singapore) and research fellow Joshua Gebert (Climate Transformation Programme) reflect on the possibilities and limitations of digital platforms in mediating knowledge and participation. Responding to this lecture, Dr Ow Yan Xiang (St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory), shares her reflections on scientific engagements with partners and communities across Singapore and Bintan. This lecture asks how digital tools might contribute to more inclusive ways of understanding and engaging with coastal environments, and what it means to develop a living repository shaped through on-going dialogue, exchange, and co-production.

Thursday Lecture

23 April 2026, 6:30pm – 8:30pm

The Hall, NTU CCA, Blk 6 Lock Road, #01-10 Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108934

Image credit: Pengudang villager preparing a paving block for coral transplantation during a training activity. Pengudang village, Teluk Sebong, Bintan, Indonesia, 15 Feb 2025. Image by Henky Irawan.

The Climate Transformation: Sustainable Societies Series is organised by members of the Climate Transformation Programme (CTP) Cross-Cutting Theme 1: Sustainable Societies research team, Principal Investigator Professor Ute Meta Bauer, research fellow Joshua Gebert and research assistant Angela Ricasio Hoten.

Sustainable Societies

Principal Investigator, Professor Ute Meta Bauer (NTU ADM)

Principal Investigator, Associate Professor Laura Miotto (NTU ADM)

Principal Investigator, Professor Dr Thomas Schroepfer (SUTD)

This Lecture Series is supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 3 grant [MOE-MOET32022-0006] for the Climate Transformation Programme.

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About the Climate Transformation: Sustainable Societies Lecture Series

The series returns for its second cycle in the Academic Year 2025-26. Each session features researchers from the Climate Transformation Programme, alongside contributors from other academic fields, as well as artists, architects and advocates. In this second iteration, the lecture series is framed with policy relevance in mind, with respondents from various government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and other relevant industries offering immediate commentary.

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Host or Publisher NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore