Sensory Odyssey Opening Symposium

Gwenaël Allan

CEO and Founder of Sensory Odyssey studio

Gwenaël Allan nurtures a singular creative and entrepreneurial career path with over thirty-years creating, managing and producing a hybrid mix of non-verbal spectacles worldwide since his Cirque du Soleil debuts in the late 1980’s.

In 2017, he created the Sensory Odyssey project in co-production with the Natural History Museum of France.  This new brand of immersive and naturalistic “awareness experiences” merge digital art, cinema, interactive technologies, sensorial techniques and cognitive sciences to generate acute sensory powers to perceive the imperceptible links which connect us to all living things while generating sensations of awe and empathy. The drive in producing Sensory Odyssey came from years of observation and hikes in nature along with a growing curiosity for discoveries in the vast field of life sciences.

He firmly believes that entertainment with a touch of wonder can be a powerful tool to sensitize global audiences to the laws of nature and promote lasting values to better prepare for the changes our society is undergoing.

Dr Neo Mei Lin

Marine Biologist and Senior Research Fellow at NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute

Dr Neo Mei Lin is a Senior Research Fellow at the Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore. Her fascination with the enormous giant clams started during her undergraduate days, which continued through her research career. During her PhD, Mei Lin had also restarted Singapore’s efforts in restocking giant clams back to the local reefs between 2011 and 2018. In her talk, she will share their experiences working with local stakeholders in successfully transplanting cultured giant clams to Singapore’s reefs. Mei Lin continues to work closely on the conservation and management of giant clams in the Southeast Asia region.

Dr Leong Tzi Ming

Naturalist and Nature Guide

As a freelance Nature Guide, Dr Leong Tzi Ming enjoys sharing about the wonder and beauty of biodiversity to children of all ages and learning abilities. He finds it rewarding when the children remember the names of various plants and animals, demonstrating excellent retention abilities of young and sharp minds. He is deeply moved whenever the children are able to understand the importance of conserving our green habitats for the sake of environmental stability and future generations.

As a keen Naturalist, he continues to devote much of his time observing the behaviour and ecology of wildlife in Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. Having visited the neighbouring countries for both research, as well as recreation, he embraces their wonderful diversity of native species, ethnic cultures and gastronomic delights.

Dr Leong obtained his PhD in Zoology from the National University of Singapore, where he focused on tadpoles for his dissertation. Other than amphibians, he has also been ‘distracted’ by other faunal groups and has since published books on spiders and moths as well. He continues to share his passion with children and their parents, with the hope that more eyes will be opened to the marvels and mysteries of our natural world. Just recently, he also served as the Editor-in-Chief for ‘Nature Watch’, the official magazine of the Nature Society (Singapore).

Ng Sze Kiat

Mycological Artist and Founder of Bewilder

From a toilet in an industrial building, Ng Sze Kiat first began his professional foray into the Fungi Kingdom by being the first to introduce the possibility of growing one’s own gourmet and medicinal mushrooms in Singapore.

Since then, the founder of Bewilder has unlocked over 40 species of gourmet and medicinal mushrooms, discovered various novel growing methods, launched several products as well as having developed several MVPs.

Bewilder is a mycotechnology company that is modelled after the way mushrooms grow. Predictable yet unpredictable at the same time, largely unseen; suddenly in full glory. Radial in growth yet single-minded, exponential and adaptable, interconnecting with all.

Conservation International Singapore

PEOPLE NEED NATURE — Conservation International works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity. Since our inception in 1987, we’ve helped to protect more than 6 million square kilometers of land and sea across more than 70 countries. Currently with offices in 29 countries and 2,000 partners worldwide, our reach is truly global. Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, Conservation International empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, for the well-being of humanity.

In Singapore, Conservation International Singapore envisions a vibrant, resilient and sustainable city for generations to come and aims to empower the community to protect nature through individual and collective action. Our country program is focused on community engagement and education, capacity building through student and professional internships, exploring and supporting innovative solutions for conservation science and research, and driving collaborations to support our institutional strategy across all sectors.

Conservation International Singapore Conservation Trust (CSCT) is a registered charity in Singapore.

Andrea Leong

Senior Manager, Youth and Community Engagement, Conservation International Singapore

Andrea leads youth and community engagement programs at Conservation International Singapore, to empower the next generation to take charge of nature stewardship. A marine conservation enthusiast, Andrea brings to the conservation field over 15 years of branding and marketing experience from the media and advertising industry. For six years at Ogilvy Singapore and Hong Kong, Andrea has consulted a wide range of industries on creative and effective digital programming, with award-winning projects to show such as Singapore's inaugural Share A Coke social campaign, and SG50's social media efforts and groundbreaking partnership with Airbnb for the jubilee staycation at the Esplanade. Prior to joining CI, Andrea headed programs at Marine Stewards where she launched ReefX, a reef survey program documenting local marine biodiversity and one of the first to be helmed by a local NGO in Singapore.

Dr Richard Jeo

Senior Vice-President, Conservation International Asia-Pacific Field Division

Dr. Richard Jeo directs Conservation International’s work in the Asia-Pacific region, overseeing strategies and outcomes in 13 countries. He guides the organization’s role in international and regional networks, as well as partnerships with both the private and public sectors.

Prior to joining Conservation International, he served as the Montana state director for The Nature Conservancy, where he led programs that permanently protected more than 250,000 acres of critically important private lands and played a leadership role in some of the largest successful conservation deals ever completed.

Geraldine Chin

Country Director, Conservation International Singapore

Geraldine is the Country Director for Conservation International (CI) Singapore, responsible for ensuring that program strategies, initiatives and outcomes advance CI’s human development and conservation priorities. Geraldine has over 20 years of experience in various government and non-profit organizations.

Prior to joining CI, Geraldine was responsible for managing programs and partnerships focused on youth social entrepreneurship, arts and culture at the Singapore International Foundation. She spent six years in Thailand in the field of humanitarian aid, working on project management, monitoring and evaluation of refugee education and social support programs. Early in her career, she was a civil servant in Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Transport. Geraldine was a recipient of the Singapore Government and Monbusho scholarship for undergraduate studies, and holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan.

Frances Loke

Senior Programmes Manager, Conservation International Asia-Pacific

Frances is an environmental educator who is fascinated by the intersection of natural and cultural heritage. As Senior Program Manager at Conservation International Singapore, she designs and implements school programs, capacity building for conservation through internships and scholarships, and builds community partnerships. She works to bring a global-to-local lens on environmental issues to youth to engender a love for nature and a responsibility to protect it. Frances also chairs the Communications and Education subgroup of the Singapore Pangolin Working Group. Beyond work, Frances draws inspiration from community efforts that involve organizing nature-based events, rescuing veggies, and revitalizing the critically-endangered Kristang language.