Singapore Independent Media Fair 2026

​Help us save on up to $1.34 of credit card fees by choosing PayNow, or enter a higher price at checkout to support us! Students get 25% off with the discount code STUDENT — please show your student pass at the door.

​Foyer (Level 5) — free entry
Exhibition 1–7pm

GV Hall 2 (Level 6) — ticketed
Panel 1 (1.5 hrs) 1:30–3:00pm
Mini-workshop 1 (45 min) 3.15–4:00pm
Mini-workshop 2 (45 min) 4:15–5:00pm
Panel 2 (1.5 hrs) 5:15–6:45pm

​

​What is the role of independent media in a time of multiple crises?

​Independent journalism is becoming more necessary, and yet more difficult. War, authoritarianism, inequality, climate crisis, and disinformation have all intensified the pressure on journalists and media organisations.

​Globally, Reporters without Borders’s World Press Freedom Index is at a 25-year low, with the legal indicator seeing the sharpest decline and Singapore cited as an example where abusive lawsuits are used against journalists.

​At the same time, media organisations around the world are laying off journalists, shrinking newsrooms, and experimenting with AI-generated content, precisely when societies most need rigorous reporting, public-interest journalism, and trusted spaces for people to understand the crises around them.

​In this context, NIMBUS (the Network of Independent Media for Better Understanding and Support) will organise the fourth Singapore Independent Media Fair on 25 July 2026 from 1pm to 7pm at GV Cineleisure, with a focus on the role of independent media in a time of crises.

​The fair will feature two panels. The first will explore how independent media can continue to tell the truth amid increasing polarisation, disinformation, and attacks on media freedom.  The second will imagine how independent media can create space for joy and optimism in a time of crises, moving beyond the doom and gloom that dominates public life. For the first time, the media fair will also introduce mini-skills workshops related to ways people can use the media for storytelling and expression in our overwhelming, turbulent world.

​Through these events and a dynamic line-up of exhibitors, we remind ourselves that, while these are distressing times, we are not helpless if we act and grow together.

​

​Panel 1 (1.5 hrs) 1:30–3:00pm
What is the role of independent media in a time of crises?

​with Jinna Tay, Toh Ee Ming, Shibani Mahtani, Liew Kai Khiun
moderated by Shafeeqah Gill

​In today’s destabilising landscape of simultaneously ongoing crises, independent media outlets carry the sole brunt of objective reporting amongst attempts of holding organisations of power accountable. The question then begs - how are said outlets meant to juggle the weight of the numerous responsibilities while serving their purpose to the public? How is the independent media meant to survive in the face of systemic censorship?

​Join moderator Shafeeqah Gill (WakeUp Singapore) in conversation with Jinna Tay (National University of Singapore), Toh Ee Ming (@emtoh), Shibani Mahtani, and Liew Kai Khiun (Nanyang Technological University) as they explore the increasingly challenging responsibility of the independent media in current dynamics.

​Panel 2 (1.5 hrs) 5:15–6:45pm
How can independent media create space for joy and optimism in a time of crises?

​with Cherian George, Don Shiau, Dion Chan; moderated by Isaac Neo

We often hear about how we live in a ‘polycrisis’, ‘permacrisis’, or whatever buzzword you want to use to describe our increasingly unstable world. However, amidst all this negativity, how can independent media create spaces for joy and optimism, reminding people that a better world is possible?

​Join moderator Isaac Neo (SG Climate Rally) in conversation with Cherian George (Hong Kong Baptist University), Don Shiau (@donsayone), and Dion Chan (@projectx.sg) as they unpack how independent media practitioners can use positivity and humour to appeal to their audiences.

​Workshop 1 (45 min) 3:15–4:00pm
How to verify online content

​by journalist and community advocate Ellis Ng

​Description
There is just so much out there. Every time we pick up our smartphones or jump on our computers, we’re overwhelmed with a deluge of content: algorithmic feeds, news articles and blogs, TikTok videos, social media outrage, AI-generated content… it goes on and on. How do we even begin to navigate our way through all this? How do we figure out what’s real and what isn’t? Join journalist Ellis Ng in this 45-minute workshop on verifying online content to gain the skills and tools to stay on our feet amid an era of overload and overwhelm.

​Workshop 2 (45 min) 4:15–5:00pm
Cook/ed and Hook/ed:
Telling Stories with Intentionality in an Age of Abundance

​by documentary storyteller Ong Kah Jing

​Description
How can the stories we tell reach our intended audience? More importantly, how can we do so without losing ourselves in the process?

​Join documentary storyteller OKJ as he draws lessons from food to make sense of the storytelling process, showing you the power of your intentionality and the necessity of honing your delivery.