Dr Noeleen Heyzer, Distinguished Fellow, SMU School of Social Sciences and Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Fellow, and a member of the United Nations’ (UN) Secretary General’s High Level Advisory Board on Mediation, launched a 240-page memoir Beyond Storms and Stars at SMU on Friday (Sept 17), with Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam as Guest-of-honour. The memoir of Dr Heyzer, a Singaporean trailblazer in UN and women's empowerment, recounts the challenges she faced and how she overcame them. At the launch event, a panel discussion with Dr Heyzer, Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh and SMU President Professor Lily Kong discussed how Dr Heyzer had used the values and the platform of the UN to advance gender equality worldwide and contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable Asia Pacific. The panel was moderated by Dean of the SMU School of Social Sciences and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Political Science Chandra Kukathas.