Nite for Rights: A Human Rights Open Mic Platform

Nite for Rights: A Human Rights Open Mic Platform

Asia Centre’s first human rights open mic night was held on the 30 June 2017 with an audience of about 35 from various backgrounds including academics, students, civil society representatives and media representatives. Nite for Rights was a celebration of human rights advocacy and activism in the region, with Asia Centre providing a platform for sharing and discussion into the critical human rights issues impacting the region as well as strategies for effective engagement.   The event was opened with an overview of Asia Centre’s Human Rights Programme and sharing of key findings of our research into the Universal Periodic…

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Asia Centre’s Second Anniversary

Asia Centre’s Second Anniversary

After two years of operations, Asia Centre cast a confident gaze at its steady growth, program development, outreach and presence in Bangkok. As a testament to the Centre’s community-building prowess the celebrations featured friends and associates from academia, local and international civil society organizations, international institutions, embassies, students and the media. Asia Centre provided a platform for sharing in the form of an open mic night dedicated to human rights in the region.     Over the past year, the Centre focused on developing its role as a think tank and on its flagship Human Rights Programme, which carries out…

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Asia Centre Leads Discussion on Human Rights and Conflict Prevention at ICIRD 2017

Asia Centre Leads Discussion on Human Rights and Conflict Prevention at ICIRD 2017

Applying human rights principles in the development of early warning systems and indicators can bolster internal - conflict prevention processes and mechanisms. This was the key discussion point at the Asia Centre-Thammasat University panel on  internal conflict held at the  International Conference on International Relations and Development (ICIRD) on 24 June 2017. The panel entitled, Human Rights Violations and Internal-Conflict in Southeast Asia: Identifying Conflict Prevention Processes and Mechanisms, looked at the challenges and opportunities for internal conflict prevention from conceptual and practical perspectives.   Asia Centre’s Executive Director Dr Robin Ramcharan’s paper Human Rights and Conflict Prevention in Southeast…

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Asia Centre Human Rights Briefing for Georgia Tech, USA

Asia Centre Human Rights Briefing for Georgia Tech, USA

  Asia Centre held a briefing session on 22 May 2017, in Bangkok, for visitors from the Southeast Asia Study Abroad Program of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs of Georgia Tech, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Dr. Robin Ramcharan and Dr. James Gomez led the briefing and discussions. Dr. Katja Weber led the group from Georgia Tech.   The session focused on challenges facing human rights protection and democratic transitions in ASEAN, and on contemporary governance challenges that affect human security including the difficulties of providing social protection. Institutional differences between ASEAN and other regional bodies…

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IFC #1: Asia Centre Launches International Faculty Club

IFC #1: Asia Centre Launches International Faculty Club

  On 12 May 2017, Asia Centre launched the International Faculty Club (IFC) with some 40 academics, researchers and graduate students in attendance.   The event filled a gap in the Bangkok social landscape that brought together people across different tertiary institutions allowing those from diverse academic disciplines to dialogue, share innovative ideas and forge friendships in a convivial setting.     The evening turned out to be an engrossing academic networking event as the inaugural gathering saw a series of speakers taking to the floor to share their ongoing research and interests.   These included: Evgeniia Sidorova, Thammasat University,…

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Civil Society Needs to Innovate to Combat Shrinking Space in Southeast Asia

Civil Society Needs to Innovate to Combat Shrinking Space in Southeast Asia

Civil society needs to innovate if it wants to step up to the challenges of shrinking space, this was the crux of Dr James Gomez’s vision for the future of human rights in Southeast Asia.     Dr Gomez shared his perspective at a public lecture hosted by the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science on 3 May 2017. Titled Civil Society and Shrinking Political Space: the future of human rights in Southeast Asia, the lecture attracted some 30 participants who were interested in the trajectory of human rights in a region that is slipping back into…

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Asia Centre at Webster University’s Career Fair

Asia Centre at Webster University’s Career Fair

Asia Centre promoted its internship opportunities at Webster University's Career Fair held on 29th March 2017. Asia Centre’s internships, which have been popular, attracted a flow of interested students from International Relations as well as from communication and business studies.    Dr Robin Ramcharan and research intern Francesco Franzoi from Switzerland represented Asia Center at the Fair to introduce Asia Centre’s work, projects and activities. For example, our current interns assist with the preparation, research and marketing of the Centre's upcoming International Conference on National Human Rights Institutions in Southeast Asia: Challenges of Protection in July 2017.   Asia Centre’s had…

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Celebrating Women in Law: Discussions on Access to Justice

Celebrating Women in Law: Discussions on Access to Justice

A discussion on access to justice in Southeast Asia was undertaken by a panel of women lawyers on 29 March 2017 at the Asia Centre. The session, jointly organised by Asia Centre and Akin Asia, offered the opportunity to understand some of the systemic problems with regards to rule of law and access to justice that affect women in the region. It was also an opportunity to better understand the roles that different players in the legal process play. The event was attended by over 30 participants, many with a legal background, keen to engage with the panel of top…

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Asia Centre at FCCT discussion on Human Rights in Southeast Asia

Asia Centre at FCCT discussion on Human Rights in Southeast Asia

Asia Centre’s Dr Robin Ramcharan was part of panel discussion on the topic                            Human Rights in Southeast Asia: Retrospect and Prospect at the launch of SHAPE SEA’s Human Rights Outlook in Southeast Asia 2014-2015. Held on the evening of 9 March at the Foreign Correspondents Club Thailand, the event attracted about 40 participants from international and regional organisations, members of civil society, journalists, academics and students.   Dr Ramcharan’s address focused on the positive trajectories for the future of human rights in the region, pointing to, inter…

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Asia Centre at the Asia Pacific Youth Exchange Career Fair 2017

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Asia Centre at the Asia Pacific Youth Exchange Career Fair 2017

Asia Centre’s operations as a social enterprise and its programmatic focus on education and human rights attracted considerable attention at the Asia Pacific Youth Exchange (APYE) Career Fair held on 20th January 2017 at Bangkok University. The fair was part of the 3rd APYE organised by the Urban Youth Academy in conjunction with the Asian Development Bangkok and multiple UN agencies, with the objective of empowering youth to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.The career fair attracted some 130 international APYE delegates along with students from Bangkok based universities, keen to explore internship and career opportunities.

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