Men’s Mental Health: A Journey of Healing, Leadership, and Lived Experience

🎉 The Human Story Book (THSB) Forum 2025

The Human Story Book Forum 2025 returns with a bold new theme: “Unmasking Men – A Singapore Conversation on Mental Health, Masculinity, and Responsibility.”

This year’s forum shines a spotlight on the often-unspoken emotional struggles of men in Singapore—fathers, husbands, sons, workers, ex-offenders, and community leaders. In a society where men are expected to lead, provide, and remain strong, cultural values around race, religion, and masculinity often prevent open conversations about mental health. Through lived stories, reflective dialogue, and ground-level perspectives, the forum explores the weight of responsibility, ego, and societal pressure in workplaces, families, and faith communities. From founders and entrepreneurs to those rebuilding after incarceration, this national conversation aims to break the silence and reimagine strength, leadership, and healing for future generations.

Join us as we challenge stigma, humanize struggle, and inspire hope for personal and collective transformation.

Our Guest of Honour

Professor Russ Neu

Founder & CEO, Social Collider

Prof Russ Neu is the Founder & CEO of Social Collider, a hub for social enterprises and impact organisations in Singapore. He is also a Visiting Professor under the UNDP’s Innovation for Impact Partnership and Venture Partner, Impact Initiatives at Quest Ventures. Formerly Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Flex, Russ drove inclusive hiring growing disability hires from 5 to 350 in China—and led staff to build schools in Laos and Nepal. He served with Singapore’s Ministry of Education and was seconded to Laos via the Singapore International Foundation. In 2018, Russ published It Made A Difference To This One, a book about an NGO that helped over 20,000 children impacted by AIDS in China. He holds degrees from NUS and Tsinghua-MIT.

Distinguished Keynotes

Abdullah Arief

Financial Services Manager, Soul & Associates

Abdullah Arief is a Financial Services Manager at Soul & Associates, with nearly two decades of experience in investment, insurance, and estate planning. Once labelled a "hopeless case" in school, Arief's early years were marked by hardship, street life, and a powerful spiritual awakening that changed his trajectory. From flipping burgers at 14 to eventually earning his Master’s in Asset & Wealth Management from NTU, his journey is one of grit, grace, and growth. Today, he specialises in wealth and legacy planning for high-net-worth individuals, helping families safeguard their futures across generations. Arief’s lived experience grounds his work with empathy, while his professional expertise builds bridges between financial stability, generational purpose, and faith-driven resilience.

Ramli Abdullah

Founder & Executive Director, RSG Limited

Motto: Rise above addiction. Stand against drugs. Go towards a better life.

Ramli Abdullah, 51, is the Founder and Executive Director of RSG Limited, a ground-up initiative supporting ex-offenders, their families, and youths-at-risk in their journey of rehabilitation and reintegration. A former gang leaderand drug addict, Ramli spent nearly nine years in prison. His turning point came in 2012 during his time at Jamiyah Halfway House, where a visit from his mother moved him to seek change. The path to recovery wasn’t easy—Ramli had to rebuild trust as a husband, father, son, and brother while facing the emotional cost of his past.

Since 2015, Ramli has led RSG in providing peer-led support, motivational talks, anti-drug and anti-gang outreach, and aftercare assistance for families and youth. Balancing leadership with lived experience, he champions second chances and works actively to reduce stigma. He holds a Diploma in Leadership, healthcare certifications, and serves as a CNB Educator, SPS Befriender, and Red Cross Medical Aid—championing healing, advocacy, and transformation at every level.

Harith Indra Ramiz

Founder, CEO, A Better Table

Harith is a social entrepreneur and mental health advocate committed to empowering individuals and building resilient communities. With a cross-disciplinary background in social work, business, and technology, he blends empathy with innovation to address complex social issues. Harith is the founder of A Better Table, a pioneering platform that supports entrepreneurs and changemakers through accessible mentorship, tools, and networks. His leadership is defined by a commitment to mental wellness, inclusive growth, and sustainable impact. Harith’s mission is to create spaces where purpose-driven individuals can thrive—personally and professionally—while fostering cultures of care and collaboration. His work continues to inspire new models of leadership grounded in empathy, lived experience, and systemic change.