Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong launched Forward Singapore (Forward SG), a year-long national conversation which aims to harness the views of Singaporeans to shape the nation's future and renew its social compact.

Like previous national conversations, Forward SG is intended to foster trust and collaboration between the political leaders - in this case DPM Wong and his fourth-generation leadership team - and the citizenry. Coming after Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) and the Singapore Together Emerging Stronger Conversations, which covered familiar ground including national identity, opportunities and social support, it may be tempting to dismiss Forward SG as just more of the same.