Latest news with #ICCS
Business Wire
7 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
ICCS Debuts Best Practice Guidance Series Focus on Skin Sensitization Without Animal Testing
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS) announces its first-ever Best Practice Guidance (BPG): 'Skin Sensitization Assessment: Using New Approach Methods for Substances in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products.' This document marks the inaugural publication in a new series of ICCS Best Practice Guidance documents, developed to support the global transition to animal-free safety science. 'This guidance reflects the collective expertise of ICCS members who came together to align on the development of this unique guidance,' said Erin Hill, President & CEO of ICCS. Share ICCS was invited to present the BPG at the Integrated Strategies for Safety Assessment of Cosmetics Joint Regulators-Industry Workshop hosted by the International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation (ICCR) on July 11, where regulators from more than 12 countries convened to advance non-animal methodologies. 'This guidance reflects the collective expertise of ICCS members who came together to align on the development of this unique guidance,' said Erin Hill, President & CEO of ICCS. 'It's a key example of our mission to build global capacity and accelerate the uptake of animal-free safety assessments. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the ICCR to hear their input on the workflow in the document.' Grounded in Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA) principles, the BPG offers a structured, science-based workflow that includes practical steps from problem formulation, exposure assessment, data evaluation, to transparent decision-making. It is especially suited for safety assessors experienced in traditional methods but new to using NAMs. What Makes the ICCS BPG Unique This BPG builds on existing international frameworks—such as OECD test guidelines and ICCR principles—by integrating them into a cohesive, assessor-friendly workflow. It emphasizes practical use and real-world safety scenarios and is specifically designed for regulatory safety assessments of cosmetics and personal care products. Notably, the guidance provides tools for transparent decision-making, uncertainty characterization, and exposure-based waiving, offering assessors clear and pragmatic support for transitioning to animal-free science. Key Highlights of the BPG: Step-by-step workflow to guide assessors through skin sensitization hazard and safety assessments without new animal tests. Integration of in silico , in chemico , and in vitro methods, including those aligned with OECD Test Guidelines. , , and methods, including those aligned with OECD Test Guidelines. Designed for regulatory use, especially for assessors transitioning from animal to non-animal approaches. The full guidance is now freely available for download on the ICCS Website Looking Ahead The Skin Sensitization BPG is the first in a planned suite of ICCS Best Practice Guidance documents. Forthcoming documents planned are: eye and skin irritation, read-across, thresholds of toxicological concern (TTC), physiologically based kinetic (PBK) modeling, exposure-based waiving, and environmental safety endpoints. These guidance documents will continue to support ICCS' goal of equipping the international community with practical tools for modern, human-relevant, and animal-free safety assessments. About ICCS The International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety is a global initiative headquartered in New York. It brings together scientists from industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations to promote the adoption and regulatory acceptance of animal-free safety science through education, research, and collaboration.
New Paper
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Paper
Cute Malay-Chinese couple leaves netizens curious and confused
A Singaporean Chinese man has made a TikTok video in which he attempts to speak only Mandarin while on a date with his Malay girlfriend, who in turn tries to speak only in Malay. But netizens are wondering why he looks Malay, while his girlfriend looks Chinese. TikTokker Leonleelx posted the video in a paid partnership with the International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) 2025 five days ago, and it has had more than 151,000 views, 6,300 reactions and about a hundred comments at press time. It's cute, if a little twee. 'Bring an umbrella, sayang' After a short preamble in which he explains that they will speak in their own languages, he asks her in Mandarin to get an umbrella in case it rains. His girlfriend, referred to only as "sayang" (Malay for "honey"), looks adorably lost, before some sign language on his part helps her understand what he is trying to say. "Ujan (rain)," she says, before turning around and returning with a "payun" (umbrella). The video cuts to a cultural tour of Kampong Glam, apparently part of the ICCS' attempt to see how "everyday Singaporeans make harmony real". He then asks if she likes a cultural activity, to which she gamely nods after looking lost for a moment. Cut to another scene where she asks him to speak to her in Malay, and he tells her he likes to eat rendang and loads of kueh. The video ends with a voiceover where he declares: "We speak different languages but understanding each other's cultures brings us closer, as a couple and as a community." "This SG couple so sweet" Shared on Reddit with the title "This SG couple so sweet", some netizens found the video cute. KittyLoLa commented: "Cuteness overload!! GF so 'cantik!!!!!' (Beautiful in Malay.) The piaoliang (beautiful) Chinese look wohhhhh." Zam agreed: "You guys make a cute couple." But the bulk of the mostly good-natured comments seemed curious as to why the guy looks Malay while his girlfriend looks Chinese, with some asking if they had Malay/Chinese genes. Bind@ud said: "Handsome looks Malay but pretty looks Chinese." Nineofhearts echoed that view: "Ur gf look more Chinese than u hahahaha." But the sweetest comment, which received almost 1,300 reactions, came from Syah, who noted the confusing appearance but saw it as no barrier to a union: "bro u look Malay and your gf look Chinese. Can't wait to see u guys get married."
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
The challenge of cohesion: Lessons from Singapore for South Africa's diverse tapestry
From 24 to 26 June 2025 I attended the International Conference for Cohesive Societies (ICCS) in Singapore, a global gathering of policymakers, civil society leaders and thinkers committed to the idea that diversity, if carefully nurtured, can be a nation's greatest strength. Held in a city-state widely recognised for its success in managing multiculturalism, the conference offered profound insights, not only into global best practices, but also into the quiet struggles and aspirations of nations grappling with identity, cohesion and belonging. The address by His Excellency Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the president of Singapore, was particularly arresting. He spoke of diverse nations as being like quilts, composed of many distinct patches, each representing a different community, sewn together to create something both beautiful and meaningful. Yet, he cautioned, when storms rage, be they economic, political or social, the quilt may fray, its seams come apart, its integrity tested. Perhaps, he mused, we must begin to weave new cloth, stronger, more resilient, where the threads of our many identities are not merely stitched side by side, but entwined in a shared fabric of common purpose. It was a metaphor that struck deep, not just for its elegance, but for its resonance with the South African condition. South Africa, too, is a patchwork nation. We are black, white, coloured, Indian and many other shades in between. We are Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Tswana, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian, African traditionalist and secular. Our diversity is immense. It is beautiful. But it is also the source of some of our deepest tensions. The fundamental question we face is this: Are we, first and foremost, South Africans, a single people forged in shared destiny, or are we, still, primarily members of our separate communities who just happen to coexist within the same borders? Put another way, are we one nation regardless of race and culture, or are we still proud white, black, coloured and Indian South Africans, united, working together to forge a nation for all that live in it? The central challenge of our democratic project This is not merely a question of semantics. It is the central challenge of our democratic project. The Freedom Charter's enduring promise that 'South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity,' is an aspiration that has yet to be realised. In Singapore, I observed a nation that has answered this question with quiet determination. Rather than erasing cultural identity, it has built systems, policies and symbols that reinforce shared citizenship while celebrating difference. Civic identity takes precedence, but not at the expense of personal heritage. They have found, in many ways, a formula for unity without uniformity. For South Africa, the road is more complex. Our history is more painful, our inequalities more entrenched, our wounds more recent. Yet that does not absolve us from the responsibility to forge a stronger social compact, one in which we weave new cloth rather than simply mending the old quilt. What might that cloth look like? It would be woven from threads of shared values, non-racialism, mutual respect, ubuntu and justice. It would draw strength from the fibres of local languages, customs, histories and rituals, but bind them into a fabric of common purpose. It would move us beyond coexistence into co-creation. Beyond tolerance into solidarity. Importantly, this new cloth does not require us to shed our cultural identities. Rather, it asks that we bring them to the loom, consciously, willingly and in the spirit of building something that transcends each of us individually. In this way, we do not become less coloured, less African, less Indian, less white — we become more South African together. Of course, weaving new fabric requires leadership, trust and a willingness to act with moral courage. It demands that we interrogate our education system, our media, our political discourse and our civic rituals. Difficult questions It means asking difficult questions: Why do so many still feel excluded from the national story? Why do young people in townships and suburbs grow up worlds apart? Why do we default to racial categories rather than civic ones? At the conference, I saw nations grappling with these same questions, each in their own context. Yet the most successful examples, Singapore among them, demonstrated one truth repeatedly: cohesion is not an accidental by-product of democracy. It is a deliberate act of national imagination and political will. For South Africa, the time has come to reimagine our social fabric. The old quilt, stitched together in 1994, was a powerful start. But it has been weathered by time, torn by inequality, frayed by neglect. Now, we must begin to weave anew. Let us not be afraid to dream of a cloth that is stronger, more resilient, more inclusive. A cloth where every thread matters, but where what binds us is even stronger than what differentiates us. A cloth we can call South Africa, not as a collection of patches, but as a single, purposeful, living nation. DM
Straits Times
4 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
A recipe for Singapore: A dash of religion and concern for the planet
Most faiths teach us to care for the environment. We can bring these religious traditions together in a common cause that will also strengthen Singapore. In Singapore, we can tap the common refrain among different faiths to care for mother earth, says the writer. On June 24, 2025, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam delivered the opening address to delegates at the International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) in Singapore. During his presentation – subsequently published in The Straits Times – he argued that multicultural societies have traditionally been conceived as a quilt composed of many individually distinctive patches that create a beautiful effect when stitched together. However, when factors such as polarisation or economic inequalities put pressure on the quilt, the stitches can come apart. The President argued that Singapore should strive to create a stronger fabric – for example, something more like a tapestry in which many threads of different colour are woven together to create a single integrated textile that cannot so easily be torn apart at the seams. What would it take to create such a material?
The Star
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Tweet and sour
MARIE Abdullah remembers her school days fondly – a time when friendships cut across race and background. 'We were as thick as thieves,' says the 28-year-old event organiser from Kuala Lumpur. But today, she's troubled by what she sees on social media. 'Some of my old friends post things that are downright incendiary. One will openly use slurs when discussing certain issues. Others jump in to oppose them and retaliate in the same manner. 'We were friends. But now I'm thinking about unfriending them. What they write is just too disheartening to read,' she says. Marie's experience reflects a wider trend: social media, once seen as a bridge, is now becoming a wedge. Online polarisation – fuelled by identity politics, misinformation, and algorithmic echo chambers – is fraying the social fabric. The issue took centre stage at the International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) in Singapore last week. In his keynote address, Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah warned that the very tools meant to connect the people are doing the opposite. 'The very technologies that promise inclusion can entrench exclusion. Our information ecosystems have become battlegrounds. Algorithms have the unfortunate habit of trapping us in digital echo chambers – feeding prejudice and starving nuance. 'This results in fragmentation, a kind of online tribalism. Information, while accessible, is becoming decentralised.' Sultan Nazrin Shah warned that the very tools meant to connect the people are doing the opposite. — Bernama Digital divides Sultan Nazrin noted that while more than five billion people now have access to the Internet, this unprecedented connectivity has not translated into greater unity. 'Digital platforms shape public discourse and private thought. The impact on our economies, our politics and even on our minds is transformative. 'The pandemic was a watershed moment in our living history, not least in how it accelerated our virtual connectedness. It brought wide-ranging digital communities into our very living rooms. We conducted schooling, office work, legal trials, and endless group quizzes on screens.' He said virtual spaces had promised inclusion and a shared global experience like never before and for a time, it felt real. 'Societal cohesion was reshaped by a dynamic online global community, one held together by innovations both marvellous and challenging.' Still, he warned that these benefits come at a serious cost. 'Our digital spaces, which should be so good at opening doors and minds, are instead responsible for closing them. Online hate rises, as does the spread of conspiracy theories, the propagation of extremist ideologies and even violence. 'And with truth itself now up for grabs – with the rise of fake news – trust in institutions and in each other breaks down. 'The very real dangers of this were realised last summer in the UK, for example, in the race riots that followed the tragic murders in Southport. 'The fabric of our social cohesion is being unravelled in the digital realm. And so it is there also that we must focus our efforts to weave it back together.' A 2024 University of California study supports this concern. It found that 80% of youth aged 10 to 18 had encountered hate speech on social media in the prior month. The most common forms were gender-based hate (72%), race or ethnicity-based hate (71%) and religious hate (62%). The study also noted a spike in hate speech reports after the Oct 7 Hamas attack and Israel's military genocide in Gaza, much of it centred on religious identity. A separate report published by the Council on Foreign Relations stated that online hate speech has been linked to a global increase in violence towards minorities, including mass shootings, lynching, and ethnic cleansing, and that policies to deter such speech are 'inconsistently enforced'. Weaponising social media Prof Farish A. Noor, political scientist at the International Islamic University of Indonesia, says social media's adverse effects are now a global threat and one that no society is immune to. 'No country is exempt from this. Even the most ethnically homogeneous societies still have to address social cohesion. And so states have a role to play in keeping in check these communicative technologies that we have, like social media, which have been weaponised. 'I still don't understand why people cannot see that social media can be weaponised. It's evident that it's used as a weapon to create animosity and to foster hatred, contempt, and fear between groups.' Farish says social media's adverse effects are now a global threat and one that no society is immune to. — UIII He says Muslims, in particular, have faced decades of Islamo-phobia that continues to be amplified online. 'Muslims have been victims of Islamophobia for the last 20 to 30 years and a lot of such hate continues to be generated through social media, media and popular culture. 'Whatever prejudice that you may see or suffer from is often engineered. Prejudice, in this sense, is not a natural thing. Someone engineers it. You engineer it by creating false stereotypes. 'You demonise people – entire communities or belief systems – and it's done normally for political purposes. We need to be very wary of that.' While many balk at the idea of controlling social media, Farish believes limits and responsibilities must exist. 'At least there has to be some means to teach people how to be responsible when they use it. You can't simply incite religious or ethnic hatred and say, 'Oh, it's just a joke.' 'It's not a joke – because it spills out into something very real,' says Farish. 'And it has very real consequences. And when that happens, people blame the state for not doing anything. So the states – governments – are in a very awkward position. If they intervene, people say you're censoring. If you don't intervene, they say you let it happen.' Getting back on track One group trying to reverse this tide is Projek57, a Malaysian non-governmental organisation promoting unity in the face of divisive narratives. At the ICCS, Projek57 executive director Debbie Choa shared how the organisation uses its Unity Ribbon campaign to start conversations. 'We are actually from the business community. We collaborate as a social enterprise with businesses and raise awareness by selling our Unity Ribbon pins. We have sold about half a million with support from several organisations. 'This in turn helps us spread a positive narrative on unity, since on social media there's a lot of negativity right now. If everyone comes together with the same kind of narrative, there is hope that Malaysia can move forward. 'Not just Malaysia – I think globally now this message is much needed, right? That we need to be good neighbours.' Choa says education can also help bridge gaps early. She recalls a recent Projek57 event in Bera, Pahang, where students of different backgrounds, including national schools, a private school and Orang Asli children, came together for a Unity Ribbon activity. 'There was a Malay school counsellor attached to a Chinese school there. He connected us to other national schools nearby. We also brought in students from a private school, as well as some Orang Asli students. 'Can you imagine all these kids in the same space? They normally don't meet each other. 'Initially it was a bit of a culture shock. They were shy. But we played some games and got them to participate in creating the unity ribbons.' What happened next amazed her. 'They could talk about how they feel when working with each other and getting to know each other. Imagine if they are studying in the same school.' Colin Swee, Projek57's co-founder, says reconnecting with people on the ground is crucial to understanding the social fabric. One of their initiatives includes cycling across the country to meet people from all walks of life. Choa recalls a simple but meaningful encounter: 'There was a Makcik selling banana fritters,' she begins. When the woman was told what Projek57 was about, Choa says that 'she said, 'Kami anak Malaysia' [we are children of Malaysia] It was so cute. That's how we aspire to live together.' Swee says he has also spoken to former servicemen who fought during the communist insurgency. 'These ex-servicemen didn't do it because of their pay. They were willing to make sacrifices for the country.' To a question about what drives the movement, Choa says: 'And how do we change our own lenses, right? I think reconciliation – having a reconciliation mindset – is not only about forgiving others, but also about how we look at ourselves.'
