CHAIRPERSON
Assoc Prof Jamie S. Davidson, Asia Research Institute, and Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore
ABSTRACT
Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) was founded on a simple observation: most people do not intentionally harm the environment—they are simply disconnected from it. In a highly urbanised and efficient city, waste disappears from sight, food appears on shelves, and infrastructure seemingly maintains itself. This distance creates apathy, where people understand environmental challenges intellectually but feel little agency to act. This presentation explores how GUI tackles apathy through participation. Drawing from nearly two decades of community-building practice, Bingyu will share how citizens, families, volunteers, and students are invited to physically shape their environment—transforming waste into building materials, rebuilding landscapes, growing food, and creating shared spaces together. Through projects ranging from community-built playgrounds to roads made from recycled plastic, the session argues that meaningful environmental action begins when people move from being consumers of a city to co-creators of it. In an age of increasing automation and disconnection, GUI offers a model for rebuilding relationships between people, place, and planet through the simple act of working together.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bingyu Cai leads Ground-Up Initiative (GUI) with a dedicated community of everyday heroes. He works closely with volunteers, partners, and the land to shape spaces rooted in belonging, sustainability, and hands-on culture—believing that meaningful places are crafted not just from materials, but through people, stories, and shared purpose.
