SIMI Press Conference & Town Hall (15 Jan 2020)

On 15 January 2020, SIMI organised a press conference and town hall at the Singapore Management University. These events represented the start of a year-long publicity campaign on SIMI’s work, culminating in the second International Mediation Singapore (IMSG) competition, that will be held from 27-30 August 2020.

Press Conference

We kicked off the events of the day with a press conference, with representatives present from the Ministry of Law, the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Singapore Management University (SMU), and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).

During the press conference, the following initiatives were announced:

• SIMI Look And Hire (SIMILAH) platform; and
• the National SMU-SIMI Collaborative Dispute Resolution (CDR) Award

SIMI Look and Hire (SIMILAH)

SIMI Look and Hire, or “SIMILAH” for short is a platform that serves as a one-stop shop for the general public to submit a request for a mediator. SIMI has launched this initiative with the intention of generating greater interest in the use of mediation to resolve disputes. While the platform does not restrict the type of cases that may be submitted, the intention is to promote this platform to more commercial entities such as small-medium enterprises, as well as other commercial organisations.

In short, SIMILAH is a digital market-place regulated by SIMI to provide quality assurance for both users and providers. SIMI hopes that the platform will become a ubiquitous feature of the business landscape, an essential operations and management tool for all corporations.

SIMILAH is now live and accessible to the public here.

For further information on this initiative, please write in to lookandhire@simi.org.sg.

National SMU-SIMI Collaborative Disputee Resolution (CDR) Award

This award is a collaboration between SIMI and the Singapore Management University School of Law -the Collaborative Dispute Resolution Award, also known as the “CDR Award” for short.While SIMILAH was designed to promote mediation at theprofessional level, the CDR Award is targeted at the next generation of mediators and mediation advocates who are based in Singapore.

While there are plenty of accolades and recognition available for excellence in many areas of the legal profession, there are exceptionally few opportunities forrecognition and support in the CDR field. With this collaboration, SIMI and SMU hope to set a new precedent for similar support to follow suit. Most importantly, this award provides a platform to showcase the achievements of these young ambassadors of the CDR field.

Up to four awards worth a total of $2000 will be made available each year, this will be applied towards activities and achievements for the last academic year. Applications will be submitted directly to SIMI at awards@simi.org.sg.

For further information on this award and the selection process, please write in to awards@simi.org.sg.

The press conference was covered by the following news outlets in Singapore:

• The Straits Times
• Lianhe Zaobao
• Berita Harian
• The Business Times Online
• The Straits Times Online

SIMI Town Hall

The afternoon of the day was spent by holding a town hall meeting with SIMI's partners and mediators. The aim of the town hall was to cover the following topics:

• Provide an overview of SIMI's plans for 2020 to 2025;
• Discuss what SIMI Mediators & SIMI Partners hope SIMI could do;
• Discuss what SIMI Mediators and SIMI Partners like about what SIMI has done and should continue doing; and
• Question & Answer segment.

A report of the town hall was made available to all SIMI Mediators and SIMI Partners. If you are an existing SIMI Mediator/Partner and would like to request for a copy of the report, please write in to the SIMI team at support@simi.org.sg with your request.