On April 5, 2024, the Asia Centre held a briefing for Bangkok-based diplomatic missions accredited to Cambodia. The briefing covered Asia Centre’s work in Cambodia, introduced its new Training Hub in Phnom Penh, and provided some preliminary findings from its research on electoral integrity in Cambodia.The briefing was attended by key diplomatic missions, including the Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland and Japan embassies, INGOs engaged with Cambodia, and several Australian New Colombo Plan Scholars based in Thailand. Also in attendance was Emeritus Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn in his academic role, who is also concurrently the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights…

From 14 to 19 March 2024, Asia Centre’s Regional Director, Dr. James Gomez visited Seoul, the capital of South Korea, to speak at three separate panels during which he called for a stronger partnership for democracy in Asia.  These panels were either organised or supported by the Global Democracy Coalition (GDC) during the week of the 3rd Summit for Democracy 2024. The GDC, convened by International IDEA, and supported by its democracy partners, aims to facilitate dialogue, exchange knowledge, and advocate for democracy, not only during the Summits for Democracy but also champion the democracy agenda at other international and…

On 21 March 2024, Asia Centre hosted a virtual panel discussion titled "Fact-Checking: Is it Working?" as part of the Digital Rights Programme for Civil Society Organisations, jointly organised by Asia Centre and Google Asia Pacific. The event attracted over 40 participants, including members of academic institutions, representatives from civil society, lawyers, and independent journalists.  Dr James Gomez, the Regional Director of Asia Centre, opened the discussion with insights gained from his recent participation in the 3rd Global Democracy Summit 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. He noted that during the Summit the key concept was “information integrity” and that CSOs…

CSOs across Asia discussed ideas on how to unite as a collective force to advocate for digital rights, enhance their influence and forge a unified front to respond to legal and technological challenges that impact their work. Convened by Asia Centre with the support of Google, the Regional Meeting on Digital Rights was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 22 to 23 February 2024, the meeting brought together 25 participants and included representatives from Article 19, Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM), Campaign, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Digital Rights Nepal., DAKILA and Active Vista Center, Hashtag Generation, Indika Foundation, International IDEA, JANIC, Kalyanamitra,…

On 18 February 2024, Asia Centre organised the Project Conclusion Meeting for 8 Oxfam Fellows at the sidelines of the World Social Forum 2024 in Kathmandu, Nepal, held from 15 to 19 February 2024. The meeting, held at the Yellow Pagoda Hotel, was part of the Oxfam Young Leaders Fellowship Programme 2023 which began in June of that year. The Project Conclusion Meeting began with welcoming remarks from John Samuel, Regional Director of Oxfam in Asia who outlined the social challenges awaiting young people. He stressed to the Fellows that even though their projects are concluding, their fight for justice…

To inform Asia Centre’s research on democracy and human rights, the Centre hosted its inaugural roundtable discussion on “China’s Global Influence: Perspective from the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific” on 1 February 2024. As an inaugural meeting, the aim was to examine and discuss the different perspectives on China’s influence in the regions. The meeting examined the potential opportunities and conflicts associated with China’s growing economic and political influence, particularly in Southeast Asia and Europe. The event was held in collaboration with Sinopsis, a project implemented by the non-profit association AcaMedia, in scholarly collaboration with the Department of Sinology at Charles University…

On 24 January 2024, Asia Centre manned a booth at the University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM) Career Fair 2024. The fair, which featured more than 40 companies and organisations across Malaysia, consisted of booths and career talks by experts to help students make informed decisions for their future career paths.  Asia Centre was invited by UoRM Head of School of Law, Associate Professor Anne Vergis to the Career Fair to introduce the Centre’s human rights work, including legal research and advocacy for law reforms.  About 20 students dropped by the booth during the course of the day. At the booth,…

On 18 January 2024, Asia Centre held a virtual launch and discussion of its latest report, “Online Content Regulation in the Asia Pacific: Limiting Civil Society Capacity to Hold Government Accountable.” The report launch is part of the Digital Rights Programme for Civil Society Organisation, jointly organised by Asia Centre and Google Asia Pacific. The event drew over 50 participants, including members of academic institutions, representatives from civil society, lawyers and journalists.In his welcome remarks, Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director of Asia Centre, highlighted that digital platforms not only change users’ behaviours but also the way in which CSOs operate,…

On 12 January 2024, Asia Centre organised a roundtable discussion titled "Safe Internet Usage in Thailand," which brought together representatives from political parties, government agencies, civil society organisations, and the media. The objective of the roundtable was to lay the groundwork for advocacy initiatives focused on digital rights and promoting safe internet usage in 2024 in Thailand.Yawee Butrkrawee, Senior Researcher at Asia Centre, opened the roundtable discussion by presenting the key findings and policy recommendations from Asia Centre's policy brief Restrictions on Internet Freedoms: Recommendations for Thai Policy-makers and Civil Society. The report analyses the ramifications of both legal and…