Roundtables

Thought leaders from diverse segments of society will gather in small groups to discuss specific subjects with bearing on policymaking in Penang. As a whole, these aim:

1. to reverse the work-in-silo culture that has overtaken much of Malaysian professional life;
2. to expand a sense of inclusiveness, common purpose and understanding among key stakeholders;
3. to encourage sustainable discussion networks built on problem solving and problem identification, involving players from the public sector, the private sector, academe, civil society and the international community, and;
4. to gain cutting-edge knowledge on latest developments, and the issues troubling the various governance, corporate and socio-cultural sectors in Penang, for the purpose of adding breadth and depth to policy-making and public discourses.

Symposiums

Penang Institute has been building an international network of collaborators over the last decades, and now have projects with, and links to institutions of relevance to its policy ambit. In the region, the Institute’s ties involve institutions in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Further afield, the Institute continues to collaborate with think tanks in Germany, Australia, the United States and the Scandinavian countries. United Nations and European Union bodies are also part of our network of collaborators. The Institute’s ties with embassies and international organisations based in Malaysia are also strong, as is evidenced in their regular visits to the Institute for discussions on political and economic developments in the country, and on other matters.

Penang Institute therefore holds international elite gatherings for the purpose of discussing not only Penang’s place in the world, but also the challenges faced by the world at large, and the discourses that are unfolding globally, most of which would naturally have deep relevance for Penang, given its cosmopolitan past, present and future.